The Cocky Thief (Stolen Hearts Book 1)

by Mallory Crowe

  She also hadn’t asked who he was. Strange that a woman as small as her, no matter how fit, didn’t care about strange men coming into her super-secret underground lair.

  “Melody is missing. We’re hoping you can help.”

  Toni’s face fell. “That son of a bitch. I knew he was going to pull something shady. Where is Ben now?”

  Scott had picked up enough to know they were talking about Melody’s ex-husband. “This isn’t about that. She’s been taken by Greg Stranger and Jonathan Sterling. They were getting out of San Francisco after pulling one over on them.”

  Toni’s brows drew together. “No, Mel was out of the game. She wouldn’t be pulling any jobs.”

  Scott looked at Isobel and waited for her to fill in the blanks.

  “She was out of the game, but you know as well as I do that the normal life was killing her. I was bringing her back into the light.”

  Toni scoffed. “Are you shitting me? You were half the reason she got out in the first place!”

  Scott stepped between the two women. “It doesn’t matter why she was there. The important part is that she’s missing now and in danger.” He looked over at Toni. “Now from the looks of this setup,” he motioned to the wall of computers, “we’re going to need you to get her back.”

  Toni eyed him up and down. “You’d be lucky to have my help, but who the hell are you?”

  “I’m Scott Hart. I’m just here to help.”

  “He was running another job at the same time. Now we’re all working together to get Mel back. It’s a long story but he’s trustworthy for the most part. Come on, Toni. This is for family.”

  She scoffed. “Don’t you tell me about family responsibility. Especially not after the stunt you just pulled with Mel. Was she wearing her necklace?”

  Isobel frowned. “Necklace?”

  “The silver heart pendant. I gave it to her as a safety measure in case Ben got any ideas.”

  “How is a necklace a safety measure?”

  “It is when it has a GPS tracker in it.” She turned around and slid into her computer chair even as her fingers moved rapidly over the keys of the keyboard.

  “You always have something up your sleeve, don’t you?” said Isobel, half reproaching and half approvingly.

  “Someone needs to keep an eye on Jen and Mel.”

  “That’s not fair and you know it.”

  “Can we focus?” said Scott. He was sure the family could use a few solid counseling sessions, but this wasn’t the time. His phone beeped; he took it out of his pocket to glance at the screen. “Miles and Jennifer are on their way back. Weston signed on and will be joining them soon.”

  “Who’s Miles?” asked Toni.

  “He’s the other member of my team.”

  “Jennifer’s new boyfriend,” said Isobel at the same time.

  Scott frowned. “They’re not—”

  “I think I know Jennifer better than you. And I could definitely read the signals your boy was giving off. He was hardly subtle about his intentions.”

  Toni abruptly stopped typing and looked over her shoulder at Scott. From this angle, they were strangely close because he’d been trying to keep track of what she was bringing up on her screen. “Seriously, who are you?”

  “I’m just like your sister and your mom. I got sucked too far into a job.”

  Toni’s blue eyes looked into his and for a moment, he was worried she could see all too much. “No you’re not,” she finally said before she turned back to her computer. A map popped up on the screen and she zoomed in. “There we go. I found Mel.”

  “What do you mean we’re just supposed to wait?” snapped Jennifer as she paced back and forth.

  “I mean Weston is currently on his way with a Jeep loaded down with illegal weapons and ammunition, and Hart is probably breaking fifteen different speeding laws getting here from Santa Maria right now. From the sound of it, he’s already halfway to a plan and Toni has a location on your sister already.”

  “If we know where she is, we should go. We can’t just wait for hours.” Austin was quiet and she suddenly knew that there was more he wasn’t telling her. “What?”

  Austin rubbed at the back of his neck and winced. “After they left, when they were about an hour out, Isobel finally got the call.”

  Jennifer’s eyes widened. “The call? The call, the call? They set up the drop? Where? Why aren’t we planning right now? Get everyone on the phone and we’ll conference!”

