The Beautiful Thief (Stolen Hearts #2)(27)

“Well, I missed you too.” He smirked.

“We thought it was clear that you’re not welcome here anymore.” Bett was younger than Adam by at least five years but spent every spare moment at the gym and, based on the size of his muscles, injecting steroids. But Adam knew from experience that even though the guy was strong, he didn’t know a thing about fighting. Rickards, on the other hand, was a bit more dangerous. Either way, taking on two at once wouldn’t be easy.

If he played his cards right, he shouldn’t be fighting anyone. “I’m just here for my exit interview,” he said dryly as he stepped out of the elevator. “Where’s Ike?”

“He doesn’t want to see you.” Bett came in closer, every overstuffed muscle looking ready to pounce.

“Tell him Emily sent me.”

“Who is Emily?” asked Rickards.

“Ike knows.”

Rickards pulled the radio off his belt and had a quick, hushed conversation before he came back. “Ike wants to see you.”

“That’s what I thought. Lead the way.”

Bett looked as though he were about to snap and Adam smiled at him. Sure, he didn’t pick this job, but he had to take a moment to savor the little joys, like pissing off the guy who had so recently kicked him right in the gut.

He was let into an office with no windows. Just an older desk, two run-down chairs, and beige walls and carpet. There were no computers or pictures in the office, signaling that it wasn’t in use.

And it probably had no cameras, so Ike could do whatever he needed to do to Adam. But it was a good thing. That meant Adam could speak, and act, freely too.

Ike came in less than a minute later. “Smith. What an unexpected surprise. I didn’t expect to see you crawling back, looking for a job so soon after you quit.” Ike held up his hand, which was currently in a sling as evidence of exactly how violently Adam had offered his zero-day notice.

Baby. It wasn’t as if he broke anything.

“I’m not looking for a job. I’m looking for a favor.”

He could see the disbelief clearly on Ike’s face. “What the hell makes you think I’d give you anything you’re looking for after what you did to me?”

“Because I don’t think your wife wants to know about your little playdates with Emily. I did the math. She’s only nine years older than your daughter, Ike. That’s a new low.”

Ike’s pissed-off expression remained, but his suddenly bright-red cheeks gave away some of his shame. “She’s nineteen,” he hissed. “It’s legal.”

“It is. And so is divorce. So if you want to save yourself the attorney fees, just give me some basic as basic can get information. Where is Matt Forbes?”

Ike blinked in surprise. “That’s it? You just need to find Forbes?”

“That’s it.”

“Well, fuck, hold on.”

Ike walked out and Adam was the one who was surprised. He had come here expecting to get what he wanted. He was determined not to leave until he got it. But Ike seemed too agreeable. Even if he had the info, Adam expected him to play hard to get, no matter what dirt Adam had on the guy. Ike was a dick. He didn’t do anything for anyone without being a dick. It was just who he was.

And Adam didn’t like people going against the grain.



Melody waited until the security guard was looking down, probably at his phone, before she used her stolen pass to get through the turnstiles and into the building. And then her back was toward the security desk and it wouldn’t matter if the guard looked up. He wouldn’t recognize her by her hair alone.

Now she had no idea where Adam had disappeared to, but that was fine. If he wanted to run off on his own, she’d do the same. When she’d come here originally, before she’d been sidetracked by Adam, she’d been trying to swipe Jadon Belli’s laptop. She happened to be in the area, so why not give it a go again?

She looked at the building directory to see what level Belli’s offices were located. The top three floors. Belli was the owner, so his offices were probably on the upper level, where his office would have the best view.

According to her ID badge, the guy whose ID she’d swiped worked two levels below him. When she went into the elevator, she tried to hit the button for Belli’s floor, but nothing happened. Shit. The keycards were the only access. It looked as though there was a main lobby for Belli’s offices, though, so she’d have to get in through there because there was no security key needed to access the main lobby. Except once she was there, she’d need to get past a reception desk.

Toni might not agree, but Melody found receptionists much easier to hack than access pads.

She hit the button and hoped for the best. Isobel wouldn’t have any second thoughts about doing this. She’d have five stories up her sleeve to get her past any receptionist. Melody tried to think into her past and remember what those stories were.

But then the door was opening and she didn’t have any more time to think. She licked her lips as she walked into the main offices. When she saw the receptionist, she smiled. The woman was maybe mid-forties and, from looks alone, appeared competent. Which was a shame. This work was always easier when working with morons.

“Hi. I was waiting downstairs for about twenty minutes. I was supposed to be meeting someone about setting up a portfolio here.”