To Catch a Thief--A High Stakes Romantic Suspense

by Sloane Steele

  Later that afternoon, Mia called Nikki. “Have you and Audrey had any luck with plans?”

  “Oh, yeah. But you’re not gonna like it. Come here when you get off work.”

  She sighed. “Fine.”

  She might not like the plan Nikki and Audrey came up with, but at least they had forward movement. She texted Logan. Your great-grandfather’s painting was titled Farm Girl Dreams.

  How do you know?

  Research, baby.

  He sent a gif from the movie Wayne’s World of Wayne and Garth bowing.

  She responded with a Venus Williams princess wave from Wimbledon.

  Then she put her phone in her purse because she was having far too much fun with her mark.

  Chapter Eighteen

  By the time Mia got to the apartment to meet Nikki and Audrey, she was exhausted. Walking into the living room, she saw a wooden crate sitting in front of the couch. She went over and peered in. The Spenser forgery was packed inside.

  “What is this?”

  “While we were doing recon today, we saw a company come and crate up Caleb Small’s Spenser painting to prepare it for transport. They set up in the driveway and built a custom crate. Using the pictures we took, we re-created it here,” Nikki explained.

  “I’m guessing your plan is to then switch the entire crate and hope no one notices.”

  “They won’t notice. This is identical.”

  “What exactly is the part you think I will take issue with?”

  Audrey tapped her tablet and brought up more images on the TV. “According to McNamara’s, their preferred handlers will be picking up the painting tomorrow afternoon. We need to get in before then.”

  A pulse throbbed behind Mia’s left eye. Even though she knew she would regret it, she asked, “What does that have to do with me?”

  “We need access to the house, and you’re our best bet,” Nikki said, shoving a donut into her mouth.

  “I have no way of getting you in.”

  “Mrs. Small is out of town. Caleb’s been there all day. No sign of leaving. If you can lure Caleb out, we can get in. I’m not comfortable sitting and waiting for him to leave and hoping he doesn’t come back before we’re gone,” Audrey said.

  “He doesn’t need to be gone. If you can just keep him occupied like you did the Bishops, I can work with that,” Nikki added. “London is on call with the van as soon as we need her.”

  “Christ. Why the hell would I want to go there? I need to have a valid reason.” One that didn’t involve bringing Logan because that would be far too suspicious. Then an idea sparked. “Forget it. I have it.”

  She checked the time. Late, but not rudely so. She dialed Caleb’s number.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Caleb. It’s Mia Benson.”

  “Mia, how are you?”

  “I’ve actually been better. I was wondering if it wouldn’t be too much of an imposition, I’d like to talk to you about something.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Actually, this is better to be discussed in person. Are you available if I come over tonight?”

  “Tonight? Uh, well, I suppose.”

  “Thank you. I’ll be there within the hour.” Then she disconnected. “Get your keys, girls, we have a painting to steal.”

  “What are you going to talk to him about?” Audrey asked.

  “The truth. Keaton Bishop is angry and he wants to blame me for pointing out he has a forgery. Then my father called. These men have been in touch with him. Even if he doesn’t admit it, he’ll know I’m not lying. I’ll play the paranoia card I played with Darren Turner.”

  Nikki clapped. “That’s it. We’ve brought Mia over to the dark side. Admit it,” she said as she bumped Mia’s shoulder with hers, “you like it.”

  Mia raised an eyebrow. “I don’t dislike it.”

  Audrey asked, “How did you know he’d agree?”

  “While I was being pushy, it would have been incredibly rude of him to turn me away in my time of need. I specifically asked him for help. He wouldn’t want it to get around that he declined.”

  “You people have too many rules to live by,” Audrey said.

  “You people?”

  “Rich people. The rest of us would be like, ‘Hell, no. Call me tomorrow.’ It’s not like you were crying or really desperate or anything.”

  “It would have been far more suspicious if I had cried.”

  Audrey eyed her. “Yeah, I could see that.”

  “I’ll get London here with the van,” Nikki said. “Get your comm in because we don’t know where the crate is and you’ll need to direct us. Plus, you can give us a heads-up about what room you’re in.”

  “Got it,” Mia said and took the earpiece and the camera necklace. “My ride will be here in a few minutes.”

  “We’re not going together?” Audrey asked.

  Mia huffed. “Do you really think I would ever be seen stepping out of that van?”

  Audrey’s mouth dropped open. “The van is beautiful. It’s a whole mobile command center.”

  “And it looks highly suspicious. But to save time, we’ll all take the car together to get the van.”

  They gathered the crate and Nikki’s tools and went out to the car. Mia got in the passenger seat and said, “Here’s fifty dollars cash if you can take a quick detour and drop my friends off.”

  “No problem, lady. Where to?”

  They gave him the address to London’s loft and rode in silence. When Audrey and Nikki got out, Mia stepped out to move to the back seat. Before getting back in, she said to them, “Move fast and get in place so that as soon as I’m with Caleb, you can go in. I don’t know how long I can keep him interested in my ramblings.”

  “Will do.”

  Once in the back seat, Mia made sure the driver knew where they were going and she texted Logan because they’d made tentative plans for drinks. I’m going to be much later than anticipated. Raincheck?

