The Vengeful Thief (Stolen Hearts Book 5)

by Mallory Crowe

  But that didn’t mean he was going to sit here and wax poetic about the trials and tribulations of family. “What do you want?” he asked briskly.

  “I want to talk about the girl.”

  He didn’t need to ask which girl. “What about Liv?”

  “Is she going to be okay here? I can try to talk her into leaving if you want.”

  For some reason, the thought of Toni talking to Liv filled him with dread. Maybe because he thought she might actually convince her to leave. It was selfish of him to want her here when he just sent Melissa and Josh away.

  The difference was that when this was all over, he knew Melissa and Josh would come back here. Liv was... questionable. “I’ll talk to her,” he said before he even knew what he was saying.

  “You going to get her to leave or try to talk her into the sheets?”

  He looked out of the corner of his eye at Toni. He didn’t want to know where she got her information from, but it was eerily accurate sometimes. Instead of giving her a straight answer, he said, “Liv wouldn’t be caught dead in a bed with me.”

  Toni snorted. “I mean, have you seen you?”

  That had him blinking in surprise and he turned to look at Toni. She held her hands up as though to say she didn’t mean anything by it. “I’m just calling it like I see it. Since all of my sisters got bitten by the love bug lately, I like to think I know a thing or two about gaga eyes.”

  “I seem to recall you getting a bite too,” he pointed out.

  “Well, apparently it’s contagious.”

  Just then, Hart opened the door and laid eyes on Toni. He didn’t say anything. It was as though he had just gone too long without seeing her and wanted to get a visual.

  Kind of how he felt about Liv right now. He glanced to the master bedroom, but the curtains were still right in place. She wasn’t watching them now. Maybe he was the only one who was feeling this obsession.

  Which would be a good thing, he told himself. Neither of them could afford to be obsessed about anything.

  “For what it’s worth, I’m rooting for you,” said Toni.

  “You don’t even know Liv,” he pointed out.

  “No, but I know you. And I like sex. So I’m rooting for you to get laid. That has to count for something, right?”

  He couldn’t help the little smile. Toni did have a way of getting past his defenses. “I’m glad you’re here,” he said honestly.

  “You should be grateful to Gage. He’s the one who called us in.”

  Yeah. He’d had words with Gage about that. As much as he hated that Gage had gone behind his back to call in reinforcements, he’d be lying if he didn’t admit he was in over his head. If it was a one-on-one thing, he could probably handle Thurrond on his own, but Thurrond was never alone. With his team here, and Hart and Toni to provide their tactical and considerable financial support, he was actually prepared to take on the kingpin.

  “Gage is a son of a bitch, but he’s a smart son of a bitch. I’ll give him that,” said Slade.

  “Gage is a cocky bastard. I can’t believe you sent him off with your sister. Especially after the gaga eyes he was making at her.”

  “Wait, what?”

  Liv cracked open the door and looked each way down the hall, trying to see whether the coast was clear. It really didn’t matter whether she ran into anyone. She’d dressed conservatively in a long-sleeved, high-necked pajama set she’d gotten for Christmas from Melissa a few years ago. It was all flannel and much too warm for her to wear to bed, so they’d been sitting unused for years in a drawer, but now that her home was swarming with a bunch of strange men, modesty seemed like more of a virtue than normal.

  After she looked once more to make sure it was clear, she stepped out and padded to the kitchen. It was well past the middle of the night, nearing on morning. It was still dark outside, but she had a feeling a lot of the factory workers in town were already heading off to start the first shift.

  Because she worked nights, she was used to staying up around this time. She would normally fix Josh’s lunch for school and maybe even do some dinner prep so Melissa would have an easy time getting Josh ready for school. Today, however, was different. When she went into the kitchen, it was illuminated by the glow of the television. Through the picture window of the kitchen, she could see Hunter on the couch and watching an old nineties sitcom. Not exactly what she would’ve picked for the man.

