The Vengeful Thief (Stolen Hearts Book 5)

by Mallory Crowe

  Slade let out a breath that sounded more like a growl of frustration. Tristan knew damn well how useful he could be, and Slade wasn’t about to take a moment to stroke the man’s ego now. “I need to get Liv out myself.”

  Hart stepped forward and motioned for Slade to follow him with a jerk of his head. Slade didn’t want to follow anyone’s orders right now. He wanted to punch someone or shoot something. He wanted action, and all this talking was just making his anxiety worse. You want to know what made anxiety better? Shooting something, that was what.

  “You have to make a choice right now,” said Hart soft enough so the others couldn’t hear him. “You have to choose between doing what you know is smart and doing what you feel like you need to.”

  “I can’t let her die,” he said. “No matter what, I can’t let anything happen to Liv.”

  “Then be smart. You trust Tristan, right?”

  “Every other word out of his mouth is a lie.”

  “But you trust him,” insisted Hart. “So trust him now. Trust him to save her, and the two of us, you and I, can end this now.”

  The time seemed to tick by at a glacial pace. She stared at the clock on the far side of the restaurant and willed the hands to move faster. Every second she sat there waiting for Thurrond to finally get sick of waiting and kill her was its own form of torture.

  Trevor sat a few feet away from her and nursed some sort of drink. Even though he was supposed to be watching her, he had barely been able to look in her direction. Good. She didn’t want him to see her like this. She didn’t want him to see her at all. Right now, her opinion of Trevor was that he didn’t even deserve to look at her.

  Not that she was much to look at right now. Every breath sent agony through her ribs, and when she tried to even test her bonds, the rope would cut into her wrists and ankles, seeming to mock her futile attempts.

  She tried to look around her small corner of the restaurant for anything she could use to break free, but there was nothing even remotely sharp. The chairs had round legs. The table legs were square but worn from years of use.

  Thurrond had locked himself up in the back, thank goodness. As disgusted as she was with Trevor, at least she wasn’t afraid of him beating her. He might have said Slade wasn’t coming for her, but Thurrond shut himself up in a windowless, locked room. Not even his office, which had a great set of windows overlooking Laurie Falls. But some pantry or something from what she could tell by the chatter amongst his guys. He was scared of something, that was certain.

  She kept on imagining Slade barging through the door, guns blazing and demanding she be released to him. Sure, she’d probably get caught in the crossfire, but she was probably about to die. She was allowed to fantasize about whatever she wanted.

  She let her head fall back against the wall, and before she could even close her eyes, everything went black. It took her a fraction longer than she was proud of to realize she wasn’t dreaming. The power had gone out.

  She stiffened and sat up, looking through the darkness to figure out whether this was just a power surge or something worse....

  A second later, a match was struck, filling the room with a bright then soft glow as Trevor lit one of the candles in the old centerpiece in front of him. He looked around the room, his eyes bouncing between each shadowed nook and cranny as he tried to see any threat. Three other guys, the ones who brought her in, all filed into the room, guns drawn, and waited for Slade to make his move.

  Liv sat up and wished she could be some sort of help. But she tugged at her wrists once more only for the pain to hit her again. Damn it, she was stronger than this. She was supposed to be stronger than this, at least. She wanted to be a woman Josh could look up to. A woman Slade could be proud of. And here she was, nothing more than bait.

  “Check the perimeter,” ordered Trevor to the other guys. “Get the power back on and shoot anyone you see on the way.”

  Once they were gone, she knew this was her chance to use the only weapon she had. Her voice. “Trevor,” she whispered.

  “Not now,” he said, still looking around for any threat.

  “Do you really think you’re going to make it out of this alive?”

  “I’m not the one tied up,” he pointed out.

  “I’m not the one who’s going to kill you. Slade doesn’t travel alone. If it’s not him, one of his men will kill you just for fun. His men are really loyal. Not just for money or security. Out of love and a shared history. A way you’d never understand. Even if you win this battle, you’re signing your death warrant right now.”

  “Shut up,” he snapped.

  “One way or another, Thurrond is a dead man. Now you have to decide if you want to be in the unmarked grave with him or if you want to give yourself a chance to start over.”

  “Shut up!” he screamed.

  “Your fearless leader is hiding in an office right now, leaving you to die. Now give me a knife. You don’t even have to do anything. Just give me a knife and turn away. It won’t be your fault. Slade came for me. You never stood a chance.”

  “Thurrond will kill me,” he bit out.

  “Thurrond is going to be dead by the end of the night,” she snapped back, not doubting for a second that the words were true. “Now do you want to be on the winning side of this or not?”

  Trevor was silent so long that she was sure her ploy had failed. She hadn’t gotten Trevor to turn away from Thurrond when they were dating. What were the chances she could do it now?

  But then something clattered to the floor and she could hear the skidding until something thudded into her thigh. She leaned forward, feeling around frantically, ignoring the pain in her side as she touched the cold blade. He’d done it. He’d really given her a knife.

  She kept from letting out a sigh of relief because she knew he could change his mind at any minute.