  No problem. But I am a night owl.

  I should be home in about three hours. And I do have a wonderful bottle of red wine.

  You know I don’t really need the nightcap, right? I just want to see you.

  Of course she’d known that he wanted to have sex again, but something about his message made her face flush. Pack a bag. I’ll let you know when I’m home.

  When the car arrived at Caleb Small’s house, Mia tipped the driver and walked to the front door. “I’m here,” she said for the comm.

  “We’re on the next block. As far as we know, there are no exterior cameras. Do you see any?”

  Mia looked around. “I don’t see anything.” She made a point of moving in multiple directions so Audrey could see through the camera what Mia saw. She rang the bell and waited.

  Caleb answered the door still wearing his suit pants and dress shirt, but no shoes. His tie was gone and his sleeves were rolled up. Mia had a flash of Logan dressed the same and what a turn-on it had been. Looking at Caleb, however, was like looking at her father.

  “Mia, come in.”

  “Thank you so much for meeting me on such short notice.” She stepped into the foyer and looked around. “Is Carole home? I haven’t seen her in ages.”

  “No. She’s visiting her sister in Arizona. Why the hell she’d want to go there in the middle of the summer, I’ll never understand. Come in. Can I get you a drink?”

  As they walked into the dining room, she saw the crate leaning against the wall. It did, in fact, look identical to the one Nikki had built.

  Caleb saw her looking at it. “It’s the Spenser I’m auctioning.”

  “Actually, that’s what I want to talk to you about. If it’s not too much of an imposition, can I have some coffee? I had a horrible evening and my day was jam packed with meetings.”

  “Sure. L
et’s go to the kitchen and I’ll make you a cup.”

  “I forgot how lovely your dining room is. One day I hope to have a home with a formal dining room.”

  “Carole loves her dinner parties. The only reason that crate is there instead of sitting in my den is because she’s not home. No one is allowed to do anything in this room. Or the kitchen for that matter. She sees them as her domain.”

  Mia chuckled. “You’re just breaking all the rules while she’s on vacation, aren’t you?”

  Caleb put a pod into his coffeemaker. One cup. He wanted her out of here fast. She made sure to take a seat at the far end of the kitchen breakfast counter, from where she could only see a sliver of the dining room, which meant Caleb wouldn’t be able to see anything.

  “The house is so quiet,” she said.

  “It took a lot of getting used to once the children were grown. I keep suggesting to Carole that we downsize, but she won’t have it.”

  The smell of coffee filled the room and Caleb poured himself a brandy. He handed her the cup of coffee. “Cream? Sugar?”

  “Black is fine.”

  In her ear, Nikki said, “Dude didn’t even lock the front door. I’m going in. Keep him in the kitchen.”

  Mia’s heart raced. How could Nikki think waltzing through the front door was a good idea?

  “Have you talked to Keaton?”

  “Not in the past week, no. Why?”

  “I was at his house last night for dinner and to look at his Moreau for a private buyer.”

  “That’s supposed to be part of the auction with my Spenser.”

  “I know. But an overseas friend heard about it and was interested. When I looked at it, I noticed that it was obviously a forgery.”

  “What?”

  “Keaton was furious. I didn’t know what to do. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. First, Randall Scott asked me to look at his Mathis painting because the appraiser told him it was forged. It was. And now this. I feel like someone is after me.”

  “I’m making the switch now. Keep talking,” Nikki whispered.

  Mia forced her eyes down at her coffee to resist the urge to look in the direction of the dining room. “My dad called me this morning. Yelling at me for screwing up his deal.”

  When she looked up again, Caleb was staring at her with concern.

  “He said the painting was his contingency because he needs money.” She wrapped both hands around her coffee cup. “Something’s not right. This many forgeries all at the same time?”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “Dad thinks Keaton is trying to cheat him.”

  “Keaton would never.”

  Sure. And my father is an upstanding citizen. “It’s making me uneasy because I’ve been part of at least two declarations of forgery. I feel paranoid.”

  Caleb reached across the counter and put his hand on her wrist. “Your father will be fine. I’ll talk to Keaton. We’ll get to the bottom of this. You have nothing to worry about.”

  From the corner of her eye, she saw Nikki in the doorway to the dining room giving her a thumbs-up. The woman was impossible. Always taking unnecessary risks.

  “I am worried, Caleb. About my father. About my reputation in the art world. About the effects of all of this on my mother. I’m just so overwhelmed.” She rested her head in her hand. From the other side of the house, she was sure she heard the click of the front door. She needed to exit.

  Keaton must’ve heard it as well because he looked over his shoulder. “I don’t know what’s going on, but know that your father is trying to protect you. I’ll talk with the others and figure something out.”

  She slid from her stool and came around the counter to offer him a brief hug. “Thank you so much.” She pulled away. “I should be going. It’s late.”

  “Do you need a ride?”

  “No. I’ll call a car.” She tapped a message to Nikki that she was leaving, then called a car. “My ride will be here shortly. Please tell Carole I said hi.”

  “Absolutely. We should have you and your mother over for dinner when Carole gets back.”