  “Jennifer—”

  “No.” She wasn’t about to sit around and twiddle her thumbs. She was going to fix this her damn self. She started to cross to the hotel room door, but Austin reached out and grabbed her arm. Jennifer wasn’t in the mood to be manhandled by anyone, no matter how helpful he’d been. Her fist shot out and she would’ve hit anyone else, but somehow Austin managed to duck just in time before he grabbed her fist with his other hand and pushed up against a wall.

  They were back at the cheap hotel and the cheap framed print on the wall shook with the impact.

  Jennifer pushed back against him, but he didn’t give her any leeway. “I need to go! She’s my sister!” she screamed.

  Austin kept a stone-cold face as he looked down on her. “You’re too emotionally involved. You know that when emotions get in the way, that’s when mistakes get made.”

  “It’s Melody! I can’t just stay here!” The room seemed to get smaller and she gasped, trying to get enough air. Here she was about to have a panic attack and who knew what her sister was currently going through. She needed to—

  “The last time I screwed up a job,” said Austin carefully, “was because my emotions got in the way. I’m not going to let that happen when the stakes are so high.”

  “The last time you screwed up a job was with the Dragon Heart.”

  “Exactly.”

  The admission was worse than a blow to the head. “She’s out there all alone and I’m just—”

  “You’re doing everything you can. And we will get her back. I promise.” As he spoke, he bent in closer. The soft words resonated as if he’d shouted them.

  She shook her head, even though she wanted to believe him. “You don’t know that.”

  “I do. Because I’m going to make it happen. I never fail, remember?”

  A tear rolled down her cheek. “You’re such a liar.”

  He wiped away the tear with a thumb, but his hand didn’t move from the side of her neck. “You’re one of the most powerful women I’ve ever met. If the two of us put our minds to something, it’s going to get done. No question about it. Do you believe me now?”

  Jennifer looked up at him from beneath her lashes. His green eyes seemed so sincere and he was just as pretty as when she’d first seen him walk on that plane, which seemed so long ago. “No,” she said honestly. Then she closed the small distance between them and kissed him.

  She didn’t want to sit here and do nothing but with backup on the way, the stupid, logical part of her needed to give it time. If they were going to rescue Mel, they needed to do it right.

  But right now, there was so much emotion swirling around inside her...anger, grief, adrenaline. And then there was Austin. The man helping her for no apparent reason. The man keeping her from making mistakes that could cost her Mel.

  The man she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about. For the moment, it was just her and him. Might as well make it count.

  So when she kissed him, it wasn’t a casual exploration of lips meeting. This was her outlet for everything she wanted to do and couldn’t. It was an outlet for all her frustration and rage. It was an outlet for all the desire for Austin that she’d been suppressing because it wasn’t the right time or place.

  For a second, he seemed too surprised to do anything. He stood there, not moving away or closer, as her lips moved against his. She was half convinced he was about to pull away and give her some bullshit about her being too vulnerable to be thinking straight, but then he did exactly what
Austin Miles should do. He kissed her back.

  His body crushed into hers, pressing her between the hard wall and the hardness of his body. She ran her hands through his soft hair, over his shoulders and down the hard planes of his biceps. She wanted his shirt off so she could feel all of him. She wanted her clothes off so she could feel his skin against hers. Damn it, she just wanted him.

  She tilted her head for better access and Austin groaned as his hands went to her thighs. At first, she thought he was just pulling her tighter against him, but then he lifted her up and spun around until he fell onto the bed and she was straddling his hips. Okay... She could work with this.

  He never broke the kiss as he pushed the flannel shirt over her shoulders until it fell on the floor. She repaid the favor by tugging at the soft cotton of his shirt until he broke away from her for the smallest second so she could pull it up and off.

  She pulled away and let her hands run over his chest and lower to feel the ripple of abs. He was all lean strength, as though every muscle on his body was ready for its exact purpose. God, it was mouthwatering.

