To Catch a Thief

by Nana Malone

  I glowered at her. "We never had a deal. You wanted to use me as bait to catch a psychopath. So you can imagine why I'd say no thanks."

  "Yeah, yeah, I could see that. Although you are under the misguided impression that it was a request. It wasn't, you see. From the moment you called me and laid out your concerns, I've been watching you."

  "That was you?"

  She shrugged. "Well, I have to keep an eye on you, don't I? Max could contact you at any time, you know."

  I shook my head. "You're insane."

  "I'm not insane. I'm just determined and driven. If you agree to cooperate and help us, we can make this a lot easier. But I have no problem serving you up. I really don't."

  "Clearly." I tried to move past her, but she followed me out into the street.

  "I also happen to see that you've been particularly charming with a certain Oliver Wexler. I wonder what he would think about this whole thing. I'm sure he'd have an opinion."

  "You wouldn't."

  "I think you underestimate what I would and wouldn't do. I want Max Wexler behind bars. You can either willingly help me capture him, or you can unwillingly do it. And just so you know," she followed me as I turned right on the square heading toward the office, "I looked at the surveillance cameras for the party at the Kensington estate. You said you thought you might have seen him there, right?"

  The skin on the back of my neck stood at attention. What was she going to say? Had I been right? Had Max been there? “Please, don’t leave me in suspense.”

  She laughed. "There was a gentleman there who looked an awful lot like Max Wexler."

  I turned around. "You're serious?"

  She grinned. "Yes, I am. I'm not playing with you, Miss Beaumont. I just want to do my job. And I'm not letting him slip out of my hands again. This is the man who set you up to take the fall for several robberies he committed, the man who sent your family into all that turmoil, and he's after you. And the sooner you get on board with helping me, the faster this goes. But sure, play happy family with his brother instead. You can do that. It’s your call."

  "You're watching Ollie too?"

  She shook her head. "The two brothers have had a notable rift. Max is very unlikely to speak to Ollie. Although, if he knew Ollie was, you know, giving it to you, I am certain that he would make an appearance. I wonder what would happen then."

  "What is wrong with you? I called you for help when Max left me that little gift of my aunt’s pendant."

  "And I'm trying to give it to you. You're going to have to saddle up at some point. You can't walk around here as if you're clueless anymore. It won't fly."

  "I don't have to do anything."

  "You don't. You're right. But you know, if you don't help me like I said, I can talk to your bosses. And I do have a storied past with the London Lords. They themselves have come under scrutiny several times. Although, one of them is now married to an Interpol agent, but I do still have questions. Imagine who else in your life I can disrupt."

  "You're the problem. I'm not helping you."

  "Yes, you will."

  I hurried away from her and found Ollie in front of our building. He said, "Hey, you didn't see my text?"

  "Oh, did you text? I didn't even see. It was crowded in the coffee shop."

  He frowned and then inclined his head down the street. "Were you talking to someone?"

  I didn't want to lie to Ollie, but I would have to because he was not going to believe that I wanted nothing to do with her.

  "Nope. Just someone asking for directions. No big deal."

  He seemed to buy that and nodded before pulling me in to give me a kiss on the forehead. "Are you all right? You look kind of spaced out."

  "Nope. I'm fine. We have work to do."

  "Oh, I know. But just so that we're clear, the next client we get is mine."

  I smiled up at him. "You're going to have to pry the next client out of my cold hands."

  "I think that can be arranged. I know where your tickle spots are."

  I giggled as I brushed past him. "And I know what your Achilles heel is." I leaned closer. "PS, it's not your heel."

  Ollie barked a laugh, and I watched as his eyes crinkled. His beautiful eyes. God, this was such a mess. I needed to find a way out of it and fast.

  Ollie

  She was lying. The question was, why?

  Was it some girlfriend? Why would she lie to me about having coffee with someone? These past few days, as we'd prepped the documents and the cost analysis for some of our vendors, she'd been acting normal. As if everything was okay. I couldn't place it, but there had been something in her eyes this afternoon that told me she was keeping secrets.

