The Beautiful Thief (The Stolen Hearts #2) Read online

Confusion passed over her face. “You get what?”

  “You want to die.” She seemed taken aback by the suggestion, but it made all the sense in the world to him. “You came to Chicago but I distracted you before you could get yourself caught by Belli’s guys. And now you want me to finish the job.”

  She tightened her lips and her hand rested over her bag possessively. Adam wondered whether she had the same gun as before or whether she’d bought one once she’d gotten down South.

  “If I wanted to die, there are easier ways than coming out here and tracking down the likes of you.”

  “Yeah, but that would be suicide, wouldn’t it? And you’re too prideful for that. But if the villain who killed your mom did the deed, that would just be poetic, wouldn’t it?”

  She took a deep breath. It probably wasn’t possible for her to get any more tense, but he could see the flash of rage in her eyes when he brought up Isobel. Maybe if he pissed her off enough, she’d leave him for good.

  “You didn’t kill her,” she said. The words were forced, clipped.

  Adam took one step forward, a subtle reminder of how trapped she was. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

  “I didn’t come here for revenge on you. I came to find your accomplice. The one who did the shooting.”

  “And if I give you that name, all will be forgiven? Maybe we can be besties. Email each other our daily activities.”

  She frowned. “I don’t think you know what the word ‘bestie’ means.”

  The corner of his mouth turned up at the unexpected remark. “You don’t live in a place like this if you like being around people.” He took one more step, bringing him within reach of her. “But you strike me as the type who doesn’t respect other people’s privacy.”

  “I’ll pay you. Whatever you want.”

  He snorted. “Look around you. I don’t need a massive offshore savings account. I don’t need a Lamborghini. I already have everything I need.”

  She didn’t look surprised. Good. His opinion of her would’ve been sorely lowered if she thought she could barge in here and buy him off.

  “Fine. If you agree to help me, I’ll let you live.”

  That one had him laughing out loud as he took that one final step that brought him right in front of her. “Aw, darlin’.”

  She took a nervous gulp, and the cords in her neck and collarbones strained under the tension. She was going to have a headache for weeks after this little exchange.

  He didn’t mean to, but his hand reached out of its own accord. When the pad of his thumb brushed her bottom lip, she didn’t jerk away or hit him. She just sucked in a breath and stood stock-still as her eyes drifted shut. “I think you’re forgetting who’s the hunter and who’s the prey here.” His hand fell back to his side.

  After a few breaths, her eyes opened again, not showing a hint of the fear he could see racing through the rest of her. “Here are your options. You can help me and we both get what we want. I can kill you for what happened to my mother.”

  “Or I kill you.”

  “Or you kill me,” she agreed. “Except I’m not alone.”

  Bluffing didn’t become her. “I know this land better than anyone in the world. If someone was here with you, I’d know.”

  “Not here. But I have family. Two sisters who think the world of me. A pissed-off ex-cop with anger issues. A hit man for hire. And one of the world’s best thieves. I’ve left enough breadcrumbs for them to find me, or my body. You might be able to take me, but all of them? I’ve already seen how you do four on one.”

  Well, damn. If he wasn’t turned on before, he definitely was now. “It’s getting dark, darlin’. Get inside.”

  She started to turn but Adam set a hand on her shoulder. Before she moved those crafty hands out of his sight, he was going to take care of something. Her eyes darted from where his hand was on her shoulder and back to his eyes. “Before I let a snake into my home, you gonna give me that gun?”

  Melody had the nerve to look him right in the eye and say, “What gun?”

  He couldn’t help his predatory grin. He liked her so much better when she was trying to kill him. That probably didn’t say anything good about him. Raising a challenging brow, he ran his fingertips down her arm until he reached her bag. She didn’t stop him as he unzipped it and reached inside.

  He was close enough to smell her. He allowed his eyes to close for the briefest second as he appreciated her nearness, but then he was back to business as his hand closed around the butt of the gun and pulled it out. In a quick motion, he ejected the magazine, unloaded the round in the chamber and then disengaged the slide, effectively making the remaining parts of the gun useless before he set it back in her purse, keeping the slide and bullets for himself.

  “That’s better.” He walked around her and inside the cabin. Probably wasn’t much to her. Hell, it wasn’t much to him either, but every time he’d tried to be a land dweller, things just didn’t work out.

  He pulled open the fridge and heard the screen door open and close, signaling that Melody had come in. Her footsteps were soft, but at least she wasn’t running at him from behind.

  Adam took two bottles of beer from the fridge and kicked the door shut. Setting one of the cold bottles under his arm, he twisted off the cap before he handed it over.

  Melody eyed the bottle and he could practically see all the calculations she was going through in her mind. She eventually took the bottle from him but didn’t drink. “Last time you messed with my beverage, I was out for twelve hours.”

  “Well, you didn’t come all the way out here because you like playing it safe.” He twisted the cap off of his own bottle and took a deep drink. He still had no idea what he was going to do with her. It was getting late, but he knew this bayou well enough to navigate the waters at any time of night.

