The Cocky Thief (Stolen Hearts Book 1)

by Mallory Crowe

  If he’d been planning this on his own, he would’ve already memorized the blueprints, but Hart really didn’t want to give him any breaks.

  “Hi Mom!” Jennifer ran out of the limo and hugged Isobel. Melody came out and stood awkwardly by. She glanced over to him and he looked away. He had a feeling that girl had enough problems without having to deal with strangers getting a look at her personal life.

  “And my Melody! The song that makes my heart sing! Come here, baby!”

  Austin did glance over just in time to see Melody roll her eyes, but she did give her mother a hug. Right as he finished helping the driver pull out the mounds of Jennifer’s luggage and the one bag that apparently belonged to Melody, the owner of the large property walked out.

  Greg Stranger. Austin once again pulled up everything he’d found out about the man. Stranger was the banker to the billionaires. He was known in proper society as a wizard with money, but respectable folks didn’t know the real reason he got that nickname. It wasn’t because he was a master at investing.

  It was because he could take anyone’s dirty money and run it through all the right Swiss and Cayman Island bank accounts to make it appear clean on even the most intense IRS audits. Only after he took his healthy share of the profits, of course.

  No. This entire mansion was bought with dirty money and, judging from the way that Jennifer Murray glared at him as if he were a snake about to swallow her family whole, she was all too aware of this.

  Melody kept her guard up, but that wasn’t unusual from the little he knew about her.

  Isobel appeared as happy as could be as her fiancé joined her on the driveway. “Gregory! Come here! I need you to meet my girls! Oh, I can’t believe you all haven’t met yet. Greg, this is my eldest Jennifer, and my Melody.”

  Austin remembered that Jennifer had introduced Melody as a middle sister, which meant there was at least one more Murray sibling running around. Time would tell whether she was going to show up eventually.

  Stranger smiled as he went in for a hug with the two girls. Austin could tell that a hug was the last thing Jennifer wanted, but she seemed to go along with it. Melody gave him a quick squeeze and then the sisters both huddled together.

  Stranger went back to Isobel and set a hand over her shoulders, oblivious of the discomfort he’d caused. “Don’t worry about the luggage,” he said to Austin and the driver. “I’ll have my people take care of it. Thanks for your services.”

  Austin took his bag and moved away from the car. He didn’t want to be mistaken for a driver on his first meeting with his mark. “I’m actually here on behalf of Luther, Kent and Lang. I have the paperwork you requested.”

  Stranger gave him a quick discerning look. “Chris Luther couldn’t make it?”

  And this was what Hart was supposed to prevent. “I thought you’d been informed. Luther had a bad stomach bug. We’d hate to get all the guests at the event of the decade sick.”

  Stranger nodded slowly. “I appreciate the thought.” He disengaged his arm from Isobel. “Let’s go over a few things.”

  Austin knew that if he left his bag, someone would make sure it got to his room, but he wasn’t about to take the chance. So he collected his briefcase and tilted the roller bag to trail behind him as he followed Stranger inside.

  The inside was as elaborate as the outside. The kind of place that wasn’t supposed to look good, but was made to look rich. It was a house that was never lived in, but purely existed so Stranger could show off his status.

  They turned down a hall to the left and Austin made sure to keep up.

  “It’s unfortunate that Chris couldn’t make it,” said Stranger. “I was hoping to catch up. It has been too long since I’ve talked to him. How are his girls doing?”

  Fuck, Austin hated testing questions. Luckily, he was more than prepared for this one. “Allison is doing great. She’s just taken the lead in the school’s production of Fiddler on the Roof. The oldest of the daughters to be married off, I think.” Chris Luther only had one daughter, so Austin decided to keep quiet rather than correct Stranger. Theoretically, Stranger was one of the firm’s biggest clients. Which meant that as long as Austin was there, he needed to remain in firm ass-kissing mode.

  Stranger led them into a wood-paneled office with bookshelves filled with books that had probably never been touched. “You brought the paperwork, correct?”

