Stealing His Heart (10 page)

She hugged him close. “It’s okay. I did kind of flirt with him, I guess. I wanted to see if you cared.”

“Don’t do that again. Don’t fuck with me like I’m a toy you can throw away. I’ve had enough lies and games to last me a lifetime. I don’t want them from you. Anyone but you. You want to be done with me, then say so.” He turned his face away, even though she couldn’t see him, because he felt way too damn vulnerable right now. She’d hurt him. “You’re free to end this whenever you’re finished, just like I am.”

“Jake.” When she cupped his cheeks, something inside him gave way. Something huge. For once, she sounded dead-ass serious. “I’m not done with us. Not even close.”

He swallowed, his heart twisting hard. It was then, in that moment, that he realized she had way too much fucking power over him. He’d needed her to want to be with him, and now that she’d admitted she did, he felt like he could fly.

This was dangerous.
She
was dangerous.

No matter how much she wanted him right now, it wouldn’t last. She might find him amusing for now, but the novelty would wear off. And when it did? She’d be gone. She would find a man who could stand for more than an hour at a time. One who wasn’t as scarred on the inside as he was outside. And she’d be smart to do so.

Plus, there was that whole jail thing…

Feeling sick, he gripped her legs and unwrapped himself from her body slowly. When she stood on the floor, her knees wobbled slightly, as if she couldn’t stand on her own. Once he was certain she wasn’t going to fall, he leaned against the wall and put all of his weight on his good leg.

Well, shit. That fucking hurt. He’d be limping all day now, thanks to his impulsive actions. He should have known his injury wouldn’t stand up to wall sex.

But fuck his injury.

He was sick of being the guy he’d been lately. He wanted to be different. Wanted…shit if he knew. He just knew he wanted. Dropping his head back, he took a deep breath. After removing the condom and disposing of it in the trash can by the door, he tucked himself back into his pants.

If he looked at her, she might see too much. “Is your skirt back down?”

“Yeah. I think we’re good.”

He took a deep breath and opened the door. She straightened and smoothed the soft material over her thighs, then nodded at him once. Around her, he felt more alive than…hell, he didn’t know.

Since before the war.

Before he’d witnessed half of his buddies get blown to puzzle pieces, and survived to relive every single fucking detail at night when he slept. The light from the hallway illuminated her profile, and he focused on her again. Her swollen lips and flushed cheeks reminded him how amazing she felt, and her tousled hair teased him. He’d done that to her. Given her that
I got fucked
look.

And everyone would know it.

Swallowing hard, he latched gazes with her. She watched him with such trust, such openness, that it killed him. He had to do whatever it took to keep her safe, and he had a feeling he had the perfect plan. The problem was, it would make her hate him. She’d never forgive him, but she’d be out of jail.

That was all that mattered…or so he kept telling himself.

He cupped the nape of her neck and urged her close. “I’m sorry I had to blackmail you into helping me. And I’m even more sorry I might have to send you to jail. I wish—”

“I know,” she said, her flushed cheeks going pale. “I know.”

Unable to put the rest of his thoughts into words, he stepped out into the hallway, and they headed for the door. It was time for him to save her…

And pay the consequences.

Chapter Ten

Tara took a deep breath and pushed some random numbers on the safe lock. She tried her best to make her incompetence convincing, but she knew she was a complete and utter fail in that department. And judging from Jake’s narrow stare…he agreed with her own rating of her mediocre acting skills.

She’d been pretending to be an idiot for an hour and a half, emitting moans and a few curses here and there, but she was running out of ways to act stupid. She didn’t
do
stupid.

The glow of his phone illuminated his perfect face, since the dim overhead light didn’t do much in that area. They were in Soltese’s safe, which was easily the size of Jake’s guest room, and dark gray walls surrounded them. It smelled like money and potpourri.

She sighed loudly. He was probably playing
Candy Crush
or something equally innocuous while she killed herself over here trying to look stumped. When he didn’t look up from his phone, she sighed even louder. Slowly, he glanced up. “Is there a problem?”

“Yeah. I want out of here. Take me to jail now. I surrender.”

His mouth tightened. “It’s been almost two hours. You’re telling me you can’t remember how you cracked the code?”

She stood and swiped her palms on her skirt. “Can we go home now?”

“No.”

“Maybe we can try tomorrow?” she asked hopefully. “Fresh minds and all that?”

“We need a solution by today, or tomorrow morning you’ll go to jail.” He strode to the door. “I know you don’t have signal, but I do. Maybe you need a little more persuasion.”

She tensed, watching him cautiously. “What are you doing?”

“Persuading you.” He tossed his iPhone through the door of the safe. “And hoping like hell that you can get us out of here.”

She stumbled after him. “No, you can’t do—” He closed their only exit with a
bam
. She clamped her mouth shut and scowled at him. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.” He leaned against the wall as if he didn’t have a care in the world. As if he hadn’t locked them in together, with no hope of escape. “Now get us out.”

He thought he could force her to reveal her secrets? Screw him. “I
can’t
. I told you that. Trying to force it out of me won’t do you any good.”

“I don’t believe you.” He crossed his arms. “You did it once, you can do it again.”