  Even though she wanted to pretend as though she wasn’t there, she was driven by her upbringing to be a good host. “Good morning,” she whispered. “Would you like anything to eat?”

  He glanced over at her. He had seemed friendly and jovial around Josh earlier, but now he was sitting alone on her couch and his holster was visible. Which meant the two handguns in the holster were also visible. Not a sight she was used to in her innocent little living room.

  “Nah,” he said. “I thought you’d be sleeping by now.”

  “Night shift,” she said, as though it was that keeping her awake and not the recent attempt on her life and the fact that everything she thought she knew was tilted on its axis. But, yeah, the fact she worked nights was totally why she was awake.

  “Slade wanted to talk to you,” he said. “He thought you were sleeping and hung back, though.”

  She wasn’t sure why he was telling her that. Was she supposed to track Slade down and wake him up? Or was he trying to say something else? For that matter, this guy knew Slade better than most. He’d spent time with him recently. Worked with him. You could tell a lot about a person by talking to their employees, no matter what profession.

  The house was decidedly devoid of a suitable beverage selection for anyone over the age of ten, but she pulled out a diet soda from the fridge and walked it over to Hunter. If he was going to be up for a while, the caffeine would help. She was assuming he wasn’t just hanging around for fun. He was probably taking first shift or whatever they liked to call it.

  Hunter took the soda from her, but she noticed he didn’t open it. He motioned to the couch. “You can sit if you want. I don’t want to feel like you can’t use your living room. I’m not even watching the TV, so you can change it if you want.”

  Liv shook her head. She didn’t want to intrude, and she was so exhausted, she didn’t really trust herself to be social at the moment. “I’ve had a long day. I really should try to get some sleep.”

  “But you aren’t tired at all, are you?” asked Hunter knowingly.

  She swallowed and nodded. “It’s like, I can feel how exhausted my body is, but my mind won’t stop racing.”

  “It’s the adrenaline. Even though it’s gone, your mind will be wired for a while. It will pass soon enough and you’ll crash, though.”

  “Do you get used to it? I mean, you guys are in life-threatening situations all the time, right?”

  “Not all the time. Some of the time. And no, you never get used to it. Guys who get used to it get dead. Simple as that.”

  She snorted. She never thought death was all that simple, but she supposed it could be. “Umm.... How long have you worked with Slade?”

  “You call him Slade?”

  She blinked a few times. That wasn’t an answer. That was a question. But it was late and she wasn’t at a hundred percent, so she decided to just answer him. “Yes.”

  “Why not Peter?”

  “Why don’t you call him Peter?” she shot back, giving him a taste of his own medicine.

  “Because he asked us to call him Slade and it sounds more badass than Peter. But since you live with two other Slades.... Doesn’t make as much sense.”

  “What are you actually asking?”

  “Just curious is all. Nothing to read into it.”

  She doubted that. She had a feeling people like Hunter didn’t ask questions they didn’t have a good reason for. “Does it bother you?”

  “There was only one girl I ever knew who called me by my last name, and she was totally into me.”

  Liv b
linked a few times in surprise. “What?”

  He shrugged. “Girl I knew back in school. I always thought she hated me because she’d call me Cornell. Unlike Slade, I’m the reverse. Good first name, but last name is a bit weaker. Not a huge deal. I figured she hated me and that’s why she used the last name.”

  Liv suddenly saw where this was going. “She had a crush on you.”

  “You’re officially smarter than I ever was. I didn’t know that until long after I left town.”

  “Did you ever hook up with her?”

  “After I left, I joined the military. Dark unit. Couldn’t go home after that. Whoever she liked, I’m a different person now.”

  Well, that ended up oddly sad. “I’m sorry.”

  “Point is, you call Slade by his last name.”

  “Point is, it’s none of your business,” she said, not about to let this stranger bully her into saying anything about feelings she may or may not have.

  “You’re not wrong about that. Thanks for the pop.”

