The Cocky Thief (Stolen Hearts Book 1)

by Mallory Crowe

  “The jewel thief named Jennifer,” she bit back. “Now tell me your name.”

  “Austin. I didn’t lie to you about that. Austin Miles.”

  Jennifer let out a sigh and she started back toward the baggage claim.

  Austin stayed close. “Are you surprised I’m not dead?”

  She thought back to the countless times last night she’d wondered that. “No,” she finally answered honestly. “You strike me as a survivor.” One of the things she’d liked about him. Every single time she’d thought about all the horrors he’d endure if he’d been captured, some part of her had known that he would’ve gotten out of it somehow.

  “So that’s why you decided to abandon me in the middle of a field with no necklace?”

  “You had a gun,” she pointed out.

  “And you had my necklace.”

  She stopped again and looked up at him. “No. We did all the work. Do you know how hard that would be to steal if it was still in Sterling’s possession? A heat, weight, and moisture monitored vault on one of his most heavily guarded properties. It would be impossible to get in. Isobel got that necklace where we could touch it and now you want to swoop in and walk off with it and have the nerve to claim I took your score?”

  He set a hand at the small of her back and kept on leading her out. “Since we’re being honest with each other, I have to admit something. I don’t give a damn about the necklace.”

  Jennifer almost stumbled at the admission. “If you don’t care about the Dragon Heart, why are you here?”

  “I’m here because I was hired to get the necklace by a crazy ex-cop and we’re invested in making sure Sterling and Stranger don’t get it back. Which, in this case, means they don’t get you, assuming you’re the one who has the Dragon Heart. What are the chances you’re going to tell me which one of you actually has it? I don’t feel like playing the shell game with the Murray family.”

  “If you get me to my mom and sister, I’ll tell you everything you want to know about the necklace. Do you have anyone going to get them or are you working alone?”

  “I sent the crazy ex-cop to the train station to pick up Isobel.”

  “No one for Melody?”

  “There’s only two of us. I had to choose the most likely target for Stranger and I have a feeling he’s not too happy with his fiancée at the moment. And I had a personal interest in you...”

  She stiffened and tried not to think exactly what he meant by that. This whole day had gotten so fucked. “What did Ajax tell you?”

  “The man just lost a finger. He told us everything.”

  “A little torture doesn’t mean he needed to yammer on about our details. I thought discretion was included in the price.”

  “Don’t be pissed at him. He was doing you a favor. After his personal loss, he figured anyone finding you girls before those guys would be a good thing.”

  On that note, Jennifer looked at her phone once more. No calls. She wanted to call, but with the boarding time approaching, Stranger’s guys might start wandering around the airport, looking for her. Austin had pointed out three, but there were probably more than that. She’d have to wait until they were leaving the airport before she could take the time to let her guard down long enough to make a call.

  “Where are you parked?” she asked.

  “Fourth floor. You didn’t check any baggage, did you?”

  “I didn’t exactly have time to grab my luggage before we left. All I have is this,” she said as she raised her shoulders to emphasize the backpack she was wearing.

  “Good. I like a woman who can travel light.”

  “Thank God I have your approval,” she said sarcastically.

  Austin looked as tired as she felt. He wore what looked like the same shirt and pants from last night, but the jacket was gone. The button-down shirt was no longer tucked and the sleeves were unbuttoned and rolled up, revealing strong forearms with a slight dotting of dark hair.

  Just one more strange thing that her brain kept jumping to. There was nothing worse than knowing she needed to be focused but her mind wouldn’t agree. They made it out of the airport and to the parking garage without any incident. Maybe it was a sign of how cocky the team had been, thinking they knew exactly what flight she was going to be on. She followed Austin out to his car, which was a big black SUV squeezed into the small airport spaces.

  As soon as they were seated, she called Isobel and Mel, but neither answered. “You said someone was going to get my mom. Is he going to scare her off?” Because if some stranger introduced himself to Isobel out of nowhere while they were escaping a successful con, chances were that she wasn’t going to react well.

  “No answer?” Austin turned onto the freeway.

  “No.” She sighed.

  “Can I see the phone? Maybe I’ll have luck.”

  She frowned as she handed the phone over. “Why would you have better luck than me?”

  “Because this.” Austin rolled down his window and before she could stop him, he threw the phone out the window, where it was immediately run over by the car behind them.

  “What the hell?” she screamed as she twisted in her seat to see the shattered remains of the phone become smaller and smaller.

  “If Ajax had your number, that means Stranger has it. If I’m going to rescue you, I’m going to do it right.”

  “I need to be here if my family calls me.”

  Austin handed her an older model flip phone. “Here’s a GPS disabled phone. Number is on the back. Call them from here and leave a message. We’re dumping that phone in twenty-four hours, so they better call you fast.”

  They better call her a whole lot faster than the next twenty-four hours. Jennifer messaged her new temporary phone number to her family and then stared at the phone, willing it to ring.

  “Would you relax? You’re giving me a headache just looking at you.”