She shook her head and hooked up to the system. After randomly pushing buttons, it beeped at her and turned red. She glowered over her shoulder. “See? I don’t know what I did.”

He came up behind her. “Think harder.”

“I am.” She curled her fingers on her phone even tighter. “I’m trying.”

“No, you’re not.” He trailed his fingers down her leg and toyed with the hem of her skirt. “I think you’re playing me. And I’m prepared to stay in here until you get us out, no matter how long it takes.”

He dropped his hold on her and left, crossing the safe to sit down on a bin.

“And if I don’t? What then?” she asked.

“Then we die in here.” He crossed his ankles. “I don’t know about you, but no one will miss me too much.”

She clamped her mouth shut. “Not even your sister?”

“Well.” He lifted a shoulder. “Maybe her. But she’s got Tyler now.”

“That’s not the same as the love of a brother,” she said.

“Fuck, I’d hope not.” Jake pointed at the lock. “Now get back to work.”

She blew out a breath, fluttering her hair. “You’re being stupid.”

“I’m good at that.”

“You don’t say?” She turned her attention to the code, mind racing. “I hadn’t noticed until now.”

He snorted, but didn’t reply.

After a few minutes of her aimlessly poking buttons, he broke the silence. “Why do you do this?”

Grateful for the distraction, she stopped acting as if she was trying to crack the code and walked over to his side. “Why do I do
what
?”

“Steal. Explain it to me again.”

She exhaled. It was the first time he’d asked her that. Maybe it meant he was beginning to see she wasn’t being evil. Maybe he was beginning to understand her. “You protect stuff for people, keep it from being stolen. I do the same thing. The only difference being that I recover stolen items, and you keep things from
being
stolen.”

He studied her, as if he was having a hard time understanding her logic. For him, everything was black and white. There was nothing in between. “You break into other people’s homes and steal. That’s wrong.”

“Even if they stole it themselves?”

“An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind,” he said. “Is this because of your parents?”

“Yes. And yours.” She lifted her chin. “I hate that bad people in this world get away with everything, and we can’t do anything to stop it. The people who stole all my parents’ money. Your foster parents. The man who killed my parents. They all have one thing in common. They all walked away without a single punishment, and we couldn’t do a thing to stop them.”

“No one said the justice system was perfect.”

“It’s unfair. Unjust.” She took a deep breath, wringing her hands. “I debated becoming a cop so I could arrest them all. But I’m not disciplined enough. On top of that, I’d never be able to walk away from someone I knew was guilty because we didn’t have the legal evidence. So…I do this.”

His gaze latched on hers. “You steal from them.”

“Yes.” She bit down on her lip, and added defensively, “They all deserve it. You can’t deny that. They’re all assholes. I only steal from the ones who stole it first.”

He shook his head. “That doesn’t make it okay. If I treated everyone the way I was treated, I’d be in jail. Would have been since my parents died.”

Kneeling at his feet, she covered his hand with hers. His fingers tensed under hers, as if he wasn’t sure he wanted her touch. Funny, considering all they’d done together in the past twenty-four hours. Heck, even
before
that.

“I know. And it’s people like Soltese that need to be taken from. That deserve to have their privacy invaded, and the items they took from innocent people taken back.”

He shook his head. “It’s not that simple, Tara.”

“Yeah, it is.” She withdrew. “Ever wish you had been honest with Christine and told her you were being abused? Do you ever wish someone came and took you away from him?”

He moved away from her, his profile barely visible in the dim shadows of the safe. “‘Took me away?’ I’m not one of your items that can be stolen away in the night.”

“But still.”

Pressing his mouth into a tight line, he shook his head. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. I was fine, and I didn’t need to be rescued. It was one year of hell, after seventeen years of happiness. That’s it. It wasn’t a big deal.”

“But it was a whole year.” She bit her lower lip. “I saw the bruises and the broken bones. I saw what he did to you. And I also saw how much you hated living there. Hated life, even. When my parents died, my grandmother took me in. I had a loving home, plenty of support. You got
him
. How can that not piss you off? How can that not make you hate the world a little bit?”

“That I got an abusive asshole while you were coddled and loved?” He stood and linked his hands behind his head. “We might be part of the dead parents club, but that doesn’t mean we both had to have tragic pasts. Your parents died and left you loads of cash. Mine died, and I lost everything. It doesn’t mean I feel cheated or unloved. It’s the way life works. We don’t all get a fucking happy ending.”

She swallowed hard. “But you could still have one. I wish—” She locked gazes with him. “I wish you would have come and lived with me. I wish I had thought of it back then.”

“Me, living with your grandmother?” Jake laughed and leaned against the wall. “It wouldn’t have happened.”

“It should have.” She blinked back tears. “I should have saved you.”

He shook his head. “No one could have saved me because I didn’t need saving in the first place.”

“What about now?” she whispered.

“Now I’m beyond hope. Nothing can save me.” He gave her his back. “Not even you.”

Not even you
.

Why did he say it like that? Maybe he was worried she
could
save him. Maybe he was worried she still might. Reaching out, she grabbed his arms and held on tight. “I would try, if you wanted me to. I would save you.”

