The Cocky Thief (Stolen Hearts Book 1)

by Mallory Crowe

  “There you are,” said Isobel once the elevator door opened. “Toni is going to get our names on the list, but it would be best if we arrive separately.”

  “You just don’t want to ride in the van,” said Jennifer, knowing her mother all too well.

  Isobel squinched her face. “The van smells. I don’t dress this nice to arrive to a function smelling. I’m supposed to blend in, not stand out.” Isobel was dressed nice. Her black dress fell to the floor, but the dangerously high split up the side would give her plenty of room to move, if necessary. Her red hair was up in an elaborate updo that looked as if it had been done professionally, but Jennifer knew that Isobel was just an expert at making herself look expensive.

  “It’s fine, Mom. We’ll ride in the van.”

  “Good.” She gave Austin a quick smile that was much too sweet. “Do you mind if I borrow my daughter for one second?” Before he could answer, she continued, “Thanks.” She reached for Jennifer’s arm and they walked until they were out of earshot.

  “Everything okay?” asked Jennifer.

  “Nothing is okay, but I’m good at faking it,” said Isobel. “I wanted to talk to you about Austin Miles.”

  Jennifer tried not to show any signs of stress. “What about him?”

  “You and he seem to have grown...close.”

  She prayed like hell that her mother didn't notice her sudden blush. “He saved my life, Mom.”

  “Don’t bullshit me, Jennifer. I wrote the book on bullshit and I take it as a direct insult when one of my own children tries to turn the tables on me.”

  “Fine. We’re close. What do you want me to say?”

  “I want you to have your priorities straight.”

  Jennifer had to bite the inside of her cheek to point out that it was Isobel’s mismatched priorities that had gotten them in this mess to begin with. “Melody is my number-one priority. I swear, no bullshit included.”

  Isobel frowned as she stopped to face Jennifer. “It’s an easy thing to say now. But when in the heat of the moment, when you have to choose between the lover you just met and the sister you’ve always had, you make sure those priorities are in line.”

  Isobel dramatically turned and walked out of the hotel before Jennifer could even dignify that with a response. For the love of— Jennifer was a grown woman and she’d been on more jobs since she’d left Isobel’s guidance than ever before. How dare she accuse Jennifer of not having her priorities in line? Even so, guilt over what had just happened in the room hit her.

  “I don’t think the heat vision is working.” Austin moved to stand next to her.

  She looked over at him. “What?”

  “The way you’re staring at that door,” he pointed to the door Isobel had left out of, “it’s like you’re trying to shoot lasers out of your eyes.”

  “You were so cool and now you have to go and prove you’re a comic book nerd.” Jennifer started to walk and forced herself to calm the bitch face that had apparently overcome her.

  “Or you’ve revealed yourself as a comic book nerd because you know a Superman reference when you hear it. Now, what did Isobel want to talk about?”

  They took turns going through the revolving door and then they were both out on the street. “If it was any of your business, you’d be the first one to know,” said Jennifer with a smile as they approached the van.

  “Funny. From what I could tell, it definitely was my business.”

  Austin held on to the table in front of him as the van went over another bump, careful not to touch anything. He had no idea how Toni had gotten this all set up in a day, but he was impressed. Hell, this thing looked as though it had enough hacker power to take down the Pentagon. Five monitors were hooked up to the left side of the van and along the right-hand side was a row of car batteries used to power everything and a whole other mess of electronics that even Austin didn’t know the purpose of.

  But Hart was driving and Jennifer sat in the front seat with him, which left Toni, Weston, and him all in the back. Weston was going through all of his weapons, one by one, and taking stock of them. Even though the plan didn’t have Weston interacting with the fundraiser at all, he was still dressed in black slacks and a black button-down. So if people saw him wandering around, he could at least pretend to be a lost guest.

  Toni wore a tight gray dress, but her feet were bare. Like Weston, if the plan went the way it should, she wouldn’t be rubbing elbows with any of California’s elite.

  “I don’t get you,” said Weston as the van went over another bump.

  “That’s because I’m an enigma,” he said dryly.

  The corner of Toni’s mouth hooked up but she didn’t comment.

  “I get her. She’s trying to save her sister,” said Weston. “And I get Hart. He’s still being a Boy Scout. And I get me, because I’m getting paid for this job. But I don’t get you.”

  “Who says I’m not getting paid?” Weston didn’t say anything and Austin continued, “What business is it of yours anyway?”

  “My life might be in your hands. When someone has that kind of power over me, I like to know what’s going on in their head.”

  “There are only sunshine and rainbows up here, Weston. Don’t you worry about me—just focus on your part. You’re the star of this operation.”

  “I could do this extraction in my sleep. Don’t worry about me.”

  “It’s my sister’s life on the line. Both of you had better get your head out of your ass and get in the zone. Because if anything goes wrong, I know every single one of your account numbers.”

  Weston scoffed. “I live off the grid. You can’t touch me.”

  “No one lives completely off the grid. If you think you’re untouchable, you just give me a reason to prove you wrong.”

