The Dangerous Thief (Stolen Hearts Book 3) Read online

Willa felt her heart sink. “So what does this mean? We just have to let him get away with it?”

  “He doesn’t get away with anything,” growled James. “Just give me thirty seconds alone with him.”

  Austin laughed. “I knew I liked you, Weston.”

  “No, it doesn’t mean we let him get away with anything,” said Scott, obviously not as amused by James’s willingness to take things into his own hands. “Toni found something else.”

  Toni smiled as all attention turned back to her. “Well, the laptop might not be good as solid evidence right now, but it pointed us in the perfect direction. Remember when I said Jadon has connections at the Pentagon? Well, those connections have been feeding him classified information. Very classified information. If we can get our hands on the original file and deliver it right to the top people at the Pentagon, they’ll take care of Jadon themselves.”

  “How do we deliver something to the head of the Pentagon?”

  “That is a me thing,” said Toni. “Right now we’re going to work on a Jennifer thing.”

  “A what?” asked Willa.

  “A thief thing. I steal things for a living. What do I have to steal?”

  “We,” said Austin. “You’re not doing anything alone. What are we stealing?”

  Couples who steal together stay together, she supposed.

  “You don’t have to steal anything. What is stored on the laptop is a photocopy scan of documents. But based off the residual information I could pick up off of the images, the scanner that was used is located inside the Cordon Enterprises building. So he has the original documents somewhere inside the building. We need to prove that they’re there.” Toni reached into her bag and pulled out two disposable cameras, the older film ones that used to be at every table at weddings.

  “I didn’t realize they still made those,” said Willa.

  “Well, they do. And they’re a bitch to find, so you two need to be careful. We only have these two for now. You need to get into the building, find the original documents, snap photos with enough background info so the Department of Defense will know where they were taken and then get out before anyone knows what you’re doing.”

  Jennifer took one of the cameras and turned it in her hands. “So we’re not even taking anything? That should be easy.”

  “Should be,” said Toni, even though she didn’t seem as though she believed it. “Thanks to Willa’s cloning Jadon’s phone, we have access to his schedule, so we can get you up to the offices when we know he’ll be gone for a few hours.”

  “Except the papers could be anywhere,” pointed out Scott. “We’re assuming that he’s keeping the shady documents close to all of his normal documents, but there’s just as good of a chance that they’re at his apartment.”

  “We can split up,” said Jennifer. “I’ll do the office building and Austin can do the apartment.”

  “We’ll do one at a time,” said Austin. “We already lost one team member. We don’t need to lose anyone else.”

  Everyone fell quiet and Willa knew they were talking about Toni and Jennifer’s mother. Willa looked over to James and saw him looking at her. He was his normal stoic self. He had said so little. Did he think this was a good idea? Was he optimistic about getting to Jadon via these classified documents?

  Willa took in a deep breath. It didn’t matter what James thought. This was good. They were so close to getting Jules the justice she deserved. Now they just needed to pull this off. “What do you need me to do? Vouch for Jennifer to get her in the building? Distract someone?” Toni pressed her lips together and Willa suddenly knew what they wanted from her. “You want me to stay out of the way.”

  “You’ve already done a lot,” assured Scott. “More than we could expect anyone else to do under the same circumstances.”

  Willa wanted to protest. To insist that she could still be useful. But she forced herself to remain quiet. She was by no means qualified to do anything, especially compared to everyone else in the room with her. “Well, it sounds like a plan then. When are you going to try to get the photos?”

  Jennifer and Toni exchanged a look. “Well, we haven’t really taken a look at his calendar yet,” said Toni carefully.

  They didn’t want to tell her. Fine. They didn’t have to.

  “Weston, I think you should be around when we make our move. You’re known there so you can get in—be nearby if we need you.”

  Willa forced herself not to look at his direction. Just because everyone in the room probably already knew they were screwing didn’t mean she needed to stare at him like a clingy high schooler.

