Thieves' Gambit: Chapters 35–47

by Kayvion Lewis
Born into a legendary family of thieves, seventeen-year-old Rosalyn Quest tries to escape the criminal life by applying to college programs outside of the Bahamas, but when her mom disappears, she realizes that the best chance to save her would be winning a competition of international heists.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–15, Chapters 16–23, Chapters 24–34, Chapters 35–47
40 words 6 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. faux pas
    a socially awkward or tactless act
    Look what they’re wearing too. Raven black layered with charcoal and onyx? I’ve been wanting to slap some sense into these faux pas since Marseille.
  2. wayward
    difficult to manage or keep in order
    Kyung-soon blew some wayward strands of hair.
  3. residual
    relating to or indicating a remainder
    Even if I did know anything, the way my hands were shaking as the residual adrenaline pumped through my veins was not going to let me be of much help right now.
  4. reverberate
    ring or echo with sound
    “I dunno. That’s up to you.”
    My breath caught. The words reverberated around me. Up to me, huh? No one had ever put it that way.
  5. trope
    a common or clichéd plot device, idea, or theme in a creative work
    “So, did he confess his secret love for you while he was unable to compose himself? Because that’s totally what would happen on TV.”
    Mylo leaned back in his chair. “Ah yes, the old drunken confession trope. My favorite, followed by the one where one lover steals the other’s phone because they think their S.O. is up to something.”
  6. tangible
    capable of being treated as fact
    “But you...you feel genuine. Like an actual, real person that I could know. And I really, really like you for it.”
    My breath thinned, but I forced myself to speak anyway. “So that’s the only reason? You only asked to kiss me because I felt...tangible to you?”
  7. prompt
    urge, encourage, or motivate someone to act
    Did he just tell me that, without being prompted, with no reason to, out of nowhere?
  8. outlier
    a person or thing that does not conform to a norm
    Of all Count’s rendezvous places, this was the outlier. When I saw that our tickets were to the British Virgin Islands, I expected to be confined to another back room or secret underground wine cellar, not for our driver to drop us off at the gates of a private resort.
  9. relish
    derive or receive pleasure from
    “Well, our organizers have decided to be generous,” Count said, clearly relishing drawing out the suspense.
  10. placid
    not easily irritated
    Noelia looked completely placid, more like a preprogrammed robot than a girl.
  11. implore
    beg or request earnestly and urgently
    What gave me the right to choose?
    “Ten seconds.”
    “Ross,” he implored.
    “Five seconds.”
    “Devroe,” I whispered. “Devroe moves on.”
  12. cynical
    believing the worst of human nature and motives
    “No way you only want to see if we’ll kidnap them just because you told us to.”
    Count’s tablet buzzed again. “Somebody watching thinks you’re very cynical, Ms. Quest.”
  13. imperative
    requiring attention or action
    “We have no intentions of killing them, if that’s what you’re worried about. As a matter of fact, it is imperative that you bring your target to us alive. Beyond that, what we do with them isn’t your concern.”
  14. loophole
    an ambiguity that makes it possible to evade an obligation
    I pressed my palms against my forehead, trying to wring out some loophole in what Count might have said. Something implying that there was another way to win this phase.
  15. quip
    witty remark
    “Little Quest, always finding the least opportune moments to call, aren’t we—”
    “Put my mother on the phone. Now.” My tone left no room for quips.
  16. monetary
    relating to or involving money
    “Everything we’ve stolen so far has had real value, political or monetary. One of the reasons my auntie doesn’t work as much anymore is because her cover was blown by one too many of the wrong people. People who I’m sure would pay to get their own slice of revenge. She has monetary value.”
  17. stint
    an unbroken period of time during which you do something
    I alternated between watching him and scanning Google Maps in ten-minute stints, dissecting all the routes in and out of the town before restashing my phone with the rest.
  18. concoct
    devise or invent
    If I said this is going to work, then it will. Noelia Boschert doesn’t concoct losing plans.