  She was about to ask why he was dismissing her, but then she heard the footsteps behind her. Hunter must have better hearing than her because she had no idea they were about to have company. She crossed her arms over her chest as though the miles of fabric wasn’t enough coverage.

  Slade walked out and was softly illuminated by the glow of the television. “I thought I heard you,” he said.

  Did everyone in this house have better hearing than her? “I was just getting a snack before bed,” she said, even though she was obviously not in the kitchen.

  He didn’t call her on the little lie. “Sounds good. Can we talk?”

  Without looking, she could feel Hunter’s knowing look and didn’t dignify him with a response. She couldn’t think of a good reason to say no to him, so she simply nodded. “Sure.” She led the way to her room, once again forgetting to grab food. Damn it. It would probably amuse the hell out of Hunter if she went back, so she’d probably go to bed hungry. Actually, maybe she had a granola bar in her bag....

  Slade shut the door, sucking her back into the present. Here they were again. The last time he’d been in her bedroom, he told her how he wanted to push her onto the bed and.... Her mouth went dry just at the thought, and she looked at the dated carpeting. Adults. They could both be two adults who happened to be attracted to each other but were able to contain themselves. Maybe.

  “Have you thought about leaving?” he said finally.

  She ripped her gaze from the carpet to look at his face. “Leave? You brought me in here because you want me to leave?”

  “I should’ve made you go with Melissa and Josh.”

  Her mouth fell open and she was momentarily silent as she fought with her hurt pride and annoyance. Somehow she’d become convinced that he only wanted to bring her back here to... well, to kiss her again. And she must’ve wanted that on some level, too, because his perfectly reasonable nonsexual words were now offensive to her. “First of all, you can’t make me do anything I don’t want to do. Second, I told you I don’t want to leave. You’re going to take care of Thurrond, and I’m going to help you.”

  “I have an entire team here to help me, Liv. You don’t have the skills to take on Thurrond.”

  Well, duh. “I’m not saying I’m going to take on Thurrond. But you can’t bring in a mercenary army into Laurie Falls and expect everything to go smooth. You haven’t lived here for years. I’m basically a local at this point. I know how this town works. I know how Thurrond works.”

  “How the hell do you know how Thurrond works?”

  “I used to date one of his guys, remember? Trevor Harkon.”

  Slade groaned.

  “What?”

  “I’m just trying to see you with one of Thurrond’s lackeys.”

  She frowned and tried to contain her anger. “You were one of his lackeys!”

  “And look where that got the woman I loved.”

  She was quiet. It was hard to argue with the dead wife thing. “Fine. I was an idiot. Trust me, after dating Trevor for a few years, I came to that conclusion too. But I know people. I know connections. If you think that things will be easier with me miles away, you’re wrong. I’m not asking you to give me a gun or anything. Believe it or not, I don’t want to die. But I do want to help. I want to keep Josh safe. That’s all I want.”

  “You have one day to show me what you can do to help. Does that sound fair?”

  She opened her mouth to argue with him, but stopped herself. Actually, yes, that did sound fair. But right now she kind of wanted to keep fighting. She knew it wasn’t an adult reaction to the situation, but it was how she felt, damn it. “Where are you sleeping?” she asked, changing the subject rather than agree with him.

  “Toni and Hart are taking Melissa’s room. Tristan is sleeping in Josh’s bed and Hunter and I are rotating the couch.”

  “Why don’t you stay here?” The words were out before she could help herself. Logically it made sense and didn’t make sense at the same time. She had the largest bed in the house. Out of principle, she didn’t want to give it up, but it was a shame that Hunter and Slade had to share when she could share. But she wasn’t about to offer to let Hunter stay in her bed.

  “I’m not going to be a platonic bedmate, Olivia.”

  She noticed he didn’t say no. Was that good? It had been an impulsive offer. He was giving her the chance to back out. To say it was a mistake. He would go off and leave her alone so she could sleep in the peace and quiet and loneliness of her bedroom.