  “I’ll be there,” said James.

  “Sounds good. We’ll try to get this done ASAP and then we can all move on. I suggest everyone have a way out of the city if necessary. If things go down, we’re going to need to run fast. I have my car.”

  “Austin and I both have clean IDs we can use if necessary.”

  Willa wasn’t really sure what a clean ID was, but she didn’t want to ask.

  “I’m basically a ghost. I go poof at a moment’s notice,” said Toni.

  Willa had no idea how to disappear. She could try to figure it out, but she had a feeling that if things went bad, she wouldn’t stand a chance of getting out of Dodge in time.

  Which meant that if this went south and one of the people in the room gave her up, she wouldn’t stand a chance. Which was worrisome, because as she looked around her, there was only one person who she thought liked her, and in all honesty, she wasn’t completely sure about that.

  James put the small earbud in place. It wasn’t completely invisible, but it was nude-colored so it would blend in, for the most part. If his “boss” noticed it, there would be questions, but he needed to be able to talk to Jennifer while she was inside.

  “Weston, we have you online,” said Toni into his ear. “Can you hear me? We have a visual. If you can hear me, scratch your nose.”

  James gave his nose a quick scratch.

  “Got it,” she said. “I’ll let you know when Jennifer makes her way in.”

  He looked around, trying to figure out which camera Toni was using to watch him. He was on the street in front of the Cordon Enterprises building. He didn’t see any noticeable traffic cameras, but that hadn’t stopped her. He wasn’t a fan of working in a group, but it did make life easier to have eyes in the sky. While looking for the camera, he noticed Benedict on the street corner. He was in a utility uniform and had parked a rental truck with a magnet for a gas company on the side. He was set to stay outside unless they needed to get in. If everything went right, only James and Jennifer would actually be going into the building.

  He heard the footsteps before he heard the voice behind him. “You good?” asked Hart.

  James didn’t turn to look at him. “It’s an easy in and out.” It was true. There was barely anything to prep for, let alone to worry about. Even so, it wasn’t as if he was going to admit his fears to Hart.

  “I wasn’t talking about this. I was talking about the girl.”

  James stiffened as though someone just put a gun to his back. He fished the earpiece out of his ear so the rest of the conversation would have some measure of privacy. “Toni talks too much.”

  “Toni didn’t need to say a damn thing. That girl looks at you like you’re the fucking sun in the sky, Weston. I want to know what your game plan is.”

  “I think you’re reading this wrong.”

  “It’s my job to read people for a living.”

  “Was your job. It’s been a few months since you’ve had a badge, right?” James knew that dig was a mistake the second he finished saying it. Lashing out at Hart was the best way to prove that Willa really was a variable to him. He tried to cover by saying, “I’m here. I’m helping. What more do you want from me?”

  “You know what I want. We get dirt on Jadon and he leads us to Sterling.”

  James nodded. “That’s why you’re here. You’re worried I’ll kill Belli before he
can lead you to your guy.”

  “I think that Willa’s main goal is punishing her father. I don’t give a damn what happens to him. All I want is Sterling. If he goes to prison after giving us what we want, if he’s rotting six feet under, if he retires on a beach in some non-extradition country, I don’t care. All I want is Sterling. Toni and Jennifer back me on this.”

  But Willa wouldn’t. Willa didn’t care about the faceless man who had killed Isobel Murray and Catherine Hart. And if Jadon survived and knew that Willa had turned on him? She might never be safe. “Jadon will give you the information you want,” assured Weston. “And after that, he’s never going to bother anyone ever again.”

  “And if you have to choose?” asked Hart.

  Weston didn’t look at Hart. “Leave it, Hart. This is all going to work out.”

  He thought Hart was going to keep pressing for an answer, but instead Hart started to back up and pointed to his ear, signaling to James that it was go time.

  “Swiped an access card,” said Jennifer into the earpiece as James finished putting it back in.