  The knife wasn’t serrated, but it was sharper than the silverware she was hoping for. It was making quick work of the rope, but she could only do small little saws back and forth as she willed the rope to give way. Come on....

  And then the lights came back on.

  Thurrond let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. His heart raced and the feeling was damn uncomfortable. Fear. He could taste it in his mouth. When was the last time he had felt honest-to-goodness fear? Probably ten years ago. The night he’d gone to visit Lacey in the hospital. The memory still burned and filled him with a rage and anger that seemed to sting every part of him.

  He pushed himself up from his chair and walked to the door. He was no slave to fear. He was the one people ran from. Hid from. Begged for mercy. If anyone should be afraid, it was Peter. He was going to lose everything tonight, goddamn it. Thurrond wasn’t going to rest until it happened, too.

  After opening the door, he stepped into the body of the restaurant only to see Trevor unconscious on the ground and a stranger standing over him. The tall man turned around and the son of a bitch smiled at Thurrond. “Oh, hi there.”

  Thurrond lifted his gun and pointed it at the stranger. “Where is the girl?” he demanded, pointing his head to the now cut ropes he’d given his men to bind her.

  “Where do you think? She went running home to Prince Charming.”

  “And you stand here and mock me. What the fuck do you expect me to do with you?”

  “Funny story about that. I’m actually here to help you.”

  Thurrond debated whether he should just shoot the man now. “How the fuck are you going to help me?”

  “A friendly warning. Right now, at Slade’s house, all your men are dying and/or turning against you. I figured you’d want to know.”

  “You son of a bitch. You think you can come here, to my town, to my fucking territory that I have earned, and take everything away from me.”

  The cocky son of a bitch was going to die now. He aimed his gun right as the power went out again. A lone candle on a nearby table cast the only light in the room, but he couldn’t see the son of
a bitch anymore. Thurrond ran forward, but the man was gone.

  He was alone in the restaurant.

  Slade looked over to the little red blinking light next to him. It was starting. He stuck the earbud Toni had given him in his ear and rolled his neck, trying to get used to the feeling. He wasn’t high tech enough for this shit. “Are we ready?” he asked into the earpiece.

  “We’re all set,” said Toni.

  Slade checked his weapons before he stepped out of his car. It had been a risk to leave the house, but he wasn’t about to let Tristan face Thurrond alone. Not when Liv was at stake.

  “Tristan says the girl is clear,” said Hart.

  Slade clenched his jaw. It was good news. One more piece of good news. Every piece was falling into place. All he had to do was step up and take the revenge he’d wanted for years. The revenge he’d wanted since he lost Lacey. Since he had to abandon his son. Since he gave years of his life to Sterling. Since Thurrond had the balls to put his hands on Liv.

  Everything came back to him in one moment, and even though he was about to win, it didn’t feel like a victory. Just one more step.

  The parking lot at Antonio’s wasn’t empty. In fact, it was full. Full of cars and full of guys. Various men who had worked with Thurrond for years. Slade saw Ken and Ray in the crowd. He even saw Trevor run out the front door. Trevor was on his shit list too, but he wasn’t Slade’s focus for the night.

  Trevor stumbled once he saw the crowd gathered and looked around in confusion. Slade didn’t trust himself to confront the man, so he said to the earpiece, “Toni, can you handle him?”

  Toni, as the only woman among them, was much less threatening on first sight. She stood in front of the crowd and raised a brow at Trevor. “So you’re the asshole ex, I hear.”

  Well, at least threatening didn’t mean not outspoken.

  Trevor’s eyes were still wide in surprise as he looked out at all of Thurrond’s guys behind Toni. “What’s going on?”

  “This is what we call a hostile takeover.” Hart stepped up next to Toni. “In a minute, Thurrond isn’t going to be your boss anymore. So I want you to think very carefully about what side you want to be on.”

  “Or I’ll shoot you,” added Toni.

  “Remind me not to let Toni handle the sensitive talks anymore.” Slade rolled his eyes.

  Hart held out a hand. “The big showdown is about to happen. Why don’t you come with us?” He ushered Trevor out of the way and Slade continued his walk to the front of the pack.

  He met Trevor’s gaze for a moment. He couldn’t hide his disdain for the man, but he took comfort knowing that he’d blown up his car. Sometimes it was the little things.

  And then the door to Antonio’s opened again and Thurrond walked out, gun in hand. Like Trevor, he looked around in shock at all of his men standing in a crowd around him, except his shock quickly turned to anger. “What are you doing?” he screamed. He pointed his gun at Slade. “Kill him! Do your fucking jobs!”

  A few of the guys whispered among themselves and he could sense the unease. These were Thurrond’s guys. They weren’t used to ignoring orders.

  Well, they were under new orders now. “Hi, Tiger,” said Slade as he regarded his enemy.

  “You.” Thurrond lifted up the gun. “You son of a—”

  Slade didn’t hesitate as he took out his Glock and fired. The entire action was over in half a second. Thurrond fell over, his shirt immediately turning red with the blood. He coughed and sputtered to the ground and Slade just stared for a moment.

  He wasn’t the same guy Thurrond used to boss around. He supposed he’d finally proved that now. Slade stepped forward until he stood over Thurrond and kicked the gun away. “This ends now,” he warned.