  “The foundation of any strong marriage.” Austin tapped his briefcase.

  Stranger grinned. “This was her idea, just so you know. I would’ve asked her eventually, but she wanted me to be sure that she was going into this for the right reasons.”

  Austin had his doubts about how firmly Stranger believed that. Mainly because he was telling a complete stranger. “That’s great to hear,” said Austin. “Trust is one of the most important factors in any relationship.”

  “True!” Stranger pulled open a cabinet and poured himself a glass of a brown liquid. “Brandy?”

  Logically, he should say no. But this was a power play. Stranger needed to feel that he had the advantage, even if that meant Austin had to raise his blood alcohol level. “Sure.” Besides, he wasn’t planning to steal anything in the next few hours. At least nothing hard to steal.

  Stranger poured him a glass and set it on the edge of his desk before he took a seat behind the computer. Austin followed suit and sat across from him as he took a deep drink of the brandy.

  “You know I’m going to have to call Chris, right?” said Stranger.

  Austin smiled. “I wouldn’t expect any different.” He calmly took another drink of the brandy. “I can give you his personal number if you want.”

  “Oh no. I’ve got it already.”

  Of course, he did. Just at that moment, two other men entered the office. Both wore suits, but neither looked like businessmen. For starters, the blond on the right looked as if he could bench-press a truck and the bald guy on the left had some nasty-looking burns on the side of his neck that would immediately identify him as a threat to everyone he met.

  Obviously, Stranger was serious. So if Hart didn’t pull through on his end of the deal, Austin was a dead man here and now. But if he looked nervous, he’d be raising suspicions even more, so he took one more sip of his drink and settled into his seat. Normally he’d look at his phone during awkward moments like this, but if Stranger saw him go for his cell, he’d think Austin was trying to contact someone. So he decided to go for his default setting. Smart ass. He looked over his shoulder to the blond. “If you’re taking orders, I could use a mojito after this.” The guard just glared at him, but didn’t say anything. “Fresh mint only, though. None of that synthetic crap.”

  Stranger let out a chuckle but didn’t tell Austin to shut up. At least the mark had a sense of humor. Austin could appreciate that. But then he was dialing and Austin stayed quiet. Just a few more seconds...

  “Hey, Chris. It’s Greg here. I was just getting better acquainted with your man here.”

  Austin took a drink, finishing the last of the brandy, hoping the glass would hide his emotions. He could lie with the best of them, but everyone had tells they couldn’t control.

  “Austin Raye, yep. Okay, buddy. I appreciate the confirmation. You get better now, you hear?”

  Stranger hung up and Austin smiled at him. “I got the all clear then?” Good job, Hart. He didn’t know what the son of a bitch had done, but somehow he got Luther to cover for them. Cheers to that.

  “Chris sounded like shit. Hopefully it clears up soon.”

  “One can only hope.” Austin set his empty glass back on the desk.

  “So, here’s the deal. I invited Chris here as a friend. Now, this whole week is going to be packed with one thing after another. All this shit Isobel wanted. I had a room set up for Chris, but if you’d rather get the paperwork out of the way and get out of here, I can arrange that.”

  Austin picked his next words carefully. “That’s generous of you, but honestly, if I went
home before the big day, the partners would have my ass. So, if you don’t mind, I might just be hanging around a little longer.”

  One side of Stranger’s mouth hooked up. “Don’t mind at all, Mr. Raye. Welcome to the vineyard.”

  “Oh, I can’t wait for you two to see your rooms! It’s just gorgeous out here. Tonight will be the welcome dinner and tomorrow will be the rehearsal, so you will need all the rest you can get to keep up your stamina.”

  Jennifer and Mel exchanged a look and for a second it was as if they were kids again, following their mother on yet another eccentric adventure and never knowing what was around the corner. But then Jennifer got another look at Mel. The jeans that didn’t fit and the circles under her eyes. She wore a cheap-looking silver heart pendant necklace and Jennifer could only hope it wasn’t a gift from Ben.

