The Beautiful Thief (The Stolen Hearts #2)

by Mallory Crowe

  He could see the disbelief clearly on Ike’s face. “What the hell makes you think I’d give you anything you’re looking for after what you did to me?”

  “Because I don’t think your wife wants to know about your little playdates with Emily. I did the math. She’s only nine years older than your daughter, Ike. That’s a new low.”

  Ike’s pissed-off expression remained, but his suddenly bright-red cheeks gave away some of his shame. “She’s nineteen,” he hissed. “It’s legal.”

  “It is. And so is divorce. So if you want to save yourself the attorney fees, just give me some basic as basic can get information. Where is Matt Forbes?”

  Ike blinked in surprise. “That’s it? You just need to find Forbes?”

  “That’s it.”

  “Well, fuck, hold on.”

  Ike walked out and Adam was the one who was surprised. He had come here expecting to get what he wanted. He was determined not to leave until he got it. But Ike seemed too agreeable. Even if he had the info, Adam expected him to play hard to get, no matter what dirt Adam had on the guy. Ike was a dick. He didn’t do anything for anyone without being a dick. It was just who he was.

  And Adam didn’t like people going against the grain.

  Melody waited until the security guard was looking down, probably at his phone, before she used her stolen pass to get through the turnstiles and into the building. And then her back was toward the security desk and it wouldn’t matter if the guard looked up. He wouldn’t recognize her by her hair alone.

  Now she had no idea where Adam had disappeared to, but that was fine. If he wanted to run off on his own, she’d do the same. When she’d come here originally, before she’d been sidetracked by Adam, she’d been trying to swipe Jadon Belli’s laptop. She happened to be in the area, so why not give it a go again?

  She looked at the building directory to see what level Belli’s offices were located. The top three floors. Belli was the owner, so his offices were probably on the upper level, where his office would have the best view.

  According to her ID badge, the guy whose ID she’d swiped worked two levels below him. When she went into the elevator, she tried to hit the button for Belli’s floor, but nothing happened. Shit. The keycards were the only access. It looked as though there was a main lobby for Belli’s offices, though, so she’d have to get in through there because there was no security key needed to access the main lobby. Except once she was there, she’d need to get past a reception desk.

  Toni might not agree, but Melody found receptionists much easier to hack than access pads.

  She hit the button and hoped for the best. Isobel wouldn’t have any second thoughts about doing this. She’d have five stories up her sleeve to get her past any receptionist. Melody tried to think into her past and remember what those stories were.

  But then the door was opening and she didn’t have any more time to think. She licked her lips as she walked into the main offices. When she saw the receptionist, she smiled. The woman was maybe mid-forties and, from looks alone, appeared competent. Which was a shame. This work was always easier when working with morons.

  “Hi. I was waiting downstairs for about twenty minutes. I was supposed to be meeting someone about setting up a portfolio here.”

  “Okay,” said the woman. According to the nameplate on the desk, her name was Donna. “Who were you here to see?”

  “Funny thing, I can’t remember his name. I know it started with a J, though. John or James maybe?”

  Donna gave her a forced smile and Melody could only imagine the curses the receptionist was mentally throwing at her.

  “J something? Do you know the last name?”

  Melody let out a laugh. “Wouldn’t that make things easier? I’m so sorry.”

  “Do you have an email address?”

  “Well, you know, I tried to find it, but when I looked in my phone, I couldn’t see the email. But I’m very sure the meeting was today.”

  “Let me see what I can do.”

  Just then, the elevators behind her opened and Melody knew it was time to change tactics. She looked over her shoulder; three men in suits came toward her. They were walking casually and not paying any attention to the receptionist, which signaled them as employees. Employees who could walk her right in.

  “Hey.” She walked up to the one closest to her. She purposefully got a tad too close, making sure to imply familiarity. “I was waiting downstairs forever. What happened to our lunch appointment?”

  The poor guy’s eyes widened. “Umm...what appointment?”

  “Come on....” She smiled up at him and ran her hand over his upper arm. “Please don’t tell me you forgot about me. My lawyer and assistant have been hounding me for weeks to get this over with.” Hopefully the subtle references to having money would be enough. Isobel would want her to be wearing some expensive jewelry to really sell the bit, but all she had were her words at the moment.

  “We can head to my office and clear all this up.” The man set a hand on the small of her back and walked her past the desk.

  “Thanks again for your help!” she called to the receptionist as she was led into the offices. Now she had to think of a way to ditch this guy, but before she could, the sound of glass shattering cut through the normally mundane office sounds.

  “Whoa,” said the guy next to her. “Hold on.”

  He headed toward the sound like everyone else, and Melody took the chance to slip away. Sometimes luck just went the right way, she supposed. If she went by the receptionist again, she might get suspicious, so Melody walked calmly and surely to the stairwell. The top floor was under the same security measures, but this time she had an extra ace up her sleeve. She’d lifted the wallet off the guy who she’d walked in with, and this one did have access to all levels of his employer.

  So when Melody reached the top floor, the card she swiped over the lock turned the light green and she was able to walk right in. This was private access only, so there were no nosy receptionists to get by.