  19. stately
    refined or imposing in manner or appearance
    The campus was ridiculously massive. Like someone took a slice of Central Park, dropped a few stately buildings inside, and wrapped an iron gate around it for safekeeping.
  20. trump
    get the better of
    But charm wasn’t enough to trump my instincts, and they were telling me I was right to be worried.
  21. cordial
    politely warm and friendly
    For Noelia’s sake, and since we were being at the very least cordial now, I didn’t let myself smile.
  22. elitist
    favoring those who have wealth or high status
    “Is that another quote from your stellar, elitist father?”
  23. animosity
    a feeling of ill will arousing active hostility
    I shot Devroe a glare. He could really cool it with the animosity.
  24. unfurl
    unroll, unfold, or spread out
    The new spreadsheet was so large, it took a few seconds to load. But once it did, rows and rows of names and numbers and addresses unfurled on the screen.
  25. apprehension
    fearful expectation or anticipation
    “What is this about?” Count said slowly. There was a hitch of apprehension in her voice. Unease.
  26. euphoric
    characterized by a feeling of well-being or elation
    He had all the energy of someone just walking out of a pretty awesome spy movie. Not gonna lie, I was a bit pumped up on those vibes too. Not to mention the euphoric relief of knowing my mom was about to be safe.
  27. freelance
    working for yourself
    Could anyone in the fam really fault me if I took a few international freelance assignments with my new crew?
  28. dwindle
    become smaller or lose substance
    The buildings started to dwindle. Soon fields and farmhouses took their place.
  29. itinerary
    an established line of travel or access
    I opened the copy I’d downloaded from his phone, like it would automatically update with airport itineraries I could follow.
  30. quid pro quo
    something given in exchange for something else
    “It was impressive. Because we’re an organization of our word, we’re still working on the wire transfer. However, you don’t get complimentary favors without some quid pro quo.”
    “Fine. What do you want?”
  31. fortuitous
    lucky; occurring by happy chance
    “What do you want? Either you’ve got an update on the bank transfer or you’ve figured out what the price for getting my aunt back is.”
    “Both, actually. It’s fortuitous that you didn’t listen to me. Since you’re in town, how about we all meet and discuss the...new situation.”
  32. scaffold
    a temporary arrangement erected around a building
    From the outside, it looked like a resort, but inside, tarps and scaffolds hung over everything.
  33. talisman
    a trinket thought to be a magical protection against evil
    She wore a glittery red cocktail dress but still held her tablet like a talisman.
  34. brig
    a prison, especially a military prison on board a ship
    Her fingers, her nails. When I last saw them, they were all perfect and glossy. Now two of them were scuffed and chipped, as I’d expect from someone who’d been held captive in some brig for the last couple of weeks.
  35. sanity
    normal or sound powers of mind
    Was this what she called fine? My sanity, my emotions. Those were both dangerously close to being permanently dented.
  36. notion
    an odd or fanciful or capricious idea
    I would’ve stayed with her for years, and if I ever even entertained the notion of leaving, all she’d have to do was mention that one time I tried to leave and got her kidnapped.
  37. entail
    impose, involve, or imply as a necessary result
    “The senior Ms. Quest reached out before the start of this year’s competition enquiring about what this year’s phases would entail. We usually would be tight-lipped about this, but she explained her intentions and assured us if you did enter, you wouldn’t have any advance knowledge. So, yes, I informed her of this year’s exciting twist in the final phase.”
  38. glower
    look angry or sullen as if to signal disapproval
    Devroe was still there, watching, glowering.
  39. caveat
    a warning against certain acts
    “Yes, we’ve decided to amend our agreement about that. We’ll accept the payment for her, but with a caveat—you accept your own year-long contract with us.”
  40. miffed
    aroused to impatience or anger
    Count beamed, and the crowd murmured a pleased consensus, except for some who still seemed miffed that they hadn’t gotten to see an entire family wiped off the board in seconds.
Created on Mon Feb 05 16:11:24 EST 2024 (updated Tue Feb 06 15:55:32 EST 2024)

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