The Cocky Thief (Stolen Hearts #1)(13)

For the love of— “Mom, I don’t have the hypnotic effect that you seem to have on Stranger. Please don’t get the two of us confused. I don’t meet a man and have them suddenly tripping over themselves to be with me.”

Isobel smiled and took a step forward. “Then why is he watching us right now?”

Jennifer barely moved her head, but she was able to make out the figure in the corner of her eye. Damn it, Lawyer. Why did you have to make things complicated?





“And we’re all set.” Austin tucked the papers back into Luther’s briefcase.

Isobel let out a happy little squeal before she turned and wrapped her arms around Stranger. “Oh, honey! I can’t wait to start our life together.”

Austin didn’t think he’d ever see someone so happy to sign a prenuptial agreement. Isobel had changed out of the loose white outfit and now wore an emerald-green dress that hugged her curves, some of which he doubted were natural. She was the kind of woman that you knew had plastic surgery, but hadn’t gone far enough to really know which parts were plastic and which weren’t. But it did make her age almost impossible to place.

It was hard to tell whether Stranger was cradle-robbing or whether they were the same age. Not that it was any concern of his.

“If we’re all set here, it’s time to eat. You’re coming with us, aren’t you, Raye?” cooed Isobel. If it were any other woman, he’d think she was flirting, but every time he made eye contact, her gray eyes, eyes so much like Jennifer’s, seemed to bore into him. As though she knew exactly what dirty thoughts he’d been having about her daughter.

He averted his gaze to the briefcase. “I’d love to. Where is the dining room again? I’ve gotten turned around at least five times since I got here already.” He inwardly smiled. It was always good to set up the lack of direction early on, so he could claim to be lost if someone found him snooping around.

Isobel listed out the twists and turns to get to the dining room on the first level, but Austin was already formulating his next steps because he knew where he was going. The dining room was on a different level and wing from his rooms, so it would give him a good excuse to scope out where the necklace might be hiding. Hart had sent over the blueprints to his burner email he’d set up for his burner phone and he had a few ideas where to look. Now he had to go by process of elimination.

“We’ll meet you downstairs,” said Stranger. “Dinner is being served in half an hour, but if you come down early, we’ll make sure your glass is full.” He winked.

“Be there in a flash,” said Austin with a fake laugh. Once he was back in his room, he unzipped the suitcase he’d borrowed. He’d lucked out—the clothes inside relatively fit him. He normally wore large, but the extra-large shirts were close enough. And the poor bastard favored black, which worked out even better.

All of the pants were too short, but Austin could stretch out the same pair of slacks all week. Now that Chris Luther was cooperating, his boss of the moment was on his way to offer support outside the walls of the vineyard. Hart had booked a flight to bring him to the area and should be in the state by the end of the evening. After he was local, he could drop any necessary supplies over the wall.

Once he figured out what tools he’d need to finish the job, he would arrange a drop-off with Hart.

It looked like this little heist might actually work out. Austin buttoned up the black shirt. The black-on-black look felt a little close to home, but it would do. When he was pulling off a character during his jobs, Austin liked to keep a strong barrier between the real him and the job. Clothes were one of the best ways to maintain that barrier.

But sometimes the job called for a genuine Austin Miles. He picked his phone up off his dresser and went over the screenshots of the west wing of the lower level. That was his job for tonight. Clear that area. He dropped the phone into his pocket and ran his hands through his hair really quickly before he opened his door.

At that exact moment, Jennifer was leaving her room as well. He wanted to be upset about it, but damn it she looked good. Her dark hair was wrapped into a thick braid that stopped just below her shoulders. The black-and-white striped dress stopped right above the knee and showed no cleavage, but somehow it was utterly sexy to him. Probably because he knew exactly what she felt like under all that fabric.

When she saw him, her breath caught in her throat and he knew she was just as affected as him. Damn inconvenient, but he might as well play it to his advantage. “Good evening. Heading down for dinner?”

She licked her lips before she answered and he wondered at the hesitation. It had only been a few hours since he’d seen her last. What had changed?

“Not much else to do around these parts,” she said with an effortless grin. “On second thought, I forgot my lipstick. You head on and I’ll meet you downstairs.”

So that’s why she was standoffish. She officially didn’t want to spend any more time with him. Once again he found himself trying to remind himself that this was a good thing, but all he felt was annoyance once he was alone in the hall.

He shook it off and continued to dinner. Even though the house was buzzing with staff and guards, there weren’t that many guests yet. The three Murray women, Stranger, a few people Austin hadn’t been introduced to yet and, strangely enough, the priest. Bad guys really did like to pretend they were going to heaven.