  When I met the lads for a workout later on, I was still thinking about it. Alex just laughed when he took one look at my face. "Woman troubles already? I’d think you'd be able to hold on to her longer than a week."

  "Oh, funny. So funny. I'll have you know, things are grand."

  Except for the fact that she's lying to you.

  "All right then, why do you look confused and worried and all that shit?"

  "I am not confused or worried. I was just thinking. I don't know, I think she's hiding something. Something she specifically doesn't want me to know, and of course, I don't know what it is."

  Liam just laughed. "God, you're looking like every man in the world who wants to know what his woman is thinking. Of course, you do."

  "Do you think it has to do with you?" Alex asked.

  I shrugged. "I don't really know. But she didn't want me to see that she'd been talking to someone this afternoon."

  Alex raised a brow. "Was it a bloke?"

  I shook my head. "No, a woman. Older."

  "Family, maybe?"

  "No. I know from before, she only had an aunt here, and it definitely wasn’t her."

  The blokes shrugged. "Well, maybe it's just an acquaintance. We don't know for sure. This is pricking your Spidey senses, isn't it?"

  I nodded. "I wish it wasn't. I wish I could just let it go, but she's lying. And I know for a fact it's going to eat at me."

  From his position on the bench, Liam lifted his eyes and spoke up. "Or, you know, you could try asking her."

  I frowned at that.

  "Have you tried asking her about it?"

  "She clammed up tight. There's something she doesn't want me to know. So why would I ask her outright again?"

  "I don't know, because you're all happy and loved-up and shit. Who knew that a tense, dangerous situation was going to bond you?"

  "We have a lot of history. Maybe that's the reason she doesn't want to say anything."

  Liam shrugged. "Well, there are two ways to deal with this. One is you wait until she tells you."

  I gave him a look that said clearly, we're not going that way.

  He laughed.

  "All right, and what's way number two?"

  "I can dig into her background a little bit more," Alex said.

  I knew the right answer to that. I did. I could feel the right answer in my bones. The problem was, given our history, it was tempting. I knew it could provide me with answers, and I wanted to be able to help. For all I knew, she was in some kind trouble.

  Oh, you don't trust her.

  I ground my teeth. "You know what, I don’t think I’m ready to do that yet.”

  Alex just shrugged. "My nimble fingers are awaiting your instructions."

  I was glad to have the support of my mates, but if Alex went poking around, he’d probably poke in places I didn't want him looking.

  And since our pasts were connected, if they went nosing around somewhere they shouldn't with her, they were going to find something they shouldn't with me.

  No, this one I was going to deal with all on my own.

  Twenty-Two

  Rian

  After the hell of the afternoon with Colton Cox calling me a stripper, everything had gone from bad to worse. I still hadn’t seen Ollie long enough to tell him about it.


  I was supposed to see him that night, so I figured I’d get a quick hair wash in. We had a lot to talk about. Obviously, I didn't necessarily think it would be easy, but the heist of weekends past, I had not expected.

  I loved the steam as it washed over my body. I'd been holding this tension inside of me all damn day since lunch and then that push from DI Jones at the coffee shop. There was also a message from home in my voicemail, but I didn’t have the courage to check it yet. I couldn't muster the energy. Not right now. Not today. All I wanted to do was stand in the shower and try to figure out what the hell Ollie and I were going to do.

  A sound from the living room had me frowning..

  You’re hearing things now?

  Yes, I was a little bit paranoid.

  I tried to rinse the shampoo out of my hair, all the while straining to listen. I wasn't crazy, right? I tried to start the breathing exercises I’d been taught. I was already tense from the weekend, but I was fine. Nothing was wrong with me. No one was here.

  I turned off the water and wrapped a towel around my head. I reached for my second towel and frowned. Fuck. I'd tossed that in the wash, hadn't I?

