The Perfect Lie (Hope Falls Universe)(21)

See an excerpt on the next page.





THE COCKY THIEF



(A sneak peek at the first book in The Stolen Hearts series)

Copyright 2016 Mallory Crowe



"If someone dies, the deal is off. If someone gets hurt, the deal is off. If anyone finds out I hired you, the deal is off."

"This is going to be fun," said Austin dryly as he brought the shot of whiskey to his mouth.

The wet blanket otherwise known as Scott Hart, took the drink from Austin's hand and slammed it on the counter of the bar, a few of the precious drop swishing over the sides. "I need you to focus."

Austin ran a hand through his slicked back hair and glanced into the mirror behind the bar to scan the room behind him. "I'm more focused than you could ever imagine. The only thing distracting me right now is the payday I'm missing."

"I told you. Once you get the package, you get the USB drive and a portion of the payoff."

The package. Austin didn't remember the last time he worked a job where the item he was supposed to procure wasn't explicitly stated. But Hart was different. Not only did he have major trust issues, but he happened to have something he wanted. Something he was staking his entire career on.

Well if you could call robbing people for a living a career.

Austin once again looked into the mirror and then at his watch.

"The plane is boarding in ten minutes," reminded Hart.

"I'm aware," said Austin as he took a drink of his water glaring at Hart the entire time. As though even as he was following the rules, he was breaking them at the same time.

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm working on it."

Hart glanced around, pointing out Austin's obvious inaction. "You're sitting on your ass."

"That is lesson number one. The best plots are the ones where you sit on your ass while everything works just the way you want it to."

As if on cue, the man Austin had been staring at in the mirror suddenly jerked in his seat. A second later, he was throwing some money on the table and picking up his briefcase and suit jacket before he left the bar and made a beeline for the bathroom.

"Looks like I'm on call," said Austin as he stood. "Wish me luck." In one quick motion, he downed the whiskey before Hart could stop him. "See you on the other side."

"This had better work!" called Hart as Austin left the airport bar. He headed across the aisle quickly, but kept his strides measured as to not draw any attention. Airport jobs were some of the easiest jobs. Everyone was so focused on getting to their gate, or getting last minute snacks, or their last minute bathroom breaks that it was almost impossible to not blend in.

When he walked inside the bathroom, it was easy enough to find the stall where Chris Luther was currently emptying the contents of his stomach. The two other guys in the bathroom quickly let to a less disgusting place and soon enough Austin and Luther were alone. He looked at his watch. Five minutes until boarding.

He gently knocked on the stall door. "Sir? I'm with airport security. Do you need assistance?"

"No, I-" The sudden heaving sort of belied the denial.

"Why don't you open the door sir. I want to make sure you get medical attention if required."

The door finally opened and Austin knelt down. "How are you feeling? Did you eat anything questionable? Maybe seafood?"

The man sitting on the floor of the bathroom was pale and a thin sheen of sweat had broken out over his face. "I had the sushi."

Airport sushi. As much as he tried, he'd never fully understand people. "That's probably it. There's been a nasty bacteria coming in on the..."

"Salmon?" asked Luther with a panicked voice.

"Salmon," confirmed Austin.

"Is it deadly?"

Austin let out a deep sigh. "I think you should get down to the medical station. Let me help you up." As the man stood, Austin reached down to pick up the briefcase and jacket. "Right this way." Once they left the bathroom Austin pointed to the left. "The medical office is right down there."

Luther gave him a panicked look. "You're not coming with me?"

"I'm going to let your flight know that you're not going to be onboard. What's the flight number?"

He could tell Luther wasn't keen on the idea of separating but suddenly he clutched at his stomach and Austin knew he had him. "Don't worry. You head to medical and I'll figure it out."

Luther wordlessly nodded before turning and running off down the hall. Austin gave it a few seconds before he slid Luther's jacket on over his shoulders and started off to the right, towards the boarding gate. Like he said, airport jobs were always the easiest.

He got to the gate right as they were calling passengers for the first class cabin. He looked through the briefcase pockets, but there was no boarding pass. However when he flipped through the wallet he'd lifted off the guy, there it was. Seat 2C, first class. This job wouldn't be all bad. As soon as he let the gate attendant scan his ticket, his phone started to ring. He would've ignored it, but he was almost certain Hart needed some sort of reassurance.

"How did you do it?" asked Hart.

"Just slipped a little something into his miso soup," said Austin after making sure no one was in hearing range on the jet way.