  “I didn’t think you would,” she said.

  He looked over and met her eyes. His stare was intense and needy. A sign that his previous words about his desire for her weren’t a lie. He really did want to push her back against the bed.

  “Liv, I’m tired. Normally I like to think my self-control is there, but right now I’m not so sure. So chose your next words carefully. Do you want me to stay or go?”

  So somehow her self-control was supposed to stay intact? She’d just watched her two favorite people in the world drive away, and now her only ally in this town might be the most dangerous man she’d ever met. Sure. She totally had self-control. “Neither. I don’t want you to go because I don’t want to be alone, and I don’t want you to stay because that would be a mistake. No doubt about it.”

  He stared at her, practically vibrating with intensity. She needed to tell him no and just shut the door to anything possibly happening, but somehow she just couldn’t bring herself to slam that door. “But...” she finally said. “Some mistakes are worth making, aren’t they?”

  And just like that, Slade walked over to her, cupping her face between his hands and capturing her mouth in a devastating kiss.

  This was different from earlier that night. That had been unexpected and exploratory. But now they both knew exactly where this kiss was leading. They both knew what they were getting into.

  And that didn’t stop Liv from kissing Slade with everything that was in her. She kissed him until she didn’t remember his past. Until she didn’t remember her own. She just followed her instincts, and every fiber of her being wanted this. Every cell in her body seemed to draw her to him, and right now, in her exhausted, adrenaline hangover mind, she couldn’t fight that urge.

  The kiss was devouring. It wasn’t neat or clean. His teeth pushed against hers as his tongue teased just inside her mouth. When she did manage to pull her mouth from his, it wasn’t because she wanted to get away. It was to give her better access to his jaw and neck as their fever continued on. Slade started to push her back to the bed and she didn’t even realize they were moving until the mattress hit the back of her thighs.

  She started to emerge from the fever, but then Slade was pulling her modest flannel pajama top over her head and she was right back under his spell. He ran his hands up and down the curve of her waist and back and shoulders and stomach, seemingly unable to get enough of her. She bit back a moan every time he got close to her breasts, but he teas
ed her, never staying anywhere for too long.

  When her frustration became too much to bear, she decided turnabout was fair play and she tugged at his shirt.

  He moved his mouth from hers just long enough for her to throw the shirt on the floor. As soon as he was bared, he kissed her once more, pressing her bare chest against his. It was one more reminder of how wrong this was, but the very idea of stopping now seemed unimaginable. She’d deal with the consequences in the light of day.

  Because right now, she was still in survival mode. She remembered the sound of the bullets crashing into the vet clinic. The smell of broken glass and dust. For a moment, she thought she’d never make it out alive. That was it. She’d never see Josh or Melissa or even her family again. Well, she didn’t care as much about her real family. Mostly the surrogate one.

  Everything seemed to pass in a blur, and all of a sudden, Slade’s hand hooked behind her thighs; she fell back against the bed, but Slade never left her. He followed her descent and ended up pressed right between her thighs. Even through his jeans and her pajama bottoms, she could feel the bulge of his erection.

  Some primitive part of her took over and she pushed her hips up against his, feeling that bulge exactly where she wanted it to be. She let out a groan and wrapped her arms around his big shoulders, holding him closer as she kept on moving, unable to stop herself.

  Slade’s mouth moved against hers before traveling along her jaw and the sensitive skin of her neck. He kissed every inch of skin as though he couldn’t get enough. And as his mouth worked its magic, his hands did the same, running along the curve of her waist to gently cup her breasts, pushing them up and ready for his mouth to take over.

  The sensation was too much. Liv’s eyes alternated between drifting shut and popping open in surprise as he found some other way to tantalize her. And then his hand moved over her stomach and past the waistband of her pajamas. When his fingers touched her right on that little bundle of nerves that seemed to be waiting for him, he looked up, meeting her eyes with his.