The Beautiful Thief (Stolen Hearts #2)(43)

No wonder Melody was drawn to help her. They really were the same person.

He would’ve taken Willa’s bags for her, if only so he could discreetly take a look at what she’d brought with her, but she kept the designer tote close to her chest as she slid into the backseat.

Melody went around the car and he was about to warn her to be careful, but he could tell from her tight lips and tense back that she was already on edge. Instead, he reached out and gave her forearm a quick squeeze. The tiny bit of comfort he could offer.

She paused and looked at him. He knew she was confused by the action. Hell, he was confused by it. But he didn’t have any answers for those questions, so he didn’t try.

He got into the driver’s seat, and the second he heard Mel’s door shut, he threw the car in reverse.

“Where are we going?” asked Willa.

“I have no idea,” said Mel. “That depends on you. What are you doing here? Why did you track me down?”

“Because you stole from Jadon. That means you’re his enemy, right?”

“Enemy?”

Adam was happy he was in the front and Willa couldn’t see his expression.

“And he’s my enemy too. Enemy of my enemy is my friend, right? After the laptop went missing, they pulled up your file and that’s when I got your old address. I hope you don’t mind, but desperate times, right? I figured Jadon was going to kill you immediately because you stole from him. They said that the second the laptop was turned on, they’d have you but here you are, which makes me think that you know what you’re doing. Like, I knew that Matt knew his stuff, but you know how that turned out. I think we’re going to make a great—”

“Hold on,” said Mel. “Why is Jadon your enemy? Why are you running from him?”

“Oh, I thought you knew. Jadon Belli is my father.”





Melody glanced out the curtains of the small motel. Willa and Adam were unloading the car and she was hiding, unseen. She was too recognizable and they needed to get out of town before someone knew she was here. She fumbled with the phone between her fingers. Toni hadn’t called or given any indication that she was on her way. Did she call her sister, giving up her new location but making sure that she was okay? Or did she keep quiet and let her and Adam figure out their next move while carting around the lost heiress with them?

Willa talked a lot, but there was a fear beneath the surface. She was desperate. Whatever Jadon Belli had done to his daughter, she was terrified of him. Too terrified to go to the police. But getting a straight answer out of her proved nearly impossible. That was why she recommended stopping at the nearby motel. It wasn’t the best area and took cash. Melody knew that because after seeing all the cash withdrawals from her bank account, she’d followed Ben here and saw that was where he was meeting up with his girlfriend.

She let the curtain fall closed and groaned at the memory. It didn’t hurt, though. Seeing him with another woman hadn’t been as damaging as she thought it would be. By that point she’d already had one foot out the door. If anything, the cheating allowed her to start the process of leaving without the guilt.

Even so, that didn’t mean she wanted to sleep here. And she definitely didn’t want to know what the room looked like under a black light. She shuddered at the thought as she fell into one of the worn armchairs. There were two beds in the room, but Melody doubted they’d be sleeping here. Hopefully they’d be back on the road in a few hours once they had a better idea of what to do.

She had planned to go right back to Chicago to finish the job with Forbes, but Willa threw things off. Because if Willa could help with Jadon, that could lead them to Sterling.

Melody rubbed at her temples. So much revenge, too little time.

All of the sudden, the door burst open and Adam ran inside, reaching for the remote for the flat-screen TV in the cabinet. Willa followed shortly after and her face seemed paler than normal.

“What’s wrong?” asked Melody as Adam flipped through the channels.

“Everything.” Adam settled on the local news station.

Melody immediately understood what he meant when she saw her picture filling the screen. “Oh no....”

The newscaster was saying something, but the words didn’t make sense. They were speaking English, but her brain was too shocked to comprehend what they were saying. All she saw was her face staring back at her and the word “WANTED” plastered above her forehead.

“This is Forbes,” said Adam. “He had a close call and he’s not pulling any punches. This has to be airing all over the state, if not the country. We need to move now.”

“Ben knows I’m here,” she said softly. And there was no way in hell he wasn’t going to try to turn her in. The divorce had left him too bitter... too angry.

“No. This is new. He couldn’t have known this was happening when we picked up Willa. If he did, the cops would’ve been there when we were.”

The cops.... What did they think she did? Hell, last night she’d shot up a nightclub. But they were about to kill someone. And Willa would attest to that. No, those guys wouldn’t have gone to the police. Whatever they were after her for was bullshit. But it wouldn’t matter if she was arrested for something she didn’t do.

If Forbes got a hold of her, she’d never stand trial.