  “I have more men,” he choked out.

  “No, you don’t. Loyalty is earned. Not bought. I think it’s time you learned that.” And then he walked away. And right before he walked into Antonio’s, he saw the crowd closing in on Thurrond.

  He went past the empty tables and straight to the kitchen until he reached the back pantry. When he pulled open the door, he let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding as Liv ran to him, throwing her arms around him.

  “I’m so happy to see you,” she breathed into his ear. “It hurts to move, but I don’t think I’m ever going to let you go.”

  He let out a little laugh as he let his head fall to her shoulder. He breathed in her scent and promised himself he would never let her get hurt again. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  She pulled away a little bit and looked up at him. “I didn’t screw everything up, did I?”

  “What are you talking about? Of course you didn’t screw anything up.”

  “I mean, you had a plan and everything. I don’t want Thurrond to get away because I got myself kidnapped.”

  He shook his head before he kissed her right on the forehead. “You’re worth changing plans for. I love you, Liv. I’ll always come for you.”

  “You idiot. You barely know me.” She pushed her face into his chest.

  Not exactly the reaction he thought he’d get to his profession of love. “I know how I feel.”

  “I’m an idiot too,” she said softly, still muffled against his shirt. “I was so scared I’d never see you again.”

  Slade smiled. The first time in a long time that he remembered genuinely smiling. “Let’s go home. We can start over. For real this time.”

  “Like a normal home?”

  He frowned as he thought of all the explosive booby traps Toni had set up along the perimeter. “Normal is a strong word....”

  “Sex hair is the worst.”

  Payton let out a laugh and ran a hand through her own curls. “Right? I told you! So I take it you and Peter had a fun reunion last night?”

  Oh yes. Slade, er, Peter, and her had had a very nice reunion. They’d decided that if they were going to be serious, she would need to start calling him by his first name.

  “So things are going... well? You’re not looking for a new place anymore?”

  Yeah. The idea of moving out and having a “normal” courtship with Peter had seemed like such a good idea at the time. But between Slade working out-of-town jobs and the ever pressing need to be with him every moment of the day, moving out seemed foolish. “No. I think we’re going to try the reckless route for a little bit. Melissa is thinking about getting a new place, though.”

  “Good for her. She’s spent too much time sacrificing her life for her family. She deserves some free and fun years.”

  It was easy for Payton to say considering she had excelled at the free and fun years. But Melissa was different. She was the uber-responsible type who thrived with structure and order. And now, the very fears that Liv had faced when Peter came back were now a reality for Melissa. Because with Peter and Liv around for Josh, Melissa wasn’t one of his two mothers anymore. She was the aunt. A role she’d never really felt before.

  Peter had insisted that Melissa stay as long as she wanted, but Melissa had made her feelings clear. Peter was trying to make it as easy as possible for her by getting her a job with Hart Securities. A desk job that kept her out of danger, but it would also allow her to travel. A chance for her to truly find herself. But all this was information she couldn’t give to Payton. As far as she knew, Peter was a security consultant and that was it. They never told anyone the reason he was assumed dead. People would always talk, but that was Peter’s secret to keep.

  Thanks to him getting Thurrond out of town, the townsfolk were all exceptionally grateful to have him back. He was somewhat of a local hero. There were a few people who were sour about the loss of income—mainly the owner of Antonio’s, who now had to learn to cook decent Italian food, and some of the thugs who now had to find real jobs. But for the majority, not having the constant threat of Thurrond around was a relief.

  “I hope she is happy,” said Liv honestly. On some level, she always felt she owed her life to Melissa. But now that s
he and Peter were so happy and it was looking as if Josh was more than happy with the new partnership, she felt complete in a way she never knew she was missing.

  “What you ladies talking about?”

  Liv smiled and whipped around to see Slade walking over to them. She didn’t try to hide her joy as she ran up to him and threw herself into his arms.

  “Sex hair,” supplied Payton helpfully with a wink.

  Liv ignored her friend. “What are you doing here?” she breathed. “You were supposed to be taking it easy for a few days.” As much as he liked to act as though he was working a desk job for Hart Securities, she knew he was still working in the field.

  “I can sleep later. I wanted to take you and Josh for an early dinner. But please, I don’t want to interrupt. What were you saying about sex hair?”

  She bit her lip and looked at him under her lashes. “I was just telling Payton that I need a lot more of it.”

  ~~~THE END~~~

  THE CUNNING THIEF

  Coming January 2018!

  Don't believe a word he says.

  Don't look in his eyes.

  Don't let him inside.

  And whatever you do, don't kiss him.

  The next thing you know, Tristan will take everything you own. And Shae is about to find out exactly how dangerous it can be to trust the Cunning Thief.

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  Check out all of Mallory Crowe's Books!

  Billionaires In The City Series

  Teaching The Boss

  Teasing The Boss

  Tempting The Boss

  Devereaux Billionaires Series

  Touching Jace

  Trusting Michael

  Testing Luke

  Taming Rourke

  Fractured Farrells; A Damaged Billionaire Series

  Ruthless