  Damn it. If she ever got her hands on that ex-husband of hers, she was going to have words. Screw that—she was past words. Her fists could do the talking. And her Taser. And maybe she’d throw in her pepper spray for fun.

  But before she could plan out her revenge on behalf of her sister, she needed to figure out what they were doing here. “Mom, can we slow down? I have a few questions.”

  “Here we are,” she said in a singsong voice. “I mentally earmarked this room for Jennifer, but Melody, you can feel free to fight it out if you want to.”

  When they walked into the lush bedroom with the four-poster bed, Jennifer saw that her luggage was already in the back corner. “It looks great, Mom.” She turned to her sister. “What do you say? Want to duke it out?”

  Mel let out a small laugh. “I think I’ll let you have this one. I’m sure every bedroom here is just as beautiful.”

  Damn it. Jennifer would give anything to hear the fight back in Melody’s voice. Fight later. Answers now. “Mom, I really need to talk to you. Who the hell is Gregory Stranger and why are you marrying him?”

  Isobel tightened her lips and widened her eyes. “Come on. This is a happy occasion. Now you two get changed and I can’t wait to show you around the premises. Come, Melody, and I’ll show you your room. It’s just next door.” Isobel started for the hallway, but stopped next to Jennifer and took both of her hands. “Don’t worry, honey. I have answers for all your questions.” Right before she let go, Isobel squeezed Jennifer’s hands. She squeezed two times in quick succession.

  As quickly as it happened, it was over. “Are you ready, Melody? I think the bedspread in your room is just divine. You’re going to love it.”

  Melody and Isobel were gone and Jennifer was left alone in the room. She let out a deep sigh as she sat on the high bed. Her suspicions were officially confirmed. Jennifer knew exactly what the squeeze meant.

  It meant they were being watched. And if Isobel thought her future husband was spying on them, it was pretty much certain this wasn’t a love match. So what exactly were they getting themselves into?

  “Thanks, guys. I can take it from here,” said a familiar voice in the hallway.

  Jennifer slipped off her heels as she made her way to the door right as Austin disappeared in the room directly across from hers. Logic told her to ignore him, but curiosity had always been a weakness.

  Her bare feet were silent on the stone tiles in the hall, so she had a few seconds watching Austin as he slid off the black suit jacket. The very same jacket that she’d pushed off his shoulders just an hour ago. Okay, she was starting to regret the whole thing less and less.

  She knew she didn’t make a noise, but Austin still paused right after he threw the jacket onto the bed before he pivoted around to see her.

  She leaned against the doorframe and grinned. “The room right across from mine. Why am I not surprised?”

  He slowly approached as he undid the cuffs of his shirt. “That’s something you’ll learn about me. I’m incredibly lucky.”

  Considering the unexpected interruption of her sister, she had her doubts about his luck, but didn’t mention it. She was enjoying this too much. “Just because you’re right here, that doesn’t mean you can come knocking on my door in the middle of the night.”

  “Funny. Because right now you’re the one at my door.”

  “Well, I never said I couldn’t come knocking on yours.”

  “That doesn’t sound fair.”

  “Fair isn’t fun. A little imbalance makes life interesting.”

  By this point, he’d reached her and was just a few inches away. “Why don’t you shut that door and we can really get the game going?”

  The high-pitched sound of Isobel’s laughter filled the hallway, a sudden wet blanket on their banter. “I have to go. Family obligations.”

  Austin cocked his head but didn’t argue with her. “You’re going to make this week more complicated for me, you know?”

  She shrugged. “Complicated is my specialty. It’s a gift and a curse.”

  He smiled down at her and let out what almost sounded like a wistful sigh. “You’re something else. Makes me—”

  Jennifer couldn’t help her curiosity. “Makes you what?”

  “Makes me wish we had more time.” The singsong tones of Isobel’s voice broke through the silence once more. “And more privacy.”

  It was a stark reminder that Jennifer shouldn’t even be there. She should be reconnecting with her sister and trying to find out what was happening to her mother, not flirting with, admittedly gorgeous, strangers. Something about Austin seemed to cloud her judgment and draw her like a moth right toward the electric lamp.

