The Dangerous Thief (Stolen Hearts #3)(2)

And not normal junk food, like chips or candy. Only peanuts and jerky. Though she supposed someone with biceps that big would need a lot of protein to keep that up.

Willa lived on a regimented diet that consisted of a lot of lettuce and egg whites, but she wasn’t about to touch the wilted-looking iceberg salad in the cooler of the gas station they’d stopped at, so she’d gone to the complete other end of the spectrum and grabbed some Ding Dongs.

She might be stuck in a car with a guy who hated her and running for her life from her own father, but at least she’d have a sugar high.

Weston didn’t answer her question about Melody. Instead, he asked, “What can you tell me about Jadon Belli?”

She blinked a few times at the general question. “I can tell you almost everything. His favorite breakfast, the car he drives, the guilty pleasure reality TV he DVRs but won’t admit to.”

“We can safely assume I don’t care about that.”

“Then ask me the question you really want to know.” Maybe her attitude was uncalled for, but her muscles were cramping and Weston had gone from ignoring her to grilling her and she couldn’t help her snark.

“You came to us asking for help. You were genuinely afraid of him. People usually don’t run from family unless there is something bad going down. Now, if you want me to keep protecting you, I expect you to be honest with me. Full disclosure.”

Full disclosure. She didn’t think she’d ever be able to promise this stranger that. But he was right. If he was going to be taking her into his home, or whatever he’d meant when he said compound, she did owe him the truth. The truth she hadn’t been able to tell anyone else.

Logically, she didn’t think it was possible that Weston was working with her father, but it was still hard for her to get the words out. If Jadon Belli ever found out that his own daughter was working against him, she didn’t know what he’d do. She hated to think that he would hurt her, but she wasn’t naive enough to think that was off the table.

“I need help because I saw him do something horrible.”

“You’re going to have to be more specific.”

“I saw him kill someone, okay?” Willa winced as she got the words out. Saying it out loud had her replaying the memory over in her mind. It was so surreal, she had to wonder whether she’d hallucinated the whole thing. Her father had always been a dick, but never threatening in any way. To see him cross that line as if it were no big deal at all had been a moment she could never push under a rug or pretend didn’t happen. It was a selfish way to think about it, but that moment had changed her entire life.

“Were there any other witnesses? Video? Anything we can take to the cops?”

Willa rolled her eyes and threw her head back onto the seat. All very basic questions, but the answers didn’t matter. “No solid evidence, but the real kicker is that my dad practically funds the Chicago police department and all the politicians in the city. There is no one in their right mind who would prosecute him for anything.”

Weston nodded and didn’t say anything.

“So what does that mean for us? Do you think you can help me? Am I shit out of luck? Are you going to abandon me on the side of the road? Because I’m freaking out here and I don’t know what to do. If Daddy finds me here, I don’t know what he’d do to me. I mean, I know what he’d do to you if you were working against him, but I really don’t know where his limits are. So how are we supposed to fight someone like that?”

“You talk a lot,” said Weston.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious. I happen to be nervous. I talk a lot when I’m not nervous and I happen to be fucking terrified right now so pardon me if I happen to be talking too much. I’d hate to be an inconvenience for you.”

He was quiet for a moment. She didn’t really want him to apologize to her or anything; she just wished he’d interact with her in some way so she didn’t feel as if she were driving with a robot.

Then he finally spoke again. “You’re not inconveniencing me.”

Well, it wasn’t an apology, but it was better than nothing.

“But,” he added, “if you want to take down a guy like Jadon Belli, it’s not going to be easy.”

“I never said—”

“And if you want me to help you, I will. Mainly because Melody and her family have a vested interest in getting this guy and they’re willing to bankroll me to help. But it’s not going to be fun or clean. If anyone is going to be inconvenienced here, it’s going to be you.”

Yeah. She was starting to get that.





James Weston glanced over at Willa out of the corner of his eye. She was trying to sleep but he could tell from the tension in her body that she was still awake. He didn’t really know what to make of the socialite next to him.

She would talk nonstop if he let her, so he tried his damnedest not to encourage her. He was well aware that he came off as a dick, but he wasn’t worried about her liking him. He was being tasked to keep her alive and help take down Jadon Belli, not make friends.

And he had a feeling a girl like that would never be friends with a guy like him. There were just too many rungs on the social ladder separating the two of them. She probably had a cell phone full of contacts who were all friends of some sort. She didn’t need to add him to that list.