  Just as I unwrapped my hair to use that towel to dry off as much as I could, my bathroom door burst open and the sheer shock of it had me standing there for just a nanosecond. When I opened my mouth to scream, Oliver barged in and clamped a hand over my mouth. "Shut the fuck up. There are men coming for you. We need to run."

  My eyes went wide as my heart started to race and gallop. Oliver was here. In my flat. With me. Naked. In my bathroom. Not a cause for concern at all.

  I shook my head and he growled at me. "I swear to fucking God, if you want to live, you will do as I say. Grab a robe and let's go." He eased his hand down, and I opened my mouth to argue. Then I heard the crash of glass from my living room, and my eyes went wide.

  "Oh my God," I whispered.

  He nodded. "Yeah. Let's go."

  "I can't leave the house in a robe."

  "You'll have to. We'll pop by a Marks & Sparks to get you something and then we’ll go.”

  “We should call the police," I whispered.

  "Yeah, we'll do it just as soon as we get you to safety."

  "Who is it?"

  He shook his head. "Could be one of the blokes who roughed me up. Could be Colton Cox. Really, the possibilities are endless."

  He spoke quickly as he grabbed my robe and forced it around my shoulders. He didn't look down, which I thought was a valiant effort. "They came for you."

  “Me? What do you mean me? Why?”

  “Let’s set that question aside for now. We need to go. Now, Rian.” I let him shove my still wet arms into the robe and then drew the lapels tight. I cinched it with a tie.

  "Which way out?"

  He pointed at the window. "Out you get."

  I stared at him. "What's out there?"

  "The Dumpster."

  "Are you kidding me?"

  "No, unfortunately. Come on, out you get."

  "Fucking hell." I climbed up on the sill and slid down. “Really? This?" I mumbled my protest.

  "We don't have time for this." And then he gave me a shove out. I ground my teeth together, trying to keep from yelping. I slid my arms out wide to help disperse the fall. When I landed with a thud and an oof, I realized it wasn't as bad as it could have been. There was certainly garbage in there, but there were also empty boxes piled on top. My landing could have been a lot worse.

  Cognizant that Ollie was also trying to jump out, I scrambled to the side, well aware that I needed to now climb out of the garbage with no panties on.

  I shuddered. "Fuck."

  He landed next to me with barely a thud. "All right, let's go."

  I stared at him. "Where do we go? I don't have a bra on. I'm naked under this. And I don't have shoes."

  "Let's focus on getting you out of here. I have a car waiting just down the road. A blue Peugeot."

  "You're serious about this?"

  His gaze focused on me. "Yeah. Deadly serious. Move."

  And then he put his two hands on my hips, lifting me easily up over the barrier. All I had to do was drop down.

  "Fucking hell."

  "Yeah, be quiet now."

  I dared not look down at what I was walking on. There were wet things, slimy things, sharp things. "Aww, fuck."

  "Be careful. Tread as carefully as you can, but we still have to go quickly."

  "What the fuck?"

  And then I heard shouting coming from above. I glanced up, and there were men leaning out my bathroom window. Ollie took my hand and started to drag me down the street. And the men were shouting at whoever they were talking to. He was right. People had come for me. But why? I hadn't done anything wrong. "Who are they? Why are they chasing us?"

  "From the look of them, they’re professionals. Those aren’t your average rude boy thugs. They’re well trained. So my guess is that Colton Cox hired them."

  "How did he know where I live?"

  Ollie just tugged me, forcing me to run.

  Something caught my foot and I cried out. "Fuck, Ollie."

  He lifted me easily and put me over his shoulder, running. "I'm sorry, love, but we don't have time for this."

  We had to cross one more alley, and he was running to make a turn toward the right when a massive black SUV squealed to a stop in front of us. One of the doors swung open. I could hear it, even when all I could see was Ollie’s behind. And a familiar voice, low, deep, tight, commanding, shattered the momentary eerie silence. "Get the fuck in."