  “I’m starting to feel objectified.” Austin set a hand at the nape of her neck and pulled her close until he could set a kiss at the crook of her shoulder.

  And as his mouth sent tingles right down her spine, his hands crept beneath her tank top to press against the small of her back. She couldn’t help herself as her hips came forward, pressing against his. Even through the layers of denim, she could feel his erection. For a split second, she realized how wrong this was. Her sister was out there somewhere and she was getting busy with some guy in some skeevey hotel room.

  Then Austin tugged off the tank and all logical thought fled, just the way she wanted it to. Once her shirt was off, she bent down and kissed him again. There was something strangely erotic about this position. She was on top of him, her breasts level with his face, but from the commanding way his hands were on her waist, Austin was more than making his influence known.

  But she could give him a run for his money. She reached behind herself to unclip the bra and he smiled as she dropped it on the floor. Instead of going right to her breasts, he ran a hand up her back. His hand was so big that with his fingers spread, it stretched from shoulder blade to shoulder blade. When was the last time a man had touched her like this? Too long and they’d never had Austin’s touch.

  “I’ve wanted you from the second I saw those legs on the plane,” he breathed against her neck.

  She smiled as she held him closer, her fingers pressing into his muscular shoulders. “You knew nothing about me.”

  “I knew I liked your legs.” He kissed past her collarbone and gave a playful nip right at the top of her breasts. She started to laugh but then he closed his mouth over a nipple and she lost all her humor.

  But instead of spending his time there, he tightened his grip on her waist and flipped her over in one quick motion, until her back was pressed into the mattress and their legs were tangled together.

  As the spinning stopped, she smiled. When she opened her eyes, Austin smiled down at her. She reached up and ran her fingers down his jaw, trying to memorize this moment. One perfect moment before the storm.

  He turned his head to press a soft kiss to the delicate skin at the inside of her wrist and she let her eyes drift shut. And when she felt his fingers at the top of her jeans, she reached down and tugged at his. But even the frustrating wiggling to get the jeans off didn’t cool her down as her body pressed against his.

  But then she had kicked her jeans off and Austin was ripping open the small foil packet. Had he grabbed the condom from his jeans? She couldn’t think straight. All she could focus on was getting him inside her.

  Austin came down on one hand as he settled between her legs. He met her gaze once more, but this time he wasn’t smiling. His green eyes were intense. Hard. A muscle ticked in his jaw as he positioned himself at her entrance. For a brief moment, their breaths synced up and then he was pushing inside.

  It had been awhile, and the sudden fullness had Jennifer gasping for breath, but she didn’t want him to stop. “More,” she breathed.

  He pulled out just about completely before he thrust in once more. Her fingers and toes curled and Austin intertwined his free hand with hers as he pinned it above her head.

  She held on tight as the thrust quickened, her hips meeting his as she bit her lip to keep herself from screaming.

  With every stroke, her body warmed up. The heat spread through her, reaching every part of her. When he bent down and the ever so slight stubble on his jaw brushed against her neck, that was the shock she needed to send her over the edge.

  Before the aftershocks had finished, Austin had tensed over her as his own climax hit. Jennifer held him tight, her hands gripping the muscles of his back as all the tension left him.

  For a few long moments, the only sound in the room was the sound of their breaths. Damn it, Jennifer didn’t want this to be over. Not that he’d gone too fast because, hell, she wouldn’t have let him go slower even if he tried.

  But her one brief moment of escapism was now gone and immediately her mind flew to all the thoughts she didn’t want. Thoughts about Mel. Thoughts about whether Hart would be able to get her back.

  “Stop it,” whispered Austin into her ear.

  “I can’t,” she said softly.

  He pulled away and looked down at her. “If you don’t stop, I’m just going to have to distract you again...”