  But he didn’t want to. Assuming she wasn’t here to kill him, Adam wouldn’t mind having her around longer. He doubted she’d want to pass the time the way he wanted to, but she’d invaded his space. He was allowed to fantasize.

  “I don’t get it.” She brought the bottle to her lips.

  He had to fight off his envy of the neck of that bottle, but she barely tipped it back. He doubted she’d even drank any. Smart girl. “Well, you have me all to yourself. Ask me anything you want.”

  “You already know what I want. One simple name. Why are you protecting him? Who is he to you?”

  This question again.... He could lie. It wasn’t as if she’d believe the truth anyway. It wasn’t as though he had anything to lose. “I don’t give a damn about him. He’s a dipshit who deserves all that wrath you want to rain down on him. But he’s a dangerous dipshit, and considering how stupid you’ve been around me, you won’t last ten seconds around a guy like that. He’s already proved he’s not afraid to pull the trigger.”

  “I can pay you.”

  “I already told you I don’t want your money.”

  “I don’t think you understand. When I say I can pay you, I’m not talking chump change. And you might act like you don’t need money, but the shit you were doing in Chicago didn’t look like it was for fun. You give me a name, just one little name, and I’ll make sure you’re set up for life.”

  His little angel was rich. Somehow that didn’t surprise him. “I’m not going to say it again. I don’t want your money.”

  She slammed her bottle on the table. Beer sloshed out of the narrow opening. “Stop messing with me. Kill me or tell me what you want. Those are the only two ways you’re getting rid of me.”

  Adam put down his beer too and held out a hand. “Come here,” he ordered.

  “I’m good where I am, thanks.”

  He cocked his head and smiled at her little act of defiance. But it wasn’t going to stop him. He closed the distance between them and wrapped his fingers around her slim wrist. He could feel her pulse racing, and right now, his wasn’t that calm either. “I said come here.” She tried to stay where she was, but
he was stronger and it was only a few feet until he reached the back bedroom.

  When Melody realized where they were, she dug her feet in the floor and tried to yank her hand back. He released her just long enough to slam a hand on the door, caging her between his body and the flimsy wood. She hadn’t had a chance to try to run, so she was still facing him. Her eyes were closed tightly, as though she was just waiting for the next blow. Good. She should be afraid of him. This angel needed more fear.

  “You shouldn’t ask stupid questions, Angel. You already know what I want.”

  She opened her eyes and tilted her head back. Her fear was obvious, but she was at least trying to hide it. “No, I don’t.”

  He tightened his lips as he tried to rein in his control. There were so many things he’d wanted to do if he’d ever had this woman alone. Now this was his second time having her at his mercy.

  How many times had he laid on that very bed and thought about his angel? How many times had he jerked off just imagining all the ways he’d fuck her... touch her? God, he was caught somewhere between a dream and a nightmare having her this close.

  “Tell you what.” He leaned in even closer. “You crawl into that bed with me and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

  “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

  “Oh, that’s where you’re wrong.” He lifted his free hand and rested it right at the base of her neck, the pad of his thumb resting in the middle of her collarbones. “See, you chose to come to Chicago. You chose to save my good-for-nothing life. You chose to track me down and you chose to come all the way out here where your life would be in my hands.”

  “I had the gun.” Her voice broke as she tried to find the words.

  “The gun which you chose to let me take from you.”

  She narrowed her eyes before she lifted her own hand and mirrored his hand placement. Mirrored his threat. “There’s one more thing I can offer.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  “I’ll take you off my list.”

  He raised a brow. “What list?”

  “Three people on my kill list. You. Baldie. Sterling. If you help me, you’ll be off that list.”

  “You think you could take me down?”

  “Like I said, I’m not alone. I came here without backup as a show of trust.”

  “You came here without backup because none of your family would let you do something so stupid.” He emphasized the last word and leaned in closer, ignoring the pressure she put on his neck. “Now, if we’re talking trust, be honest with me. You’d never take me off that little list of yours, would you?”

  “If making a deal with the devil is what I have to do to get my revenge, then grab me a pen.”

  She said it with so much conviction that he almost believed her. “All this for your mom? Would she really want you to become a killer for her?”

  Melody scoffed. “Isobel would be proud. She raised fighters, even if you don’t believe it.”

  Oh, he believed it. Adam pushed away from the door and from her. The worst part was that the more she talked, the more tempted he was to give her the name she was looking for.

  “That man is a killer.” He backed up and sat on the bed.

  “So are you.”

  “Yeah, but I’m a killer who likes you for some stupid reason. And there’s not a single doubt in my body that if you take him on, you’re going to be the one with the bullet in your head.”

  “For the love of— If you like me so much, then you can kill him with me. Just give me the name!”

  That got his attention. “You want me to go with you and kill him?”

  “No— What I meant was—”

  He stood back up and Melody fell back against the door. A little chip of her bravery fell away. “You’re right. You can give me something I want.”

  She looked suspicious, but he was offering her what she wanted, so she didn’t have any choice but to ask, “What is it?”

  “I’ll give you the name. And I’ll take you right to his doorstep, put a gun in that little vengeful hand of yours. And then, if you take the shot, we’ll be good.”

  “If I take the shot?”