  Why did I know that voice? I tried to whirl around to look, well aware that whoever was in that SUV could practically see my bum. Ollie must have realized the same thing, because he put a hand over my ass.

  I tried to squirm. "Get your hand off of my ass."

  "You don't want that. You really, really don't want that."

  "Put me the fuck down."

  He eased me down. I hit him, ineffectually, of course, because he was massive in comparison and didn’t feel a thing. When I turned around, I saw three people I didn't expect to see. The London Lords. My bosses. I was so fucked.

  It was Bridge’s voice I’d heard, I realized when he spoke again. "Get the fuck in the car now."

  I didn't argue. I just scrambled into the backseat through the door that had been opened for us. When I climbed in, I realized that Ollie still stood there frowning. I glowered at him. "Are you kidding me? Get the fuck in. They’re going to help us get away."

  I could see the moment when he made the choice. His gaze skittered to them and back to me. And then he glanced behind us before climbing into the car and slamming the door shut.

  I didn't know what was going to happen, but I knew that things were about to get deadly serious.

  Twenty-Three

  Oliver

  Rian slid across the seat, fumbling into me.

  She muttered sorry before righting herself.

  Those assholes that had been in her place, fucking chasing us through the goddamn streets of London… What the fuck?

  "Not that I'm not grateful, but what the fuck are you doing here?" I asked.

  East chuckled. "You know, that doesn't seem like happiness to see us. And considering we just saved your arses, I'd be a lot more grateful if I were you."

  I shrugged. "I don't like coincidences."

  From the driver’s seat, Bridge laughed. "Yeah, neither do we."

  The way he drove, he was like a bloody Formula One driver. Weaving and looping through the London streets. A left. A right. Next thing I knew, we were at Finsbury Park.

  “What the fuck is happening? I didn't sign up for any of this.”

  He chuckled. "I'm not going to tell you... yet."

  In the front seat, Ben turned around and grinned. "He's kidding. Seriously, it's all good."

  In fact, Bridge did look like he was kidding. And this was the most I’d seen him smile in weeks as he was driving like a maniac.

  Ri
an had that wide-eyed look of shock on her face. "So, you’re just okay with the fact that arseholes are chasing us? That I'm in my robe and I have no clothes on? Nobody wants to ask me questions?"

  I could hear it in her voice. That edge. She was starting to lose it. Any second now, she was going to shut down.

  I reached over and took her hand. "You're fine. You're okay. It's going to be okay."

  In the front seat, Ben slid Bridge a glance, which I didn't appreciate. It wouldn't help keep her calm.

  "I'm not exactly sure it's going to be fine, mate," Ben said.

  "Well, telling her it's not going to be fine doesn't help keep her calm."

  He chuckled. "Right. Right. Okay, easy does it, Rian. He's right. It'll likely be fine. You will get past this."

  Rian stared at him and then at Bridge in the rearview, and he chuckled too. "Oh, relax. He's right. It will be fine. Now, which one of you wants to tell us who's after you?"

  Rian turned on me then. "You can ask him. I was minding my own business. This all started with him."

  I laughed. "Wow, how quickly you turned on me."

  "Well, this is your doing."

  "You know what? Next time your life is in danger, I'm not going to rescue you."

  "Would you two just fucking stop? Bickering about it won’t solve your problems, that’s for sure,” Bridge piped in.

  In the backseat, East joked, "Oh no, please do go on. I love the good gossip of a couple gone wrong."

  We both stared at him. "We're not a couple," Rian said.

  He nodded. "Uh-huh, sure."

  Rian tried to correct him again. "No, really. We're not. I barely even know him."

  In the front seat beside Bridge, Ben smirked. East just met my gaze. I was going to catch hell for this. They'd already been pretty clear. Rian was one of theirs, and they fully intended to look after her. Which meant, since I had brought shit to her door, they were none too pleased with me.

  Whatever. As long as she got out of this, whatever happened to me was fine.