The Beautiful Thief (Stolen Hearts #2)(16)

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 side 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.”