  “That would be lovely.” Her mother was going to kill her for saying that. After every dinner party at the Smalls’ house, Beverly would rant about the overdecorated rooms and the pretentious food. Carole had always tried to one-up each of her peers in dinner party flair.

  Caleb walked her to the door, pausing to look at the crate. She followed his gaze, but it didn’t look like the crate had been moved. He waited on the front steps until her ride arrived. They waved goodbye. As soon as she was in the car, she texted Logan to tell him she would be home in thirty minutes. Then she switched to her burner phone and texted Jared.

  Nikki has the Spenser. Move it fast.

  While the phone was still in her hand, Nikki called. “You were good. The painting is safe and we’re on our way back to the apartment. Will you be joining us for a celebratory drink?”

  “As lovely as that sounds—” and for the first time, she wasn’t saying it sarcastically “—I have other plans. Jared will be by in the morning to handle that.”

  “See you tomorrow. Enjoy your plans.” Then she hung up.

  When the car pulled up at her building, Logan was already waiting in the lobby for her. She opened the door and he turned to see her. His face broke into a smile and her insides softened at an alarming rate.

  He crossed to her, pulled her into a hug, and kissed her temple before stepping back.

  “What was that for?”

  “You looked like you needed it. You sure it’s okay that I’m here?”

  “Absolutely.” She didn’t want to admit how nice it was to be met by a smiling face after a long, stressful day. Pointing to the small container he held, she asked, “What’s that?”

  “Cookies.” He bent and picked up a small duffel bag.

  He planned to spend the night, which gave her another rush. She took his hand and led him to the elevator, waving at the doorman as they walked. “Why did you bring me cookies?”

  She pressed the button for the elevator and the doors opened immediately.

  When they stepped inside, he said, “They’re from Mama Mae. She sent them as a bribe. We’re having a birthday party for one of my sisters tomorrow and Mae wants to meet you.”

  “Oh.” What was she supposed to say to that? Involving families would make it difficult to keep this casual.

  “Before you decide, you have to try one.” He opened the lid to the cookies as they arrived at her condo.

  She reached over, took one, and bit into it as she unlocked her door. A chocolatey gooey deliciousness burst on her tongue. Chocolate dough with a mix of chunks and chips throughout. The edges were crisp but the center chewy. “This is amazing.”

  “Now you know why it’s a bribe.”

  She put her keys and purse on the counter and took another cookie from the container he set down. “You want something to drink?” she asked without turning around.

  Logan grabbed her from behind and pulled her flush to his body. “I just want you.”

  He kissed the side of her neck and palmed her breast. She dropped the cookie back in the container and tilted her head to give him better access. He knew exactly where to kiss and lick to turn her on.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Logan lay in Mia’s bed, half dozing, with her body curled next to his. He ran his fingers down her back. “So, about the party tomorrow.”

  “Did you seriously ply me with cookies and orgasms to get me to agree to attend a family gathering?” she murmured against his chest.

  “I told you the cookies were a bribe. The orgasms were every bit as much for me as you.”

  “We’ve only been on a couple of dates. Coming to a party with your whole family does not smack of being casual.”

  “I like you, Mia. An
d my family is important to me. I don’t know how long I’ll be in town. If I don’t make headway on this case, I might get sent to a different field office. I want to enjoy my time while I’m here.”

  “And if you do get your transfer?” She angled her head to look at him.

  “Then I get to spend even more time with you. Maybe we’ll get serious or maybe we won’t work out. But I want the chance.”

  She smoothed her hand over his chest. “You’re a good man, Logan.”

  “I hope so. Mae would kick my ass if I wasn’t.” He continued to stroke her back, loving the feel of her silky skin beneath his fingers. “Are you working tomorrow?”

  “I probably should, but no. I need a day off. How about you?”

  “I have to run a few things down, but we should be done early. What do you plan to do?”

  “I have to talk to my mother and let her know what’s going on with my father. I don’t want your FBI friends to show up to question her without warning.”

  “We work together, but I wouldn’t say they’re my friends.”

  “Agent Halloran’s an asshole.”

  “He does seem to want you to be guilty of something, but I think that’s mostly because your father slipped out of his hands. Your dad didn’t call again, did he?”

  “No. He said he’d be in touch.”

  He thought for a moment before continuing. He didn’t want to mess up what they had going and he didn’t want her to take things the wrong way. “I’m glad you’re keeping us in the loop about your father, but are you really okay with it?”

  “Yes.”

  No hesitation, no stopping to think. He’d like to think he’d do the same, but he couldn’t imagine being in such an impossible position.

  “I’m glad you came to spend the night,” she mumbled and then her breathing evened out.

  He was glad he came over, too.

  When he woke in the morning, he reached across the bed, seeking Mia’s body, but the space was empty. He opened one eye and checked his phone. He had to get moving to meet Stokes. He had one more thing to talk to Mia about—besides Paris’s party later—so he climbed from bed, pulled his boxers on, and went to find her. He tried the kitchen first, but she wasn’t there. He started a pot of coffee and went down the other hall. As he neared a room, quiet strains of classical music floated through the air.