The Beautiful Thief (Stolen Hearts #2)(20)

“The call you just ignored says otherwise.”

“That’s.... Things are weird right now, that’s all.”

“Okay.”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

She was right about that. “Just making conversation.”

Her fingers started to move over the screen once more and the miles passed in silence. Out of the blue, she said, “I tried being normal.”

“I hear it’s harder than it looks.”

“Not for everyone. Some people just wake up and know that they’re going to be paying taxes. They know that their cars are all legally registered and that there’s nothing in their house that could get them arrested.”

“Those are the people I try to avoid.”

“Maybe you’re smarter than me.”

There were a lot of things she didn’t know. A lot of reasons he avoided the general public that would probably make her delicate, beautiful skin crawl.

“Why work for someone like Stranger? Was he just the right amount of not normal for you?”

There was a question he didn’t want to get into. So he gave the only answer he could. “I did it for the paycheck.”

“You said money wasn’t important to you.”

“Not important, but it’s nice.”

“You can get casual money doing a thousand other things. Why make it kidnapping and killing for a dick like that?”

“Angel, that’s the only kind of work there is for a guy like me.”

Before she could say anything else, he turned in to Carlo’s with a little more force than necessary, kicking up some gravel from the unpaved parking lot. It was still early so there weren’t many people there. Almost all of the cars were at least ten years old, so Melody’s rental stood out like a sore thumb, but he wasn’t planning to stay long enough to attract trouble.

He was going to stay long enough to cause it, though.

“What is this place?” she asked as he brought the car to a stop.

“It’s a local hangout. I need to talk to someone real quick. Stay in the car.”

She bent down to get a better look at the place. Carlo’s was nothing special, but it was in better shape than Billy’s shack. The stone exterior was painted a dark green that was so faded it seemed to blend in with the Spanish moss decorating the trees around the place. They were still a few miles away from the actual waters of the swamp, but it was still considered swamp land.

Like most bars, there weren’t many windows. Instead, the walls were decorated with various signs of the liquor and beers available inside and a sign advertising fresh crawfish and alligator gumbo.

“I’m going to use the bathroom.” She started to twist around in her seat to reach her duffel bag in the backseat.

“Stay in the car,” he repeated. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

He got out of the car, keeping the keys with him, while he went around the back. He’d been here enough times to know that the kitchen door was always unlocked. Even though the place was officially closed, Carlo’s was never truly closed. There would be a few of the regulars with nowhere better to be in the middle of the day, already drinking away their sorrows.

But he wasn’t here for a drink.

The kitchen was blistering as the pots of gumbo boiled away and the cooks were dumping fresh crawfish into a separate pot. He saw Jimmy right away. It was easy to spot the former good ole boy, even if he wore the white apron and backward baseball cap that all the cooks wore. “Hey, Jimmy,” he called.

The guy hadn’t even completely turned around before Adam’s fist slammed into his face.





“Stay in the car, my ass,” muttered Melody as she finished picking some clean clothes out of her bag. She was already only tenuously getting along with him, and if he thought ordering her around was going to work, he had another think coming.

She remembered exactly how intimidating he could be when he wanted to be and frowned. Well, maybe ordering her around and then leaving her.

She didn’t mind making him wait for her, but she didn’t want to dawdle out of spite. So as soon as she had her clothes in hand, she stepped out of the car. Even though the place was supposed to be closed according to the hours on the sign, the front door still opened easily when she pulled the handle. The crowd was sparse. Two barstools were taken; a cute girl was behind the bar, wearing a crop top that stopped only a few inches below her breasts. She was behind the bar, so Melody didn’t know what else she was wearing but assumed it was along the same lines as the top.

All three of the occupants had turned to stare at her. At least the rumpled clothes probably helped her to blend in, but from the questioning stares, the camouflage wasn’t all that great. “I was hoping to use a bathroom....” She saw the restroom sign in the back corner. “There it is.”

“Bathrooms for customers only,” said the bartender. She was tiny, but her voice held a bite.

“Of course.” Melody fished out a twenty and crossed to the bar, setting it on the laminate surface. “I’ll just be a minute.”

The bartender still seemed suspicious of Melody but didn’t say no as she went to the back room. The bathroom was... a bar bathroom. It wasn’t as though it were covered in various bodily fluids or anything, but it wasn’t in pristine condition either. There was no men’s room and women’s room. Just one simple stall with a toilet and sink. Everything necessary. Melody quickly changed into a fresh pair of jeans and a loose black tank top. Just as she was folding up her clothes, she heard a crash from outside. It sounded like pots and pans had been thrown across the room.