  “I’m so sorry I’m inconveniencing you.” She ran a hand through her messy hair before she grabbed a hair tie from her bag and pulled her hair up and into a ponytail. “What’s the plan? Help us just long enough to get the Dragon Heart for yourself?”

  “You really don’t trust me, do you?”

  “When there’s this much money on the table, you can’t trust anyone. You’re a thief. You should know that.”

  “Playing the victim card again? I hate to break it to you but you’re a thief too.”

  “I didn’t lie to you.”

  “Says the woman who walked away with my necklace.”

  “I didn’t know!” she snapped. “Isobel didn’t tell Mel or me about what she was planning, okay? When I met you, I was just a girl going to her mother’s wedding. Everything that happened in that limo was honest. An honest mistake,” she added for good measure.

  “So you were just into me?”

  “I swear, if you turn this into a flatter fest for you, I’m going to make you drop me off right here. Besides, you lied to me about your job, your name, and your purpose for going to Stranger’s wedding. Why exactly did you get in that limo?”

  Austin was quiet for a moment and she thought he wasn’t going to answer. Then he finally said, “I got into the limo because I knew if I arrived at the vineyard with you, I would appear more trustworthy to strangers. But what happened inside the limo was because I wanted it.”

  A rush of heat went to her cheeks. Damn it, she shouldn’t care if he’d really wanted her, but she’d wanted what had happened to be real so badly. Because normally her gut instinct about someone was her most reliable asset. If she couldn’t count on that, she couldn’t count on anything.

  The phone in her lap started to ring and even though she was waiting for a call, she jumped at the unexpected noise that cut through the tense silence. Her mother would be so disappointed.

  Jennifer didn’t recognize the number but answered anyway. “Yes?”

  “Who is this?” asked the masculine voice on the other end.

  “Jennifer,” she said as Aus
tin reached over and took the phone from her hand.

  “Hart? What’s going on? Okay, sounds good. I’ll meet you there.”

  “Well?” asked Jennifer as soon as he hung up.

  “Isobel is safe. We’re going to meet them now.”

  She shook her head. “No. We need to find Mel first.”

  “She could be halfway across the state by now. I just got you away from Stranger’s guys. We’re not going to go back now.”

  “I need to make sure she’s okay, Austin. Now you can help me or you can get in my way. Your choice. One way or another, I’m going to make sure my sister is okay.”

  Austin had a bad feeling about this before they ever got to the car rental place. “How are we supposed to figure out if she was here?”

  “I know the alias she was traveling under. All we have to do is check to see if she got the car or not.”

  “And I’m sure if we just ask nicely they’ll tell us everything we need to know,” he said sarcastically.

  She narrowed her eyes and looked over at him. “Stop acting like you’ve never stolen information before. You know just as well as I do that a little razzle and dazzle is all you need.”

  Austin did know that, but he’d rather be far away from here instead of pushing their luck. After half an hour of fighting with Jennifer, he’d had to face the realization that if he didn’t want her jumping out of the car in the middle of the freeway, he was going to have to give in.

  So now here they were, in one of the least safe locations in the world for them at the moment. Considering there was no sign of Melody or people who would be looking for Melody, Austin figured there was no way this was going to go the way Jennifer wanted it to.

  Because if Stranger’s guys hadn’t found her yet, wouldn’t they still be here? He didn’t know the history between the family, but even back at the vineyard, Jennifer had been protective of Melody. Even this escape route of renting a car and driving off was the safest of all the escape routes.

  “Stay here. I’m going to scout it.”

  She started to open the door and Austin reached over for her. “Don’t you think we should do this together?”

  “We’re going to be together. You’re going to be here and I’m going to be discreetly taking a look. Now I’ll be right back. Besides, if you’re with me, you’ll draw more attention. You’ll probably be able to see me the whole time anyway.” Without waiting for his approval, she jumped out of the car.

  Austin ran a hand over his jaw as he watched her walk the long way around the building. She was good. She had his phone out and stared intently at the screen, but he knew it was just a cover as her shifting eyes took in every detail she needed to. The only reason he could tell what she was doing was because he’d done the same maneuvers.

  The rental building itself was very small, just big enough for the service counter and a few back rooms for employees, but the parking lot with the inventory and different sections for returning cars and cars ready for customers gave Jennifer room to maneuver. But when she disappeared behind the building, he sat up and squinted, willing her to come out. Just because they didn’t see any of Stranger’s guys didn’t mean they weren’t hiding out somewhere.

  The minutes stretched on and he tapped his thumb against the steering wheel. She knew he was waiting for her, so what the hell was taking so long? He glanced at the clock in the dash. She had two minutes before he got out and went after her.

  His eyes darted between the spot he’d seen her disappear and the clock. When she had about ten seconds left, she finally appeared and she jogged back over to the car, looking as calm as could be. Austin let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Fuck, he didn’t know why he was so wound up. It wasn’t the Smithsonian; it was a DriveRite rental place.

  Instead of going back to her seat, Jennifer approached the driver’s side and opened the door. “This is going to be easy. Let’s go.”

  Great. One more job he knew nothing about. “How do you want to work it? Walk in and ask if they’ve seen her?”

