The Beautiful Thief (Stolen Hearts #2)(38)

She pushed herself into Adam. Since they’d shot through the screen, the only person who knew there were two of them was the bouncer. Had he regained consciousness?

They finally reached the exit and Adam started for the door when the bouncer moved to block them.

Melody gave Adam room to work. When the bouncer started to reach into his jacket, Adam’s fist shot out, connecting with the man’s nose and sending him falling to his knees. Once again, Melody was shocked at how effective a single blow from Adam was.

Adam went down with the bouncer and reached into his jacket, pulling out a few items before he motioned for Melody to get out the door.

Melody ran out. Once she was on the street, she turned back and waited until Adam came out. He was tucking the gun into his waistband and tossed the cell phone he’d lifted off the bouncer across the street.

Good. They didn’t need anything that could lead Forbes back to them. Across the street, she saw the flash of brown hair that belonged to the girl who’d thrown everything off course. Who was she?

Melody took a step in her direction but Adam grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “We have to move,” he said.

“But—”

He kept on pulling her until they were around a corner and the girl was out of sight. Once they were around the corner, Adam switched from a fast walk to a jog, which was more of a slow run for her. Melody kept up with his pace. The only time she risked a glance behind them was when they reached the car, but it looked as if they’d made it out without a tail.

Adam had the car started and sped out of the spot before Melody even had her door completely shut. Now that she was sitting down, she realized how fast her heart was beating and that she was gasping for air as though there wasn’t enough oxygen in the car. She focused on calming her breaths, and when she tried to brush her hair out of her face, she saw that her hands shook.

She felt elated that they were alive, but it was hard to keep the sting of failure from creeping in. She’d had Forbes. He’d been right there in front of her and then everything had gone to shit. “Adam, I—”

“Not now,” he snapped.

She tightened her lips and looked out the window, trying to make sure there was no one following them. Of course Adam was angry. He had every right to be angry. He’d almost died because she’d changed the plan. They were supposedly partners, but she was the one who had decided to fuck them all over.

But what was she supposed to do? Just let them kill that woman?

Adam pulled into the parking garage across from the hotel and parked without saying a word to her. When he got out, he slammed the door shut behind him hard enough to make the entire car vibrate. Melody slunk out and tried to make herself as unnoticeable as possible as she followed him back to the room.

After an awkward walk and elevator ride, they finally reached the room. “Get your stuff together,” said Adam as he went right to the bathroom. She risked a glance and saw him running water over his hands. He had blood on them.

“Shit, are you okay?” She went into the bathroom as though she was going to help, only once she was there she realized there was no first-aid kit or anything she could grab, making her effectively useless.

“It’s not my blood,” he said curtly as he scrubbed his hands down with soap.

Sure enough, all of the rusty-colored stain washed right away. But he’d knocked out two giant guys. It made sense that there would be blood on his hands. He’d gone through all that and she hadn’t taken the shot. She winced and started to back out of the bathroom, but Adam suddenly turned all of his anger on her. “What the fuck, Mel?”

She tightened her lips as she tried to sort through all the justifications she’d used in her own mind. “You saw the girl—”

“So? You think I give a damn about someone who was stupid enough to think Forbes could do anything for them? They know we were there, Mel. Our faces are all over those cameras. If they weren’t coming for you before, they’re coming now.”

“Adam, that girl was me!”

He clenched his jaw. “What?”

“She sought out someone dangerous and begged for help. That is exactly what I did with you. The only difference is that you weren’t a complete dick. I couldn’t just sit back and let her be murdered so I could get my revenge!”

Adam shook his head and ran both his hands through the short blond hair. “I told you what I was going to do. I told you I’d get you your shot and he was right there.”

Melody crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Adam. Do you want me to apologize because I didn’t let some innocent person die?”

“Innocent? You don’t know a damn thing about her. What do you want to bet that if your places were reversed, she’d just sit back and let you die?”

“She saw me.”

“What?”

“When I took Belli’s laptop. She saw me while I was sneaking out of his office and she didn’t say anything. She could help us.”

“Help us?” he asked incredulously. “Help us what? We had one goal. Kill Forbes. That was it and now thanks to her, we failed and Forbes is going to have some renewed motivation to make us dead. So how will she help us?”

“Help us find Sterling. Forbes wasn’t the only one who killed my mother.”