  “I’m going in,” said James. “The card will get you through the first turnstile, but my access will get you to the top floors.” He walked in and gave a quick nod hello to the security guard.

  Out of his peripheral, he saw Jennifer. Her hair was twisted up in a tight bun and she wore oversized glasses that did little to obscure her face. She wore a suit jacket and some loose pants that made her long legs appear longer. She didn’t look at him as she swiped the stolen card and made her way to the elevators, stopping right before the elevator bay to check her phone.

  Once James was in and past Jennifer, she put her phone away and stood a good distance away from him as they both waited for the elevator. When one hit the lobby, James, Jennifer, and one other person both stepped on. James ran his card over the security pad, which gave him the ability to enter in the number for the third-to-top level. One other person had come into the elevator and he hit his button, which didn’t need any keycard to access. Jennifer awkwardly made her way between them. During her little shimmy against him, James slipped his card into her hand. So when she swiped it and hit the button for the top level, where Jadon’s office was, it looked completely legit. And if anyone looked at the footage, it would look as though she’d stolen it from him, with him being none the wiser.

  The stranger got off about midway up the building and James took his exit on the security level. He didn’t look back as the doors closed and Jennifer was on her way up. Now he was mostly on standby. Because Jennifer now had his access card, he’d have to get a new one. Luckily he knew where the easiest mark in the building was. And he happened to be in the room without security cameras.

  James walked into the main security office to find Ike Shriver surrounded by a sea of empty coffee cups and takeout boxes. The room smelled rank, as if Ike had been there for days without leaving.

  Ike stiffened when James came in, but when he saw who it was, he sat back down. “Oh, it’s you, New Guy.”

  In terms of nicknames, James could think of millions more creative. But Shriver wasn’t exactly the most creative guy. “I wanted to check in.”

  “Babysitting boring? I heard Willa can be a bitch. If you need help tag teaming her, you let me know. I know we’re shorthanded, but I’ll figure something out.”

  He really didn’t want to know, but he found himself asking anyway. “Tag teaming?”

  “You know. You’re on guard duty and I rough her up a bit. Nothing too bad. Just enough to get her to follow orders like a good girl, you know?”

  James closed his eyes and pulled on all of his self-control to keep from punching Shriver right in his face. “I can handle her on my own, thanks.”

  “Just offering.”

  James picked up one of the containers of food and eyed it warily before he tossed it into the trash. “So have you been working overtime?”

  “Not sure if you heard, but they’re outsourcing. I want to make sure I’m here when the new guys come.”

  Outsourcing. The last thing they needed. Hopefully they’d be long gone before the new help got in. “What do we know about the new guys?”

  “Drake Securities,” said Shriver. “Besides that? Nothing. They’re nowhere online. They came very highly recommended, whatever the fuck that means. They’ll be looking at our system from bottom to top. I think you’ll have the easiest time.”

  Shriver was probably right about that. If James were legit, as the newest member of the team he could plead ignorance to anything shady that happened in the past. Though if they looked too deeply, they could also discover that all the shady dealings that Jadon had discovered were planted by Toni.

  He would have to get out sooner rather than later.

  “I’m in Jadon’s office,” said Jennifer in his ear.

  Which meant it was about time to head upstairs. As worried as Shriver was about this new security team coming in, he wasn’t doing a damn thing to be more secure. His badge sat right on the outside of his jacket, which was on the back of his chair. He didn’t even have to try to be subtle as he picked it off the jacket.

  “I’m sure it won’t be as bad as you think,” said James, lying. Shriver’s job would never survive a thorough look-through.

  Shriver scoffed. “Sure. Sterling’s guys aren’t known for being forgiving,” he said under his breath.

  “Sterling?”

  Shriver rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Forget about it. I never said anything.”

  “James, what’s your position?” asked Toni.

  “I have to head out. Hang in there.” James left and made his way to the door.