  She shook her head. “Too easy to lie. For all we know, Stranger’s guys paid them to stay quiet. I want to get a look at the reservation and see if Melody ever picked it up. So we’re going to do a basic distraction.”

  Okay, he could do that in his sleep. “Which one of us is the distraction?”

  “The two people behind the counter are women.”

  Great. That meant he was up. “Fine. How long do you need?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know how the DriveRite computer system works. You just need to keep them busy. I trust you can do that.” Before he could answer, Jennifer grabbed one of his hands and worked on rolling up one of his sleeves that had come loose, and then ran her hands through his hair to mess it up and then started to tuck the loose ends of his shirt into his pants.

  That was the last straw. His hands shot out, grabbing her wrists and keeping her hands next to his belt buckle. “Next time you stick your hands down my pants, it had better be for something more exciting than being a decoy.”

  Her mouth dropped and a flush of red crept up her cheeks, but she pulled her hands free and took a step back instead of responding. “Then finish getting sexy, Austin. I need you to turn up the heat in there, okay?”

  Austin rolled his eyes as he undid one of the buttons on his shirt. “I could do this in my sleep, okay? You just do what you need to do so we can get the hell out of here.”

  “The back door is open, so you go in and do your thing. I’ll come in from the back.”

  “What are you going to say if you get caught?”

  “You’re going to be so distracting I won’t need to worry about it, will I?”

  Austin sighed. Was he really going to do this? But then she gave him one quick, hopeful glance before she turned and started to head toward the back of the building again. Yep. He was doing this.

  He reached into the SUV and pulled out his remaining coffee and shut the door. Now or never.

  The building was so small that Jennifer could tell the exact moment that Austin walked in. The girls up front had been giggling and laughing over something and once that little bell over the front door rang, everyone was quiet.

  That’s right, girls. Take it all in. Once they started to talk, Jennifer used the opportunity to push open the door she’d found wedged open. Chances were one of the girls was a smoker. Apparently, they didn’t realize the habit was dangerous in more ways than they realized.

  “Ladies, I hate to cause trouble, but I don’t have a reservation but after a bit of an accident this morning, I’m in need of a good car for a few days. Do you think you can help me out?”

  Come on, Austin. She needed to get this done. Get to distracting.

  Then she heard someone squeal and a muttered curse from Austin.

  “I’m so sorry,” said one of the girls.

  “Don’t worry about it,” said Austin. “I’m sure we can get this cleaned up in no time.” Then there was an audible female gasp. “Is there a kitchen or anything? I was always taught to wear clean clothes. Never want to meet a gorgeous woman and not be your best.”

  She rolled her eyes as she peeked from behind the corner to see what was happening. Her jaw dropped as she saw Austin pulling his white shirt off.

  “I, um, I can maybe show you to the break room,” said the girl closest to him as she reached for the shirt.

  “It’s a big stain. I should help too,” said the other clerk.

  If they weren’t sold before, Austin gave this half grin that showed the perfect amount of teeth. “You ladies are too nice. But I need all the help I can get because I don’t know the first thing about this stuff...”

  Good grief, Jennifer was halfway to revealing herself and offering to help him too. She was somehow able to contain herself until they’d walked off. Jennifer snuck back the open door to the break room, not allowing her eyes to linger on the planes and ridges of Austin’s back. She did have a thing for a muscular back...

&nb
sp; She had to give Austin credit, though. The girls had gone back with him without even locking their computer screens. She’d never seen this system before, but it wasn’t too hard for her to bring up the list of reservations for the day. After a few scrolls, there it was. The alias that Ajax had provided to Mel.

  And she’d never picked it up. They’d left the small hotel room two and a half hours ago. What the hell would’ve kept her?

  A knot formed in her throat as the only real answer hit her. There was no reason Mel would’ve bailed. Not without leaving any notice. Before she and Austin had even walked in, she’d known that this was just the last sickening blow.

  A snort of laughter broke through her momentary despair and she remembered what she was doing. She clicked off the reservation screen and went to the other side of the counter, where she sat on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs. Austin was doing too well back there. If Mel was gone...

  More giggling from the back room and Jennifer thought she was going to lose it. This was wrong. So wrong. She was supposed to be at her mother’s wedding today, not on the run and fearing the worst had already happened to Mel...

  That was it. She jumped off the chair and ran to the counter, slamming her flat palm on the surface. “Hey! Anyone here!” she called. She just needed to grab Austin and once she was back with Isobel, she could think more clearly. Really, as long as she could get away from Austin... She couldn’t think around him and she needed her head in the game. “Am I just going to keep waiting?” she called again before she finally started to hear the sound of shuffling feet signaling they were coming her way.

  Jennifer tightened her lips and drummed her fingers on the counter while she waited. Right before they came out, something red and black caught her eye. She reached over the counter and picked up the business card next to the computer.

  “Can I help you?” asked one of the clerks breathlessly.

  Jennifer stared down at the card wordlessly.

  “I’m sorry about the wait, ma’am, but can I help you?” asked the clerk again, sounding a bit confused why Jennifer had gone from furious to dead silence.