  Sometimes the Isobel side of her liked to take over. All impulse and id. Her father had given her nothing good but her logical side and she hadn’t gotten a strong helping of it. Just enough to get her this far.

  “Will you be sticking around a few days then?”

  “For as long as they’ll let me.”

  As much as she wanted to believe that she and the sexy lawyer could spend their spare time getting better acquainted with their bedrooms, she knew that this week probably wasn’t going to turn into a relaxing retreat for either of them. “As fun as this was, I can’t promise we’ll see much of each other.”

  For his part, the lawyer didn’t play the “poor me and my blue balls” act. “I guess we each have pressing matters to attend to.”

  “Meet you downstairs in ten, dear?” asked Isobel.

  Jennifer tried to remain cool, but having her mom catch her flirting with the lawyer caused a blush to creep up her cheeks. “I’ll see you in ten.”

  “Duty calls?” asked Austin.

  She stepped away from the door. “Yep. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

  “Maybe I can even make you blush again,” said Austin right before he shut the door.

  She couldn’t help the smile as she retreated back to her own room and gently closed the door. Now was not the time for this, damn it. Still, she smiled the entire time as she changed out of her skirt and blouse and into her boot-cut jeans, loose-fitting silk tank top that was the same gray as her eyes, and some black boots with a low, thick heel. If she was walking on grass, she didn’t want to put holes in the perfectly manicured lawn.

  After she put her hair in a high ponytail and refreshed her makeup, she made her way back to the hallway. Austin’s door was still shut, but she wasn’t going there. Instead, she went to her sister’s room and knocked on the fancy oak. Every single door in this place probably cost thousands of dollars. Every detail in this place seemed to go the extra mile. Jennifer couldn’t think of a more beautiful place to get married. Except she wasn’t feeling any warm fuzzies at the moment.

  Mel opened the door a few seconds later. Mel had already been in jeans and tennis shoes, so she hadn’t had to change like Jennifer. Ugh, what she’d give to introduce her sister to a good under-eye concealer.

  “Mom wanted to meet us downstairs. Want to walk together?”

  “Yeah. Let me just grab my phone.”

  Jennifer took the chance to take a look around Mel’s room. It was pretty muc
h the same as hers. Different comforter and no four posters on the bed, but same size and each room had a great view of the vineyard outside.

  “Okay. Let’s go.”

  For a few seconds, they walked in silence. Jennifer really wished the words came faster while she was with her sister than they did when she was flirting with the sexy lawyer. Why had she ever let Mel push her away like this? “So...” she finally started. “No more Ben, then?” Might as well jump right into the deep end. Her sister knew her better than anyone already.

  Mel rubbed at the back of her neck. “Yeah...he was good in theory.”

  “Most guys are.” Except Austin. He seemed to be good in practice as well. Though she doubted saying that would help Mel.

  Mel pushed a piece of dark auburn hair behind her ear. “Looking back, I feel so stupid. There were so many signs—”

  “You should never feel stupid.” Jennifer stopped and looked her sister right in the eyes. “And if he was enough of an ass to make you feel that way, obviously he’s the one with the problems.”

  “Nice words, but you don’t know anything about the situation.”

  “Yeah, but we can talk about it. And the more I understand, the more certain I’ll be that he’s a moron. Because you’re one of the smartest people I know and anyone who makes you feel this way deserves to be punished. Understand?”

  The corners of Mel’s mouth hooked up and for the first time since she crawled into that limo, Jennifer thought the smile was genuine. Good. Maybe this whole week would be worth it, no matter what Isobel had planned.

  When they reached the lower level entryway, Isobel was waiting for them. Once again she seemed overjoyed and led them out the backdoor and to the vineyards, sprouting out random facts about the property. “The house is a perfect example of nineteenth-century architecture. Gregory has gone through painstaking trouble to keep every detail maintained, or at least in line with how it was originally intended to be viewed.