  Hmm.... Nosy. That was what Isobel would always say. They were just doing their jobs, but it was hard not to get annoyed by the extra barriers.

  This floor was quieter. More offices and fewer cubicles. Mostly executives, probably. And, although rich men were inherently suspicious, they were also self-absorbed. She could hang out here all day and as long as she looked confident, no one would be the wiser. She took out her phone and confirmed that Adam hadn’t called her yet. She hoped his meeting was going well, considering she was around to provide backup.

  She tucked her phone back into her purse and followed the hallway that led around the edge of the big offices. Belli’s office would be on a corner, so if she followed this long enough she’d find him.

  Just her luck, it was the second corner she hit and it was empty. After a quick glance to make sure no one was around, Melody tried the handle of the closed door and she was inside. She let out the breath she’d been holding as she shut the door behind her.

  Jadon Belli’s office was huge, but that was to be expected. There was a massive dark oak desk and built-in bookshelves in the same color on the few walls that weren’t floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the Chicago skyline. The room next to his office was a conference room and she could tell that from the look-through window.

  But the only thing she cared about sat right there on Jadon Belli’s desk. His laptop. The ticket to finding the other man on her list. Sterling.

  Melody didn’t waste any time as she unplugged the cords from the computer, closed it and tucked it under her arm. Before she could make her escape, the sound of a door slamming had her ducking for cover behind the desk. Except it wasn’t the door to the office. She would hear someone coming in. She tentatively poked her head out and realized the conference room now had two people in it. Jadon Belli and... she didn’t know who the other person was. A woman, but she didn’t seem as if she worked there. She seemed young and tiny compared to Belli, but they seemed to be h
aving an argument.

  Melody could hear screaming but couldn’t make out any of the words. Chances were that after the fight, an angry Jadon Belli would come to his office to stew for a while. Which meant Melody needed to get out of there ASAP.

  Jadon was facing away from her and Melody took her chance. But the second she started for the door, the woman who was currently standing sullenly while Jadon bellowed made eye contact with her.

  Melody froze. It was stupid and the worst possible thing to do, but she panicked and for a split second, she just stood there like a moronic deer in the headlights. The woman in the other room and she just stared at each other. It was only for a second, but it stretched out and seemed to go on for an eternity. Then the woman went right back to yelling at Jadon, and Melody made her run for the door.

  And when she opened it, there was no angry Jadon Belli staring her down, so she could only assume the woman had given her an out. Melody quickened her steps and went right for the elevators. There was no security access necessary to get back into the lobby. She was certain she was going to be on the building cameras, but that wasn’t any huge concern. Sterling already knew what she looked like, and there would be enough dirt on this computer to make it impossible for Jadon Belli to go to the cops.

  Even so, Melody’s heart beat like a drum and it seemed to get faster with each level that the elevator descended. Just then, her phone started to vibrate in her purse, but she couldn’t bring herself to answer it. Not until she was physically out of the building.

  In the mix of adrenaline, the walk out of the building seemed to be a blur. She was back through the turnstile, past the security, through the doors. Just as she started to take a breath of relief, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the side of the building.

  Before she could scream, she saw the familiar blond hair and ice-blue eyes. “Adam,” she breathed.

  “I swear, if your death wish doesn’t do you in, I’ll kill you myself.”

  Adam pulled the pillow over his eyes, trying to shut out all the light, to no avail. It would help if Melody stopped pacing around the room for two damn seconds. “What the hell is wrong with you? Sleep. You’re going to need it.”

  “Sleep? No. You have the address of the man who killed my mother and you want to nap! What the hell is wrong with you?”

  Adam sat up and glared at her. “I have an address that was turned over to me in two seconds by a guy who hates me. Forbes is going to be expecting us. We’d be walking into a trap.”

  “Of course it’s going to be a trap. We’re going after a killer. Risks will be taken. Just give me the address and I’ll take care of it.”

  If she said that one more time, he was going to handcuff her to the damn radiator. He didn’t have handcuffs, but he’d find some. “You already went on one suicide mission today. Do you really need another one?”

  “I have told you a thousand times—it wasn’t a suicide mission. It was a calculated risk. And if you had let me come with you like you promised, I wouldn’t have had the spare time to do that.”

  “I didn’t promise you jack shit, all right? I told you we’d get to Forbes and that’s what we’re doing. Just in a smart way.”

  He sighed and decided to go at it from another direction. “Why don’t you work on getting into that laptop instead?”

  “Guys like that have security measures. If I even try to get into it, the GPS will activate and it will lead them right to us. Turned off and stowed is the best place for it until I can get Toni to look at it.”

  “And you’re not calling Toni because you know she won’t want you walking into a trap.”

  “I’m not calling her because she wouldn’t want me to be alone in a room with you.”

  “Hell, I’m starting to think this is the smart sister.”

  He heard some muffled curses and the jingle of her grabbing her purse. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m getting the hell out of here.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  She didn’t say anything, which had him worried enough to sit up and see her already halfway to the door.

