The Dangerous Thief (Stolen Hearts #3)(24)

And she would’ve let him. He could see that she wanted him with every not-so-subtle glance she gave him. The knowledge that she wanted him too just made it harder. Literally.

James had to adjust himself as he stood and took out his phone to run through any messages. His new “boss,” Ike, was in frequent contact to make sure his coverage of Willa was going well. Then he had to take out his other phone to see whether Toni was trying to get in contact with him.

There was no news from Toni, but he had a feeling Hart had arrived by now and figured he should check it out. Something to keep him from knocking down Willa’s door. He could at least go a few hours pretending he was a civilized human.

However, before he left, he’d have to tell Willa he was leaving. And that would involve going to her door and not kicking it down. Because that would be bad. Very bad. Maybe if he told himself enough, he’d believe it.

He knocked gently. “Willa?” he called. No answer. If she didn’t give him anything, he really wouldn’t have any choice but to knock down the door.... “Willa, if you’re not there, I’m going to open this door one way or another.”

“What?” she called. Her voice was quiet, but she wasn’t yelling. She was right on the other side of the door. James pressed his palm flat against the wood and once again ran through the reasons he didn’t need this kind of distraction right now.

Once he had himself reasonably under control, he said, “I’m going downstairs to talk to Toni. Don’t go anywhere without me.” When she hesitated to answer, he added, “I need your help. I can’t have you ditching me again.”

“I’ll be here,” she said.

That would have to be good enough. He went back to the elevator and entered in the code that would give him access to the lower level. The doors opened to an apartment very similar to Willa’s, but slightly smaller. From the look of the main hallway, this unit also had two bedrooms, but didn’t have an extra den and the balcony space was a bit smaller. He wasn’t an expert on real estate, but for that kind of view, space, and high-end finishes, he knew Willa was paying top dollar. Or at least her father was.

It was strange to reconcile what he knew logically about Willa with what he knew from experience. She wasn’t the first heiress he’d dealt with. And it wasn’t as if they were all spoiled, vapid people who drove him crazy. But they sure as hell weren’t people he’d ever connected with on any level at all. Keeping his distance had never been a challenge. Hell, keeping himself detached from his jobs was practically his specialty.

So why was it different with Willa? Was it because she’d been in his home? A place he didn’t even take the women he slept with to? Or was it because she wasn’t just a protection job, but someone who had sought him out while trying to do the right thing?

And as pissed as he was that she tried to run from him, a sick part of him just liked her more for it. Because he knew she had run right back to the person who she was most terrified of. He thought when she had run, it had been out of fear of him. Considering she’d just seen him kill someone with his bare hands, it was understandable.

But she hadn’t just run. She’d gone right back to her father. Any thought of her going back to her old way of life had been alleviated once he saw how angry she was at his sudden appearance. And not angry because she thought he would get her in trouble. Angry because she was worried about him. Which was kind of adorable.

His mouth turned up as he came into the living room where Scott Hart sat awkwardly on the couch to type on his laptop, which was set up on the low coffee table. Toni was nowhere in sight.

“What the hell are you smiling about?” Scott typed something into the laptop before he sat back.

James immediately went back to his normal blank expression and didn’t answer. “I hadn’t heard anything from down here and wanted to see what was happening.”

Scott waved a frustrated hand in the air. “Fuck if I know. Toni has the most complex system known to man and she’s been setting it all up in the back.”

At that moment, a loud curse echoed through the apartment.

“Don’t offer to help,” said Scott. “That just pisses her off more.”

“Noted.” James debated sitting down but decided against it. “Any news on the hunt for Sterling?”

“Lots of news. But every time we find him, or think we find him, he’s gone by the time we follow the breadcrumb. I think Melody was right when she wanted to look into Belli. Every time Toni or I get a new lead, it circles around him. And from what she can tell, he’s been taking out large amounts of money once a month but we can’t trace where it’s going. He has to be funneling it to Sterling somehow, but until we figure out the how, we’re kind of at a loss.” Hart ran a hand over his head and rubbed his temples. “What about you? Sorry you got stuck with the daughter on this one, but it just worked.”

If only Hart knew the hell James would’ve raised if they tried to keep him away from Willa. “It made sense. She’s having dinner with Belli tonight. Anything we need to be doing?”

“Dinner?” said Toni.

James looked over his shoulder to see Toni walking to the kitchen, where she filled the empty glass in her hand with tap water. She wore the same clothes as earlier, but her hair was falling out of her ponytail and there was just a hint of sweat at the top of her brow. He didn’t want to think about how complex the setup she was working on was.