The Cocky Thief (Stolen Hearts #1)(26)

“Morning, sunshine,” deadpanned Austin. “Ready to hit the road?”

“It’s six in the morning. Where do we need to be?”

“Where else? We’re going to a pawn shop.”

Hart didn’t look convinced. “They wouldn’t have hocked the necklace at a local pawn shop.”

“This place sells something much more interesting than stolen jewelry. It sold them their future.”



After fighting through rush-hour traffic, Hart and Austin made it to Ajax’s pawn shop. Even though San Francisco was known for being nice, Ajax had somehow found the worst part of town to open up shop.

Some criminals just felt more comfortable when there were bars on the windows and graffiti on the walls. Hart parallel parked right in front of the shop and they both looked at the hole-in-the-wall shop. “I thought you said this place didn’t open until eight,” said Hart.

“That’s what it said online.”

“Then why is the door open?”

Shit. That wasn’t a good sign. Austin reached for the car door, but Hart held out his arm. “Give me your gun.”

Austin frowned. “How did you know I had a gun?”

“Because that’s something I pay attention to. Give it to me.”

“Why should you have the gun?”

“Because I’ve been working with handguns since I was twelve and I don’t trust you.”

Austin thought it over. He was a good shot, but he had a feeling the stick up Hart’s ass meant he spent more time at the range than any sane person should. Also, the guy with the gun normally went in first, and the person who went in first got shot first. Austin leaned forward and pulled the gun out of his waistband. “Here.”

Hart dropped the magazine and checked the number of bullets before he slid it back in and loaded a round in the chamber. “You ready?”

“Ready when you are.” They both got out of the car and Austin let Hart go first. The guy had seemed adamant last night that he wasn’t worried about the Dragon Heart, but he hadn’t put up a fuss about indulging Austin’s morning trip. Austin didn’t know whether that meant he’d changed his mind or whether he was just curious.

The shop was a mess when they walked in, but it looked as if it was normally that way. None of the glass display cases were broken, so it didn’t seem as though it had been robbed.

“Hello?” called Austin.

Hart held his gun on his side so it wouldn’t be the first thing anyone saw, but it was still ready to come out and do damage.

“Anyone here?” called Hart.

“We’re closed!” shouted someone from the back.

Austin and Hart exchanged a look but neither headed for the door.

Hart craned his neck to get a better view. “I have a few quick questions. I won’t take up a lot of time.”

“What part of we’re closed is so hard to understand?” The voice suddenly gained a face as a man walked out from the employee-only backroom. It became suddenly apparent why he wasn’t exactly greeting customers with a smile. His face was beaten so badly one of his eyes was swollen shut and from the looks of it, the second eye was on its way to becoming equally as puffy.

But the most disturbing thing was the hand wrapped up in gauze with a large red patch right were the man’s pinky finger used to be. “Sterling was here,” said Hart, reaching the same conclusion as Austin.

“We’re closed for the day. Get the fuck out.”

Austin stepped around the counter and faced down the man he was almost certain was Ajax. “Sterling’s guys were here. What did you tell them?”

Ajax held up his hand. “Why do you think they stopped at one? I told them everything. You’re too late.”





Jennifer looked down at her phone and back up. Still no word from Mel or Isobel but that was to be expected. Her fingers tapped a frantic rhythm against her thigh as she looked out the window at the planes taking off. Soon enough she’d be on one of those planes and maybe once they were in the air, she’d finally feel safe.

Damn it, she was supposed to be getting ready for a wedding right now. And she’d had to abandon her favorite dresses back at the vineyard so now if she died, she’d have to be buried in some second-rate outfit.

Who was she kidding? If she didn’t make it on that plane, she’d never get the chance to have a funeral. Funny the things the mind thought of when the adrenaline was pumping. Figures she’d think about clothes. She’d rather have couture on the mind than have to think about Austin any longer.

She bit her lip, for once not having to worry about messing up her lipstick. She hadn’t had time to go full in on a disguise, but she’d been able to get a change of clothes from the twenty-four hour department store that should keep her hidden enough from anyone who looked. The only makeup she wore was some shading under her eyes and cheekbones to give her the heroin-chic look. Her hair was messy and covered her face.

The baggy jeans and the white and pink flannel shirt kept her body shape hidden for the most part. She would’ve preferred to have a change of hair color, but time had been an issue and good wigs were just too hard to come by.

Boarding started in thirty minutes. She just had to hang on long enough to get on that plane. She looked at her phone once more but nothing had changed in the last thirty seconds. Twenty-nine more minutes. This day would never end...