The Cocky Thief (Stolen Hearts #1)(34)

“You want him to drop what he’s doing to risk his neck for us? We’re going to need a bit more than a phone call to sway him.”

Austin was probably right, but every mile that separated them from San Francisco felt like one more nail that Jennifer was pounding into Melody’s coffin.

“I know guys like this. If we just show up, who’s to say he isn’t going to shoot us on sight?”

“Like I said, he knows me. Besides, you’re here.”

“What difference does that make?”

“Weston likes women and you’re hot. He’s not going to shoot you without at least getting a name.”

Great. A hornball with a rifle. This was someone who was going to have her sister’s life in his hands. She really wished she knew more people on the West Coast. If they were in New York, she would’ve had an entire book of contacts she could bring in. Now she was stuck with Austin and he wasn’t even letting her drive. If she didn’t have something she could use soon, she was going to—

Austin’s hand fell on her knee and gave a quick squeeze. “Hang in there. We’re going to figure this out.”

And then there was the matter of Austin... She studied human behavior. Once you knew what made people tick, you could get them to do anything for you. But Austin was here helping her and she had no idea why. She assumed it was so he could get his hands on the Dragon Heart, but he hadn’t asked about it once since he’d grabbed her at the airport.

“How did you find me?” she asked suddenly.

“What?”

“At the airport. I know it wasn’t the best disguise, but you found me immediately. How?”

He let out a laugh. “You’re not going to be happy.”

“Just tell me.”

“It was your walk.”

“My walk was different. I was in tennis shoes and I wore heels all weekend at the vineyard.”

“Yeah, but I’d recognize your ass anywhere.”

She glanced over to see whether he was joking, but his face was straight. Her idea of having a quick fling had been so sound and somehow it had gotten so messed up. And now he was sucked into her family’s drama and all she could feel was grateful.

They’d made a ten-minute stop for supplies before leaving. She knew it was ten minutes because that was the time limit she’d given him. It gave her enough time to pick up some drinks and snacks for the road while Austin picked up a few more burner phones and a change of clothes.

He was in a gray t-shirt and jeans now. The first time since they’d met that he’d been in jeans. She wondered whether that was the real him or just another face he wore. Maybe he was wondering the same thing about her.

She knew she should’ve been polite and continued the conversation while they were driving, but she couldn’t bring herself to commit to small talk. Not when so many things were up in the air.

But there was another reason. She’d tried small talk with Austin before. It always devolved into flirting or banter. Could she forgive herself for flirting with someone while her sister suffered?

So instead she stayed quiet, continually flipping through the music stations whenever commercials came on so there was never chance for Austin to start in.

But now that the sparse bushes of the Great Basin Desert stretched before them and they were off the main freeway, music stations were fewer and further between. After she’d spent five minutes flipping through the static, Austin reached forward and slammed the power button. “I think we can give up on that.”

“Sorry,” muttered Jennifer as she sat back in her seat and folded her legs under her. She’d long since flipped the sneakers off so at least her shoes weren’t destroying the seat.

“It’s fine. If you don’t want to talk, we don’t have to talk.”

She sighed. It bothered her that he knew what she was avoiding. They’d only met a few days ago. He shouldn’t know her at all. She made a living of people not being able to guess her motives and now he could read her like a book. It might be convenient but it was damn frustrating.

“Do you think my family is crazy?” she asked finally.

He raised a brow. “Crazy? I don’t know. I think your mother is terrifying.”

She laughed at that. “She has her moments, that’s for sure. She likes you, though.”

“That’s a lie. I could tell back at the vineyard that she didn’t want me touching you with a ten-foot pole.”

Well, there was that. “I think that’s back when she thought you were a lawyer. She likes you more now that you’re one of us.”

“Really? Your mom might not be crazy, but she is strange.”

That was right.

“You sister seemed cool, though.”

A sharp bolt of guilt hit her at the mention of Mel. “She is cool. She didn’t want this life.”

“Yeah?”

“She quit six years ago. Found a former football star to marry and settle down with.”

“I’m assuming that didn’t work out as planned.”

“Ben was an asshole. I think she knew that for a long time. She didn’t talk to me much after the marriage, but I think that was because she was distancing herself from everything I represent. Ben was ‘normal.’ He was supposed to be ‘nice.’ It took her a long time to see that there are snakes in all walks of life.” And if Jennifer had been around during the divorce, she would’ve made sure that no matter what the courts said, he would’ve walked away with nothing. But she didn’t want to talk about her family anymore. “What about you? Any crazy relatives in your past?”