The Cunning Thief (Stolen Hearts #6)(30)

As he spoke, he moved the microphone down until he reached the hem of that silk blouse and tucked the head under the fabric. “We do want to try to hide it, though....” As he pushed the microphone up with one hand, he reached between the valley of her breasts to meet the microphone on the other end before he lifted it up and connected it to one of the sleeves on the blouse. “I think that’s good enough. Don’t you?”

Shae was noticeably breathing deeper as she looked up at him from beneath her lashes. “I don’t think that was necessary, Tristan,” she whispered.

“Then next time you should stop me,” he said without offering her an apology. He barely ever apologized for things he actually felt bad for. He wasn’t about to apologize for touching her. “Let’s get going. There’s a bit of a drive still.”





Tristan had not been kidding about the drive. It was almost an hour and a half until they got to the posh garden district just outside of Tampa. In the car with her and Tristan were Gage and Hunter. Shae had remained largely silent as Gage and Hunter had taken up most of the conversation. She had to admit, they were both oddly talented at small talk. They went back and forth about the latest movies and pop culture news. For a while, they went on about 3D printers and how they were revolutionizing the thieving industry. Tristan was silent most of the time. She wasn’t sure whether he was normally this quiet, or whether she was making him uncomfortable. Well, he was sure as hell making her uncomfortable. As much as she tried to forget about it, she kept imagining his hands on her shirt. Hell, in her shirt. How small she looked compared to those hands. Long, strong fingers that she wanted to wrap around her....

Nope. She was not thinking about this again. She had self-control, and she was adult enough to move on from this lying thief.

Apparently they were going to some sort of day party. The reception was being held at Wixom Gardens. Shae had never heard of it, but the exterior was decorated by lush greenery and various exotic flowers. The border of the place was surrounded by a wrought-iron gate that was filled with an intricate network of vines sprouting out lush green leaves. Definitely seemed like a fancy place to have a party. She looked over her outfit once more. The black suit with a delicate pink pinstripe and the barely there white blouse beneath it all seemed so... structured. Nothing like her normal outfit of jeans and whatever shirt she had laying around. It seemed too much like her old life. Who she was supposed to be. She rolled her shoulders to get herself in the game. Hunter parked the car and turned around to look at them. “All right, you’re up. Shae, Tristan, you’re going to go in first. If you get eyes on Damask, let us know as soon as possible.”

“What do you do once I let you know? Aren’t I questioning him?”

“You are, but we want to make sure we’re in place for backup.”

“We got it,” assured Tristan. “Let’s get this over with.” He got out of the car, and she followed. For a moment, she froze. Did she just head inside? Did she follow Tristan’s lead? This had to be an invitation-only thing, right? Why had no one talked about how they were going to get in?

She didn’t have to think too long about it. Tristan appeared in front of the car and motioned with a jerk of his neck for her to follow. He headed confidently toward the front entrance, and she tried to match that confidence but had her doubts that she was pulling it off. When they walked inside, the hostess gave them a polite smile. “Hello, how can I help you?”

“We’re here for the Blackthorne party.”

“All right. Just follow me,” the hostess said cheerfully.

Shae couldn’t believe it. How did they just get in that easily? She hung back a few steps, making sure she and Tristan were out of earshot, before she softly said, “How did you do that?”

“It’s a party, Shae. Relax.”

She was so sure he was joking, she half expected him to burst into laughter. “We’re taking down an evil empire, but we can just walk right into their party?”

“Not everyone is evil. This is a casual office appreciation event. Getting in isn’t hard. They’re not exactly going to be exchanging company secrets here. Besides, the plan is to get kicked out, remember? As soon as someone sees us who knows we don’t belong, we’re only going to have a few minutes to get our work done and get out.”

She didn’t know whether his words were comforting or disturbing. Who was she kidding? Nothing was comforting at this point.

The hostess reached a pair of French doors and pushed one of them open, holding it for them as they walked through. The patio was surrounded by lush gardens that went right up to the iron fence that went around the property. She thought the suit might be out of place for a party, but everyone else seemed to be businessmen and women mingling around the standing tables, all sipping from long-stemmed wine glasses. It was one fancy office appreciation day. Whatever happened to something like laser tag?

Shae glanced around, scanning the crowd and looking for Damask.

“Do you see him?” asked Tristan in her ear.

“I’m looking,” she assured him.

“Are you sure you’ll recognize him? I mean, how long did you actually talk to him for?”

“A few minutes.”

“A few minutes? Do you mean that literally, or do you mean just a few seconds?”