  “And if you don’t take the shot, then I’ll do it for you. And then I get you.”

  She blinked. Her mouth dropped open before it closed. “What does that mean?”

  He tsked with his tongue. “You know what that means.”

  “Isobel wouldn’t mind if I killed someone, but she wouldn’t let me be a whore.”

  “Then don’t miss the shot. That’s my offer. Take it or leave it.” He wanted to give her space to think it over, but considering she was blocking the door, he decided to go for it. Adam reached an arm around the small of her back and pulled her tightly up against him. For a second, he could feel every soft curve of her body. When she didn’t push him away, he allowed himself to imagine for a moment that she was tempted too. But then he remembered that he had something she needed. So for the briefest second, he rested his forehead against hers and then picked her up, rotating them both before he set her down and walked out the now clear door.

  He ignored the beer and went right for the half-empty bottle of cheap whiskey he had in an upper cupboard.

  He was going to sit on the roof until Melody either came to her senses or really did decide to make that deal with the devil.

  Melody had thought the boat was small to begin with, but with Adam inside it, somehow it seemed so much worse.

  Every single nerve ending was on high alert, even though he wasn’t even in the room with her. She supposed it could’ve gone worse. Hell, it could’ve gone any other way besides how it went. God, that wasn’t supposed to happen.

  Melody put a hand over her mouth and leaned against the door, sliding down until her butt was on the floor. It was dirty, but she just couldn’t handle holding herself up at the moment. He was so different than she expected. He’d been different back in Chicago too, but that had been so unexpected. He’d been beaten to near unconsciousness and then she’d been drugged. Everything about that was an anomaly.

  But here. The way he touched her. Even worse, the way she felt when he touched her. Was she scared? Yes, unbelievably. But not like she should be. Not the bone-shaking terror of someone who was confronting the man responsible for her mother’s murder. She winced as she remembered her non-action as Adam had touched her. Had it really been so long since a man had touched her that she forgot what to do? Hell, the last time Ben had tried to kiss her, she’d slapped him right across his smug face. But with this killer, she just forgot all those fighting instincts?

  No. She hadn’t slapped him because she needed him. And she still needed him. This was... really, it was a good thing. If he was attracted to her, she could use that to her advantage. That’s what Isobel would want her to do. That’s what Isobel had raised her to do.

  Adam had been at the vineyard during the wedding. Well, the wedding that never happened between Isobel and Greg Stranger. Even then, Isobel had noticed Adam watching her and told her to use it.

  And if he thought that she wouldn’t be able to go through with taking out Baldie, he had another think coming. So him agreeing to help in return for this ridiculous bargain was the best thing that could’ve happened.

  She sat there for a while. Well past when the sun was completely down. She replayed the exchange with Adam over and over in her mind, trying to think of what she should’ve done differently, but there was only one answer. She never should’ve come here and expected not to get in over her head.

  But here she was, and she was on the cusp of getting exactly what she wanted. All she needed to do was keep her head on her shoulders and reach out to take it.

  After taking a few calming breaths, Melody pushed herself up and opened the door. She hadn’t really expected Adam to be in the kitchen—or galley, as she supposed they were called on boats. But he wasn’t on the patio either. She heard glass clanking against metal above her and noticed the stairs on the si
de of the main cabin that led up to the roof of the houseboat.

  Even in the dim moonlight, she could tell the stairs had seen better days, so she gingerly took them one by one until she reached the rooftop. It was a simple layout. Two fold-out lawn chairs, a small table with an ashtray, and a half-empty bottle of whiskey, and there was Adam. He was lounging back, looking up at the sky.

  Even with the patchy clouds, there was so little light pollution that the stars shone brightly in the sky. The sounds of the swamp surrounding them reminded her that they weren’t alone. The chorus of frogs and random insects were a constant in the background.

  It was strange to think of someone as cold-blooded as him to be the type to spend his nights lost in his thoughts.

  Though after what had just happened, she supposed she knew just how hot-blooded he was. She crossed the roof until she reached the empty chair and sat down. Adam finally glanced in her direction, unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth. “Hope you ain’t scared of the dark, Angel.”

  “You’d be surprised how many dangerous things like to walk in the light.” The corner of his mouth hooked up but he didn’t say anything. “I thought there’d be more mosquitoes at night, though.”

  “I sprayed some industrial-grade shit. Supposed to keep the bastards away for weeks. I give us a good hour before they come back.”

  Good grief, he’d just made a joke. A non-sexually charged or offensive in any way joke. Nope. Too weird. She reached over and took the whiskey, taking a stiff drink from the bottle. The burning sensation of the whiskey was a welcome distraction.

  Adam stared at her as she put the bottle back down. “Your lips on that... my lips on that. It’s almost like we kissed.”

  She snorted. “I think the alcohol kills the cootie germs.”

  He took the cigarette from his mouth and set it in the ashtray. “I think we’re going to have fun together.”

  “This is revenge. Revenge isn’t fun. Besides, I was angry and bitter before Isobel was murdered.”

  “If you think revenge isn’t fun, you’ve been doing it wrong.” He took the bottle and took a deep drink before he handed it over to her.