The Cunning Thief (Stolen Hearts #6)(34)

A chorus of okays came through the earpiece as everyone seemed to be signing off. Shae fished the little piece of plastic out of her ear and started to pull the microphone out, first unclipping the top and letting it fall down her shirt. She could feel Tristan glancing over at her and really hoped he wasn’t remembering how he’d put the device on. “Whose car is this?” she asked, trying to change the subject in any way possible.

“I don’t know. I picked up the keys from the valet table. We’ll have to drop it soon enough, but it should get us far enough away.”

“You stole someone’s car?”

He looked over at her and frowned. “You do know I’m a thief, right?”

“I know. You’re just so casual about it. Don’t you feel bad? This is someone’s car. They need it to get around.”

“Please. You saw the people in there. They probably all have a garage full of spare cars they’re not using. Little toys they keep to look at. They never drive them—they just touch the paint job every once in a while to remember they exist. Besides, I told you I’m ditching it. The cops will come across it, and the owner will get their precious toy back. All it will be missing is some gas and a few miles. It’s almost a victimless crime.”

“That’s a lie.”

He scoffed and shook his head, keeping his eyes on the road now. “You’re not mad at me. You’re mad that you had to see your dad. It was a touching family reunion, by the way.”

That was it. “I’m not mad about that. I’m mad that I was just here to be your little distraction. Did you think I wouldn’t figure it out?”

“Oh no. We used you to help us do what we needed to do. If I remember correctly, helping us is what you wanted. And now you’re upset about it?”

“Pull over.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Pull the car over. I’m not sitting in here with you for one more fucking minute.”

“We’re in the middle of nowhere. What the fuck are you going to do if I pull over?”

“I don’t know. I’ll improvise. Isn’t that what you do all the time? Fake it till you make it?”

“Yeah, but I’m not stupid about it.”

“The only thing stupid I’ve done recently is spend so much time with you. Now please rectify that and pull. This. Car. Over.”

“No.”

“If you don’t let me out, this is kidnapping.”

“One, that’s not true. Two, you’re not getting out of this goddamn car. Now put your seat back, close your eyes, and get comfortable. You’re here until I say you can leave.”

That son of— Shae hit the unlock button and pushed her door open.

The air rushing through the car seemed to knock some sense into Tristan. He bit out a curse as he started to pull the car over. “Are you crazy?” he snapped. By now, the car was screeching to a halt and gravel was kicking up behind them. Luckily, this deserted back road seemed to be free from cars driving by, so at least she hadn’t caused an accident.

She wished she could say she knew that before she made her reckless action, but that would be a lie. She just wanted to get away. Away from Tristan, away from the mess she found herself in, away from Damask, and away from the fucked-up memories of her family. Memories that had flooded back all too quickly after the close encounter with her father.

The car came to a screeching halt and Tristan was out of the car before even she was. She held her breath as he stormed around and pulled her car door open. “You want to get out? Get out!” he ordered.

She winced at his tone but didn’t argue. She left the earpiece and microphone in his car but didn’t take anything else. She didn’t have anything. Even back at the mansion, she had only her sundress and her phone she didn’t want to use for fear of being tracked. What difference was it being at the house full of people she didn’t know or trust, and being out here in the middle of nowhere alone? She was still surrounded by snakes.

“Go on. See how far you walk. See how long it takes for you to call me, begging for help.”

Shae let out a laugh. “Call you? One, I don’t have a phone I can safely use. Two, you never told me your number. I don’t know anything about you. Even if I wanted to find you again, I would never be able to. So, good job, Tristan. You made yourself so much of a ghost that you’ll never see me again. I think you can mark that down as a success.” She started walking away, but she heard steps pounding behind her on the gravel shoulder.

“Why the hell would that be a success?”

She didn’t have time for this. Well, she supposed with the amount of walking ahead of her she had plenty of time for this, but she was just out of emotional energy at this point. She turned around to face him. “You’re so full of it. You keep me at arm’s length at every turn, lie to me constantly, and have done nothing but try to get me out of your hair since we met. So now that I’m trying to actually walk away, please, tell me what your problem is.”

“My problem is.... Fuck this.” Tristan reached forward, grabbing the front of her suit jacket, and pulled her against him, crushing her mouth with his.

For a moment, she was too shocked to react. How did they go from fighting to this?

Then his mouth moved against hers and she totally understood. “You son of a bitch,” she mumbled against his mouth as she kissed him back. For the first time, she realized that maybe this was as strange for him as it was for her. Maybe he didn’t understand the pull between them either.