The Cocky Thief (Stolen Hearts #1)(20)

Maybe not Austin. He’d already seen a bit of her bad side.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” asked Isobel.

Jennifer tried not to jump at her mother’s sudden question. She’d been so lost in her thoughts that she’d become unfocused. Not how she wanted to start the night. “Just trying to think of all the possibilities.”

“Well, you do that. I’m going to talk to Gregory about how tomorrow is going to go and maybe even try on my necklace,” said Isobel. “I’m sure you can keep yourself busy while I’m gone.”

Jennifer kept her concern from her face as she smiled at her mother. “Have fun. Don’t let the diamonds blind you.” Her way of telling her mother to be careful. Her role was the most important part of the evening if they were going to pull this off.

Isobel gave her a quick wink and didn’t appear nervous at all. Who was Jennifer kidding? This is what her mother lived for: the rush, the deception. Isobel was in her element here and doing what she was born to do.

And on some level, Jennifer totally understood. It was intoxicating to lie and get away with it. To have people doing exactly what you wanted, when you wanted. That was a kind of power that very few people experienced and on some level, she was grateful that she’d been able to experience it.

If only she could get the other resident thief to behave. She glanced across the room to where Austin nursed a drink. He’d polished off one of the signature wedding cocktails, but hadn’t taken a sip of the second one.

Why would he be drinking? He was working a job, just like her. She was annoyed all over again just thinking about it. All his lawyer talk and acting as though it were his first time in first class...please. He was just another liar.

What had he thought he’d gain by making moves on her? It wasn’t as if she could hand him the necklace and he hadn’t been trying to use her to get closer to where they were keeping it. Well, not yet. The night was still young. Isobel, Mel, and she all had their own timeline, but Austin was the wild card. The second he made a move, she was going to be on him, no matter what was happening.



Now or never, thought Austin. The servers just put down the main course of dinner and no one would be more into their food than right now. Even in ten minutes, people might be excusing themselves to get a smoke or use the bathroom. But the first few minutes after a fresh, perfectly cooked filet mignon was put in front of them, people had more important things on their mind.

He pushed out his chair and gave his neighbor a quick smile before he turned to leave. No one would be suspicious of someone walking out of dinner. But he had to worry the second he started going outside the norm. So he took the expected turn and went right toward the bathrooms. This was the same section of hallway he’d cleared last night before being interrupted by Jennifer.

Except he already knew the necklace wasn’t being stored here. It was on the other side of the house, with a guard in front and probably in a safe Austin still didn’t have a chance to scope out.

His heart rate started to increase and Austin had to consciously focus on his breathing to keep it under control. The best and worst part of his job: not knowing exactly what was going to come, but knowing that if he pulled it off, he’d have bragging rights for the rest of his life.

Step one was to get past the guards. He was good in a fight and all, but hitting people tended to be loud. And they never went down as quickly or quietly as you wanted. So he had one ace up his sleeve, delivered over the fence by Hart earlier that day.

Once he saw the coast was clear, he went down the hall until he reached the center of the house. But instead of going straight for the necklace, he went for the front door. No one would be suspicious of a guy walking away from the big score.

But once he got outside, things would change. He checked one of the bushes and the package Hart had dropped off was right where Austin had placed it earlier. Now or never, he told himself again. Austin looked at his watch right as he flipped the switch. Sometimes high-tech security systems could be a bitch but sometimes they worked against themselves.

Paranoid types like Stranger liked to have cameras and mics in every room of the house. If they were all on a local network, there would be wires crawling all over the place. A wireless system was much easier to maintain and set up, but it was just as easy to take down with one flick of a switch.

Or in this case, one push of a button on a signal jammer powered by a car battery. There would be at least three minutes before they figured out what was happening and then another ten before they could find it.

That would have to be enough.

He used his knuckle to hit the button and didn’t wait a second before he started across the front lawn. The window to the room in question was locked, but he could get past that. He just needed to work fast.

A few windows down was his pillowcase full of supplies. This required him to get in and out of the room without the guards posted in the hallway realizing.

He’d had most of the morning to himself and had raided the supply closets for anything he needed. He even wandered into one of the guard’s rooms and picked up some additional fun toys, though ones he hoped he didn’t have to use.

Once he reached the door where the necklace was being held, he quickly got to it. He needed to break the glass without making a sound, so he started by laying down a quick layer of duct tape. The first time he’d done this it had taken over five minutes, but now that he’d practiced the technique on a few jobs, he had the window coated in sixty seconds. Then he set the throw pillow he’d borrowed over the glass and gave a firm hit with a hammer.