  Austin wiped off his face with one of the starchy-feeling towels as he walked out of the shower. The towels were shit, but at least the water pressure had been decent and the hot water hadn’t run out. He knew he shouldn’t be enjoying this, but the break had been nice. He’d been on the move since bright and early that morning and who knew whether they’d have any downtime once all the players were in place.

  Once he was dry, he wrapped the towel around his waist and left the bathroom. He was quiet when he came out because Jennifer was still sleeping on the queen-sized bed closest to the window. After he checked his phone, he crawled into the bed next to her.

  She shifted as he pulled her close and nestled her head into the crook of his arm. “Do we need to be moving?” she asked drowsily.

  “In a few minutes. Get all the rest you can. I’ll wake you up.”

  She started to sit up and he wrapped a hand around her waist and pulled her close. “Don’t trust me?” he asked.

  “Trust is one thing. My mother walking in on us like this is another.”

  “And I won’t let her. We have about five minutes. Just relax.”

  She twisted in his arms until she faced him. “Relax? Austin, I’m naked.”

  “I noticed.”

  “And you’re naked too.”

  “Also something I’ve noticed.”

  “I don’t know about you, but it’s hard for me to relax when I’m in bed with a naked man.”

  “Babe, I’m more than ready for round two,” he rubbed his hard cock against her, “but I respect you way too much for five minutes.”

  She let out a little snort as she ducked her forehead into his chest. “What are we even doing? We don’t have time for...this.”

  “You are about to rush in and save your sister. You’re going to be a hero.” He leaned back far enough so he could tilt her head back and kiss her forehead. “And even heroes need a break.”

  She looked at him skeptically. “No one’s ever called me a hero before.”

  “Then apparently, no one knows you as well as I do.”

  “You just met me.”

  “Doesn’t mean I don’t know you.” For a few long seconds, she stared into his eyes. Austin didn’t know what else to say but he didn’t feel as if he needed to say anything. Just lying here with her was all he wanted at the moment.

  But soon enough it was go time. They had to disentangle from each other and get dressed. He had to get back into the cheap jeans and gray t-shirt and Jennifer was back in her baggy clothes
that didn’t seem to fit her—body or personality—at all.

  The first person there was Weston. He hauled two duffel bags, and Austin bet that they were loaded down with a whole shopping list of things that were illegal in California.

  A few minutes later, Hart, Isobel, and Jennifer’s other sister, Toni, came in. Toni gave Jennifer an awkward hello, noticeably no hug. Weston stood in the back of the room, guarding his bags, and Toni immediately went to the desk, where she set up her laptop and plugged it in while Hart looked as if he was in need of a good nap himself.

  Jennifer and Isobel sat together on one of the beds, noticeably not the one he and she had fucked in. He winced at the thought. Why did that seem so wrong? He’d fucked plenty of women without a second thought.

  But none of them had been Jennifer. She was definitely deserving of a second thought.

  “You were contacted about the drop?” asked Jennifer, breaking the ice after introductions.

  “It’s going down at Spencer Tower tomorrow night at nine p.m. We drop the necklace in the lobby, more specific instructions to be provided once we’re on site and visible confirmation of the necklace is there.”

  “Okay, that’s what they want us to do,” said Austin. “What are we really going to do?”

  “It’s a full playing field. Greg Stranger thinks he has us right where he wants us because they have Melody. In valuation terms, she’s priceless, so we have nothing to lose. But he doesn’t realize that makes us stronger.”

  Isobel nodded. “Because he still has plenty to lose.”

  “And that’s where we’re going to hit him. Toni, can you get into his accounts?”

  “Of course, but not by tomorrow. He’s a finance guy. His funds are going to be so spread out across the world that it might take months for me to track all of them down. Chances are he’s less secure with some of his clients’ money, but then we’re talking days to get into those. Especially since we don’t know most of his clients by name. He’s a skeeseball, but he’s a skeeseball who is good at his job. If we wanted to get into those accounts, we’d need dozens of hackers working all night.”