The Cunning Thief (Stolen Hearts #6)(22)

Tristan sighed, not bothering to ask what that cryptic remark was about.

He made his way down the west wing toward his bedroom. With three levels, there was enough room for all of them to sleep without getting in one another’s business. He had this entire hall to himself. The privacy was nice, but lighting was tricky. Because it was a foreclosure, they avoided having lights on at night. Toni had worked her magic to get the house back onto the grid because she couldn’t live a day without the internet at her fingertips, but her powers had their limits. They could probably talk their way out of a few nosy neighbors, but they didn’t need those kinds of problems in life. As soon as he walked through his door, he kicked it shut and started to pull his shirt over his head. It was only as he was dropping the material to the floor that he heard a shocked gasp. He looked over at the king-size four-poster bed to see Shae sitting up and staring at him in shock.

Suddenly Hart’s warning made so much more sense. He couldn’t work up the enthusiasm to be shocked. Instead, he just smiled at the sexy woman in his bed. “Well, hello there.”



Shae stared wordlessly at Tristan for a second. She wasn’t sure what surprised her more: the fact that he was there or the fact that he was shirtless. Then finally, she worked back to shock. “What the hell are you doing in my room?” she demanded.

Tristan seemed completely at ease as he walked farther into the room. “This is Toni’s idea of a joke,” he muttered under his breath.

“Toni? What did she do?”

“This is my bedroom she stuck you in. She’s playing matchmaker.”

Shae scoffed. “Matchmaker? What would make her think that we would ever be a good match?”

“It doesn’t matter. You’re not sleeping here.”

Tristan started out the door, and she jumped off the bed to follow him. Toni had given her pajamas to wear, but Shae hadn’t felt right wearing someone else’s clothes. The little sundress, which had been worn about twelve hours too long now, was the one semblance of normalcy she had left. She was going to cling to this sundress for as long as possible. But now that she was running after Tristan through this massive mansion, she felt rather ridiculous wearing the wrinkled old thing. “Wait! Stop!” she called.

Tristan abruptly stopped and turned to face her. “Stop? Do you want to stay in the room with me? Do you want to share a bed?” He took a step closer, and she took a step back. “Why do you want me to stop?”

Shae’s mouth went dry. “I.... Um.... No. I just want to ask you questions. The last time I saw you, we were in a massive shootout. I thought you were dead, and then I was picked up on the side of the road by some girl I don’t even know claiming you’re some weird secret agent person.”

“I’m not a secret agent. Did she tell you that?”

“She’s told me barely anything. That’s why I need to talk to you. I have no idea what the fuck is going on. But I know you lied to me. You were in that Blackthorne building, weren’t you? You lied about everything. I have no idea who you are, and I... I.... You kissed me.”

“You embarrassed about it?”

“No! I mean, yes. I don’t know what to think about it. Who are you? What do you want from me?”

Tristan’s eyes went up and down her body, and Shae sucked in a gasp. But then Tristan gave an utterly reasonable answer. “I’m just looking into Blackthorne and looking into your connection to it. I wasn’t trying to play you or anything. It was a side effect of everything we’re doing.”

“So I’m just a side effect now? That’s all I am to you?”

His jaw clenched, and she knew her questioning was getting to him. “What the fuck do you want from me, Shae? I had fun with you. I like you. But I’ve only known you for one goddamn day. Do you want commitment? Do you want me to say I love you? What do you want from me?”

She blinked at the harsh words. She didn’t know what she wanted. She wanted something to make sense. She wanted to be back in her house, exhausted from working on floors all day. Not from driving all night to get away from murderers.

“I don’t want anything from you. Just leave me alone.” She backed up, running her fingers over her forehead and through the loose strands of her hair before retreating back to her bedroom. His bedroom. She didn’t even know anymore. But it was the only place she had to go. She turned to tell Tristan to stay the hell away from her bedroom, but when she looked down the hall, he was already gone.



Tristan pounded on the door to Toni’s room. He hit it so hard, he must be waking up the entire house, but he didn’t care. Who the fuck was she to play games with his life? Who the fuck was she to torture Shae for her own little entertainment? He kept pounding until the door swung open, and Scott Hart glared at him angrily. But he was smart enough not to ask why he was so upset.

“I assume you saw the present Toni left for you in your bedroom?”

“Where is she?” demanded Tristan.

“Hold your horses. I’m right here.” Toni emerged from the attached bathroom, running a towel over her blonde hair. “Is this about Shae?”

“Of course it’s about Shae,” he screamed. “You have this whole giant house at your disposal, but you stick her in my bedroom. What good do you think that was doing anybody?”