  “Son of a—” He bolted off the bed, and even though he didn’t beat her to the door, he managed to snag her wrist and pull her back, letting the door fall shut as he pushed her against the closet doors.

  “Darlin’, I swear, I’m trying to be a gentleman, but you keep forcing me into these compromising positions.”

  Her head fell back against the door and he had the sudden temptation to kiss her neck. But that would probably make her bolt for the door once more.

  “Please don’t call me that.”

  “I kind of like it. But what do you prefer? I like Angel too.”

  “Mel.”

  “What?”

  “Friends, family, and now psychotic killers call me Mel.” She lifted her head enough to meet his eyes. “Now let me go.”

  “Mel.” He let go of her wrists and ran his fingers over the side of her face. “We’re going to do this. We’re going to do this together. But you need to trust me.”

  The corner of her mouth curled up. “You know I’m never going to trust you.”

  “Maybe not completely. But you’re already alone in a hotel room with me. What does that say?”

  “It says what you’ve been saying all along.” She looked him straight in the eyes. “I have a death wish. Why else would I be here with you?”

  Adam clenched his jaw as he pushed away from her. It was hard to fight with his own words. After pointedly putting the bolt in place, he made his way back to the bed, listening carefully to see whether Melody was going to try to make a run for it again. Instead, he heard her footsteps approach as he lay down.

  He looked out of the corner of his eyes to see her sit on the edge of her bed, facing him.

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Why what?”

  “Why everything. Why did you let me go?”

  He eyed the ceiling as he debated what she should know. “I thought we weren’t going to get personal.”

  “We’re past small talk. I need to know. You want me to trust you? Then give me something to go on.”

  He took a deep breath and then let it out. “Fine. I saw my mom killed in front of me. I felt bad for you.” He waited to see what her reaction was going to be. She was either going to think he was lying or she was going to—

  “I’m sorry.”

  That was exactly what he didn’t want. “You didn’t do it. I’m still a son of a bitch. Sometimes knowing the why doesn’t change a damn thing.”

  “Speaking as someone with recent experience, seeing a parent murdered does change things.”

  He didn’t respond. Melody sat back on the bed, changing positions every few minutes until she was back to pacing around the room.

  “This isn’t going to work,” he finally said as he pushed off the bed. “Let’s go.”

  “We’re going after Forbes?”

  “No. But staying cooped up here is going to drive you insane. Let’s grab food.”

  Even though he was sure she’d be happy to leave the room, she still seemed taken aback at the idea of eating with him. They’d eaten together before, but it was grabbing a quick bite while on the road or achieving a goal. Getting dinner was something friends did. Maybe coworkers.

  Not whatever the hell they were.

  But he wasn’t going to get any sleep if he thought she was going to bolt any second, and if she was going to be of any use tonight, she needed to be loose and relaxed. Not wound up so tight that the slightest surprise could knock her off her game.

  Adam pulled his worn blue hoodie over his black t-shirt and then pulled on his boots. Melody was still in the clothes she’d tried to run out in, a pair of tight jeans and a baggy white tank top.

  “Where are we going?” she asked in a sulky tone as he led her out of the room and to the elevator.

  “There’s a sushi place nearby.”

  “There are probably thousands of sushi places nea
rby.”

  Well, this was a bad sign for conversation. “Then you tell me. Where do you want to eat?”

  They both got into the elevator and Melody kept her distance from him. She was quiet the entire way down.

  “You don’t need to talk. I can eat without saying a word. And if you don’t say anything, I’m going to go with sushi.”

  The elevator doors opened and Melody practically bolted out. Adam rolled his eyes as he caught up to her and matched her long strides, which was easy considering he had half a foot in height on her.

  When they hit the street, she turned right and he went with it. Chicago wasn’t his favorite city. For that matter, he didn’t like cities at all. Too many people. Too many smells. Too many people who wanted him dead.

  “There’s a place.” Adam pointed to a sign ahead of them.

  Melody stopped abruptly. “Maybe we should do pizza or something.”

  “No pizza. We need to eat light so we can run for our lives if necessary tonight.”

  She sighed. “I’ve never had sushi.”

  Adam slowly turned. “You’re the daughter of an international con-woman and I’m a swamp rat. Why is it that between the two of us, I’m the only one who has had sushi?”

  Melody sighed. “I don’t know. There had been a few town meetings about getting a place in Huntsville, but—”

  “Huntsville? What’s that?”

  Her eyes widened as though she just realized she said too much. “It’s nothing. Let’s just go.”

  She started for the restaurant. It was a small, bright place without many tables and a sign telling patrons to seat themselves. Adam led the way to a back table with four seats and pulled out a chair for Melody, but she bypassed his offer and pulled out her own seat.

  Almost as soon as he sat in the chair that faced the door and gave a view of the kitchen entrance, a server came by to take their drink orders.

  “So what’s the plan?” she asked. “If you don’t have a solid plan, I think my head’s going to explode.”

  “Fine. We have the apartment, but I’m a hundred percent sure it’s a trap. So we have to be smarter. If Forbes is waiting for us to make our move, he won’t be there all the time. I called the doorman and asked if he knew anything about a Matthew Forbes.”