  “You never told me what you were doing here,” said Shriver before James could make a clean break.

  “I’m in the safe,” said Jennifer.

  Fuck. It had only been a few minutes and she was already in the safe? “I’m just here to check in. I needed a break and the backup showed up at the girl’s apartment.”

  He put his hand on the door when Shriver’s phone started to buzz and Shriver cursed. James debated just leaving but decided against it. “What’s wrong?”

  “There’s a break-in. Someone’s in Belli’s office. Let’s go.” Shriver pulled his jacket on and James let the keycard fall to the ground so Shriver wouldn’t know it was missing.

  “What do you mean someone’s breaking into Belli’s office?” said James loudly.

  “I’m on it,” said Austin. “ETA is three minutes.”

  James had no idea how Austin thought he was going to get past security and up that fast until Toni said, “They know they’re compromised so I’m about to take over control of the elevators. Austin, you make it there and I’ll take you up.”

  “Getting down will be harder though,” said Scott, who was probably in the van on the street with Toni. “James, we know every aspect of this security system. I need you to figure out what tipped off Shriver.”

  James and Shriver were both getting on the elevator. “So we should be there in what—sixty seconds?” he said, letting Jennifer know what kind of time she had. “What was the notification you got?”

  “There was an advanced scout from Drake here earlier. He beefed up everything. And it was his system that was tipped off, not ours. Fuck.”

  James took out his sidearm and loaded a round in the chamber. “I can subdue and you can call the police.”

  Shriver waved a hand dismissively. “The cops are never going to make it here. Drake’s guy should be there any second now.”

  “What?” snapped Austin.

  “Aren’t there cameras in Belli’s office?” bit out James.

  “No!” yelled Toni into his ear. “It’s a dark zone.”

  “There’s someone here,” whispered Jennifer.

  “James, you need to be up there now,” said Austin.

  “Weston, you’re going to get there first,” said Hart, the only one left who seemed to be keeping a cool head. “The second those doors
open, make a run for it.”

  And then the doors opened and James ran. He already knew right where Jadon’s office was. He slammed into the door and saw the strange guy in the middle of it. “Drake Securities, right? Where’s the intruder? I thought you were supposed to have him in custody already.”

  “I’m going to be there in twenty seconds,” said Austin.

  “Jennifer, I want you to make a run for it once Austin is close. Weston, I want you to clear the way for Jennifer to make it to the elevator. It’s more vulnerable than the stairs, but you’re too high up for the stairs to make sense. We’re going to shut down the elevators once Austin and Jennifer are clear, so get ready to deal with the fallout, Weston. If things look too heavy, get out with them.”

  While Hart was giving orders, the Drake Securities guy was talking, but James only caught every other word. The gist of it was that he was still clearing the room. “Shriver will be here in a few minutes,” he said to Austin and the Drake man. “If I were hiding, I’d try to get to another room.” James glanced around, trying to figure out where Jennifer would be. “Have you checked out the attached conference room yet?”

  The security man shook his head. “I got here too fast for that. I would’ve seen. Let me do one more sweep around the room.”

  “Austin’s coming up on Shriver,” said Toni in his ear. “Weston, clear a path for Jennifer now.”

  Damn it. Weston hated to do bad at any job, even a fake one. But the second Jennifer popped out, James threw himself between her and the new security guy. Jennifer didn’t kid around and slammed her elbow into his gut. Normally he’d be able to shrug it off, but he made his grunt believable and fell back against the new guy. It was shit for a tactic, but it was just enough to let Jennifer and Austin make a run for it. James got up and ran after them, hopping over Shriver’s limp body. Whatever Austin had done, it had knocked him out cold.

  James pointed his gun at the elevator as Austin and Jennifer got on. Jennifer was already pulling at her jacket and pants, changing her outfit so when she stepped off the elevator she’d probably be unrecognizable. To make it look good, James aimed his gun in the general direction of the elevator and fired off a few wide shots.