  “Remind me not to get on your bad side,” muttered Weston as he went back to checking the handguns he was concealing, making sure the magazines were full and there was a round in the chamber ready to go.

  Austin and Jennifer were going in unarmed. He was never sure how good the security was at these things and if they were going to go through a metal detector, he wanted to pass through without issue.

  Jennifer had no room to hide a gun anyway, which he considered a win because he got to look at her hot body all night. Not that he was going to get a chance to see it tonight. When they got Melody free, he doubted the sisterly reunion would leave them any alone time together.

  And after the reunion? Who knew. Every time he tried to bring it up, Jennifer would pull away. He wasn’t the type to push “the talk” this early into a relationship, or whatever the hell they were doing. But he didn’t know what corner of the world the Murray women would be fleeing to after this, so the talk would have to be happening sooner rather than later.

  “Hart said you were going to get us in the party,” said Austin, changing the subject.

  Toni nodded. “I’m getting you on the list, but you still need to provide your tickets when you arrive. Good news is that security here is ridiculous. They don’t ask for ID and the tickets don’t have names on them, so you can get any ticket and as long as you give them a name on the list, you’ll get in the front door.”

  “Then why even bother getting them on the list?” asked Weston.

  “Isobel is the one who is going to slip in. We want them to know Jennifer and I are there.”

  A few minutes later, the van came to a stop. Austin adjusted his cufflinks and made sure his jacket didn’t bear the wrinkles of someone who had ridden in the back of a van for the last forty-five minutes.

  Right as he was about to jump out of the van, Toni cleared her throat. “Remember my warning, Miles. If Mel isn’t found, you don’t need to worry about Stranger finding you. You’ll have to worry about me.”

  “I love these chats of ours. Can’t wait to do it again.” He jumped out of the van right as Jennifer was walking around to greet him.

  “Everything going okay in there?”

  “O
h yeah.” He shut the door a little too forcefully. “Your sister is a peach.”

  Jennifer smirked, as though she knew exactly how uncharming Toni could be. “Yeah. When you live life behind a computer screen, things like common politeness aren’t really required. She’s sweet behind it all, I promise.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.” He held out his arm to her. “Ready to make Stranger cry?”

  She hooked her arm through his. “I’ve stolen a lot of things in my life, but I’ve never stolen a sister.”

  “It’s time to beef up our resumes then.”

  Jennifer pushed aside the branches of the neatly trimmed bush outside of the Spencer Tower. “Bingo,” she said as she picked up the two tickets.

  “How did Isobel manage to get in without tickets or a name on the list?” asked Austin.

  She handed him his ticket. “With Isobel? She has dozens of different scams she could run to get in this building. What would you run if you weren’t trying to get caught?”

  “Me? Probably sneak in with a secret smoker. They’re normally so embarrassed about sneaking a few puffs that they don’t pay attention to who slips in with them. What about you?”

  “Fundraisers are populated by genuinely good people and horrible people trying to feel better. I just find one of the horrible ones and tell them that an agency sent me as a gift.”

  “You little whore. That makes me so proud.”

  Jennifer let out a laugh as she considered him. “This is strange.”

  He intertwined his arm with hers and led her to the entrance of the fundraiser. “A little strange is good for you.”

  “Tell me, Austin. Have you ever been with someone who knew who you were? Because I haven’t. Not once did anyone know what I did for a living. My most serious relationship thought I was an art appraiser.”

  “I used that one while dating once. It really does explain all the travel and fancy clothes.”

  “So does this mean I’m your first?”

  “You’re my first honest relationship. If by honest, you mean that we lied continuously to each other when we first met.”

  “Which was only a few days ago,” she reminded him.

  “A long few days.” They reached the building and his grip on her arm tightened. “You ready for this?”

  “To walk into a room where we know there are people who want us dead and we’re about to announce our presence? Sure. I’m totally ready.”

  “Face it, Jennifer. I’m the only person who will find lies like that utterly sexy.”

  Toni had given them the specs of the Spencer Tower. It was seventeen stories tall, fifteen above ground and two belowground. The building was mostly office space and amenities for the workers of the building. There were a few retail stores in the first level. So getting into the building was easy, but the elevators could be programmed on a day-to-day basis. For tonight, the elevators only went to the floor of the fundraiser. If anyone wanted to use the stairwell to get to any floors besides the lobby or the elevator for anything else, they’d need a keycard.

  The atrium probably would’ve been impressive to most people. The glass windows went up for all fifteen floors; it was accented by a waterfall over the bottom two levels and light could enter above to illuminate hanging glass sculptures of blue, reds, yellows, and purples.

  Except for Austin. All that glass meant it was easier to be seen.

  The fundraiser was on the third level, and the signs, along with a few other partygoers trickling in, led the way. When they reached the third level, there was a folding table with two elderly women checking tickets. Behind them, standing off to the side, were two men in matching blue blazers and wires coming over their ears that signaled them as security.

  “Hello,” one of the women said cheerfully as they approached. “Tickets and names, please.”

  They both produced their tickets and Jennifer said, “Jennifer Murray and Austin Miles.”

  The woman looked over her list and frowned. “Hmm...I’m not seeing an Austin Miles.”