A small tremor went through his muscles. So little that anyone else might not have noticed. But she wasn’t anybody else. “I’m not the one that needs saving, Tara. Get us the fuck out of here so
I
can save
you
.”

An hour later, Jake braced himself against the safe wall and watched Tara, forcing a calming breath…but it wasn’t easy. Hell no, it wasn’t easy.

Neither was being locked in with her.

She wanted to save him. Fucking
save
him. He wasn’t the one who was about to go to jail, damn it. She needed to worry about herself. He was fine. Good, even.

And he didn’t need saving.

Over the past hour, after her heartfelt speech about why she did what she did, he’d come to the realization that she didn’t have anyone in her life. Her grandmother was dead. So were her parents. She didn’t have siblings. Aunts or uncles either. She was alone.

More alone than he was.

She needed to see that she didn’t have to be a thief to make a difference in the world. She could go legit. Stop breaking into houses. He could help her.

Walking past him, she headed for a bottle of water in the corner. He followed her, watching that ass he loved so much swing back and forth with each step. He’d had her only a few hours ago, but the need to have her again was strong. He wanted to conquer her. Make her scream his name out until it echoed off the walls.

Wanted to claim her as his.

Tilting her chin up, he stared at her mouth hungrily. “Do you have any fucking idea how badly I want to kiss you right now? It’s all I can think about.”

“That’s because you’re as bored as I am,” she said breathlessly. “Or you’re running out of oxygen and getting delirious. Either one.”

“We’re supposed to be working,” he said, rubbing his thumb over her lower lip. “But I want to fuck you against this wall. You’re like a drug I’m hooked on, and I don’t want to break free. Get us out of here before it’s too late.”

She shook her head. “I can’t. Soltese will have to drag our dead, rotting corpses out of here when he’s back from his vacation.”

“About Soltese…” He cleared his throat. “I investigated him some more last night after you went to sleep. I sent Cooper an email with the evidence, but you were right about him. He’s a con.”

She seized his biceps. “I
told
you that already. Does this mean I could be off the hook with the code?”

He lifted a shoulder. “I have no idea. All I know is that Soltese isn’t the type of man we generally protect. He has close ties to the Mafia, and a history of violence.”

“Yeah, I know,” she said drily.

Her nonchalance in the face of danger hit him, swift and strong. He leaned in, touching noses with her. Didn’t she realize he needed her to be safe? Or how much she meant to him?

“Do you have any idea how much danger you could be in right now ?” he asked, his voice deceptively soft.

She scoffed. “Please. I don’t care how dangerous he thinks he is. He won’t get to me.”

“Bullshit.” Jake tightened his grip on her, wanting to kiss her into submission. “You’re not safe from men like him. No one is.”

“Sure I am. No one ever suspects me. I’m a rich woman who is supposed to be happily married with a bunch of trust fund kids by now.” She shrugged. “Well, no one suspected me until you, anyway.”

He flexed his jaw, anger and worry over her safety making him see red. “If you don’t tell me how you cracked my code, he
will
find out who you are. He’ll know your name, because we’ll have to tell him. Do you understand that?”

She jerked her chin free. “I don’t care. Tell him my name. Give him my address. Hand me over to him. I don’t care.”

Deep breaths. Keep your head, Jake
.

“Well, I do, damn it,” he said, his gut twisting tight. “I care. You need to tell me the secret to cracking the code, and you need to do it right fucking
now
.”

She frowned at him and shoved his shoulder. “I can’t. You, Soltese, and everyone in the Shillings Agency can go to hell.”

“Can’t.” He leaned against the wall. “I’m already there.”

Because of the way he felt about her. Because he was going to have to trick her, or send her to jail, and he didn’t fucking
want
to. Because he wanted more, with her.

He wanted to be happy, damn it.

Those unwelcome feelings, combined with the knowledge that she was in danger, and quite possibly would soon be behind bars, were enough to drive a saint insane…and he was no saint.

She went back to the keypad, leaving his last comment untouched.

Now came the tricky part. The part he’d been devising since her name crossed his desk. “In the future, it would be nice if we had someone in the company who checked into backgrounds to make sure this lapse in judgment doesn’t happen again.”

She froze with her finger on the fifth button. “Really?”

“Yeah.” He forced himself not to watch her, to act as if he wasn’t offering her a job. Because he was. “We’re going to be looking for someone to fill the position soon.”

She pushed some more buttons, her back stiff. “Is that your goal? To get me to agree to a safer job? To be my knight in shining armor, rescuing me from a life of danger and loneliness?”

Cocking his head, he studied her closely. He’d never said anything about her being lonely. She’d told him that all on her own. But he knew all about being on your own. Way too well. Going to bed alone. Waking up alone. Eating Christmas dinner alone.

Having to rely on himself and no one else. But maybe…maybe he didn’t
want
that anymore. Maybe they could be lonely together, or something.

Shit, he didn’t know.

“I’m not a knight, or a hero. I’m a warrior with a lame leg. I’m one of those men who can do nothing but sit by the fire and reminisce on the good old days, while secretly wishing he could go back out and fight.”