  Jennifer and Austin didn’t make eye contact. She knew if they looked too worried, security would take note. “I’m sure he’s there,” said Jennifer. “I think he was a late addition, if that makes any difference.”

  “No, I don’t see an Austin Miles... There is an Austin Murray, though. And his name is right next to yours.” She smiled in victory, proud that she’d put the puzzle together.

  “Austin Murray,” repeated Jennifer as she tried to stop the knowing smile. Toni was messing with her. One of the things she hadn’t missed while working alone was the practical jokes during jobs. Really not the time or place. “My assistant was joking,” she said with a half laugh.

  “Well, here are your informational packets and you two are at table twelve. You have a great night.”

  “Thanks so much.” Austin took the packets for each of them and, keeping them in one hand, he hooked the other around the small of her back and led her into the room.

  Jennifer leaned in close. “Think Stranger knows we’re here yet?”

  “Depends how many of the guards are his.” Austin and Jennifer turned to walk along the perimeter of the room and noticed that each of the guards standing by the entry table was talking into their earpieces. “And I’m going to guess that’s a yes.”

  The room was large enough to hold a few hundred people and looked as if it were on the brink of reaching capacity. It killed Jennifer that they were trying to be seen because this was the perfect crowd to blend into.

  “Oh. I have something for you now that we’re in.” Jennifer reached into her clutch and handed him a small beige-looking blob.

  “What is this?”

  “It’s a comm. Put it in your ear and you can hear the rest of the team.”

  Austin took it from her and stared at it skeptically while he used his body to shield anyone else from seeing it. “Are you kidding? I’ve used these before. They’re shit. Half the time, you can’t hear what people are saying and they pick up so much background noise it’s impossible for anyone to hear us.”

  “That’s a normal earpiece. This is Toni’s and it’s ten years ahead of anything on the market.” As Jennifer spoke, she put one of the devices into her own ear. “Can you hear me?”

  “We can hear you,” said Toni. “Where is Miles?”

  “They want you to put yours in.”

  Austin shook his head even as he put the comm into his ear. “This isn’t going to work,” he muttered.

  “If you insult my tech one more time, I’m going to make that thing explode in your ear,” said Toni.

  Jennifer smiled and shook her head. “She can’t actually do that,” she assured him.

  “I wouldn’t mind seeing that,” said Weston’s gruff voice over the line.

  “Oh, God, it’s all of them.”

  “We’re all here now,” said Scott over the line. “Now it’s time to get to work. Have you set eyes on Stranger yet?”

  Austin started to scan the room, so Jennifer moved in a little closer to him, as though they were in a soft embrace.

  “I don’t see him,” said Austin. “But that doesn’t mean he’s not here.”

  “I’m sure he’s around somewhere,” said Scott. “Isobel, what’s your status?”

  “I’m in the stairwell now. I should be on the fifteenth floor soon and depending on the safe, we’ll have all of Gregory’s secrets soon.”

  “Good. Stay on it. The drop is going to happen in ten minutes and when they call, we’ll get proof of life for Melody, and Weston will move in. Miles and Jennifer, you two need to be on Stranger’s radar before then. So get noticed.”

  Austin looked down at her with a crooked grin. “I think we were just ordered to dance.” He held out a hand and she took it, only to hear a chorus of groans coming over the comm. “Bite me.” Austin led her onto the dance floor.

  The song was slow; Austin held her close, with one hand holding hers and the other arm wrapped around her waist. It was strangel
y nice that the comms were in place. This way they didn’t have to talk or make anything awkward. They could just have this one calm moment before the storm started.

  She knew Austin wanted her to give him something...some sign that she wasn’t going to disappear out of his life forever after this was over. And part of her, a big part, really wanted to give him a chance.

  But, like she said, she’d never had a real relationship, one where she could really be herself. And things had been moving so fast. For sure, there was crazy chemistry between them. Maybe they could arrange a friends with benefits relationship?

  No. She already knew what they had was more than that. But a few days just was too fast for her to give Austin what she thought he wanted to hear.

  “I’m heading to the safe now,” said Isobel in her ear.

  At the moment, life didn’t care whether she needed more time to sort out her feelings. The job was well underway and there was no time to stop now.

  Something was happening. Melody could tell by the hushed voices of her two babysitters outside the door. She sat up, and her muscles immediately protested. Lying on the cold, hard floor for so long was going to require a week’s worth of massages to get all these knots out.

  She shuffled closer to the door and put her ear up to it, but she couldn’t make out anything they were saying. She should’ve known better by now, but in the boredom of being cooped up, she kept on trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

  If she really wanted to hear what they were saying, she’d need to get out of the room and she only knew one way to get out. Melody twisted around and knocked on the door with her feet. She could hear the men approaching but couldn’t move out of the way fast enough to avoid the door swinging inward and banging against her feet.

  “What?” snapped Blondie.

  Her heart raced and she really wished that after all this time the fear would’ve died down. But the truth was, it was so hard to determine how much time had passed down here. There were no windows and every time she drifted into unconsciousness, she had no idea she’d been out.