By Mallory Crowe
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Fonts used with permission from Microsoft.
Copyright © 2017 by Mallory Crowe
Mallory Crowe (2017-3-14). The Beautiful Thief (Stolen Hearts Book Two)
Want to get more FREE from Mallory?
Sign up for the author’s New Releases mailing list and get a free copy of Part One through Three of the Cross Falls Saga AND a free bonus scene showing April and Sam’s first meeting years before the events in Teaching The Boss!
Click here to get started: mallorycrowe.com/free/
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
THE DANGEROUS THIEF Sneak Peek!
Check out all of Mallory Crowe's Books!
The ringing doorbell caused Melody’s eyes to snap open. Just as quickly, she closed them again and rolled over. The thundering footsteps above her told her that the entire household had been disturbed by the newcomer, but she was in no hurry to investigate. Instead, she pushed her head into the pillow and willed herself into unconsciousness.
Right as she thought sleep was going to overtake her again, soft footsteps coming down the stairs to the basement Melody was currently renting told her that sleep wasn’t coming anytime soon.
Even so, she didn’t move until the person stopped right at the edge of the bed and whispered, “Melody?”
It was Whitney. Her ever considerate and patient hostess. Even though all she wanted to do was ignore the woman, she knew Whitney would leave faster if she responded, so she rolled over. “What’s up?” she asked in a groggy voice.
“Obviously not you,” said someone who very obviously wasn’t Whitney.
Melody jerked her gaze to the staircase. Toni leaned over the rail halfway down and looked judgmentally at her. All of a sudden, Melody was one hundred percent awake and immediately aware that her two lives were all too close to colliding.
“I thought I asked you to wait upstairs,” said Whitney in an almost firm voice.
Good for you, thought Melody. Even though she wanted her friend to be able to stand up for herself, Toni was probably the worst person to practice on.
“And I thought I told you that I wanted to see my sister.” Toni continued down the rest of the stairs, just one more way to prove that she wasn’t planning to go anywhere. She was dressed comfortably in some yoga pants and a pink t-shirt. Even though the clothes were made for lounging, they were tight on her fit body. A stark contrast to Melody’s ill-fitting mishmash of clothes she’d grabbed out of her closet hastily after the divorce.
“It’s fine.” Melody stood hastily and ran a hand through her reddish-brown hair, knowing no amount of finger brushing would make her look put together at the moment.
“It’s not fine. I know you well enough to know you don’t have a sister,” said Whitney.
Toni tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, her judgment coming off in waves from across the room.
“I do have a sister,” admitted Melody. “Just not one I talk to.”
“Oh,” said Whitney. Her first glimpse of just how much Melody wasn’t telling her.
She could get this over much quicker if she wasn’t edging around the truth while Whitney was around. “Can you give us a few minutes? I’m sorry for any confusion.”
“Okay,” said Whitney tentatively. “Let me know if you need anything.”
Toni stepped out of the way as Whitney went upstairs. Toni and Melody remained completely quiet until the footsteps above them signaled that she was well out of earshot. “What the hell are you doing here?” Melody finally snapped.
Melody fell back onto the bed and refused to offer her sister anything to make her more comfortable. If she wanted to show up unannounced and start causing trouble, Melody didn’t see any reason to make her stay any easier.
“I’m here because I need a place to sleep.” Melody tucked her feet under the covers and fell back against the pillow. As far as basements went, this one was pretty nice. It was never meant to be an apartment. There was no kitchen space or eating space, and the couch had holes big enough to swallow an entire cell phone. But it had a twin-sized bed against the far wall and a bathroom, and that was good enough for her.
“I know you need a place to sleep, but why here? You can afford your own house. Hell, you could afford dozens of houses after what we did to Stranger.”
Melody shifted at the reminder of the last time she’d seen her sister. Was that really only two weeks ago? Time didn’t seem to move right ever since she’d seen— Ever since that night.
The money had been a benefit she wasn’t expecting. After what had gone down, Toni had been especially unforgiving and had used her overwhelming hacking knowledge to go after what Greg Stranger valued most: his money.
Well, not his money, which was so protected even Toni wouldn’t be able to get to it. But the money of every single one of Stranger’s clients. Considering Stranger’s clients consisted of some of the most prolific criminals on the planet, his days were numbered—if he wasn’t dead already.
But so far Melody hadn’t touched the massive deposit that sat in her bank account. She didn’t want to think about that night. She didn’t want to face what had happened. “I like it here,” she said simply. “I like Whitney. I like her kids. They took me in when I left Ben—no questions asked.”
Toni scoffed. “Please. I thought you came here for a normal life. So now what? You’re living below a normal life? Watching the happy wife, happy husband, and happy kids from a distance?”
Melody stared up at the ceiling. She wished she could tell Toni how she really felt, but honestly, she didn’t even know. The sadness and anger and hurt had all blended together until there was almost nothing left. “They’re not happy,” she finally said.
“You’re telling me Barbie up there isn’t living a perfect life? I’m shocked,” said Toni with mock surprise.
Sure, on the outside looking in, Whitney’s life might seem perfect. Her blonde hair had trendy waves, and even though she had three kids, she could probably still fit into all her high school clothes. But thanks to Melody’s uniquely close view of Whitney’s life, she knew more than most what the woman was going through. “Her husband is cheating on her.”
“Eeesh,” said Toni, the disgust evident on her face. “Does she know?”
“Yes and no. The signs are all there but she hasn’t admitted it to herself.”
Toni nodded slowly. “So are you here to support your friend? Or are you here because Mom was murdered in front of you?”
>
Melody kept her gaze trained on the ceiling, but every single muscle in her body went tense at the reminder of what had happened. The ring of the shot in her ears. The silhouette of a body hitting the ground. The strong arms around her pulling her away so she couldn’t even say good-bye....
She sat up and turned to Toni. “Leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere until—”
“Have you found Sterling yet?” Sterling was the one who was truly the ringleader. He was the one who had forced Stranger to take desperate measures. He was the one who employed the man who shot Isobel. Just one of the three men currently at the top of Melody’s list.
The list of men she’d been thinking about ever since that night. The ones she’d fantasized about killing. Rehashing what she’d say if she ever saw them again. Rehearsing the way she’d make sure they never hurt anyone ever again.
Sterling was at the top. One of the most powerful criminal minds in the world. Rich, dangerous, and, according to all accounts, partly psychotic. Then there was Baldie. She didn’t have a name. Didn’t have a picture. All she had was his image burned into her mind.
When she’d been taken by Sterling and Stranger’s men, she’d had two guards. They never told her their names, so she’d given each a nickname that only she knew. Baldie, for obvious reasons, and Blondie. Baldie had seemed to be the nicer of the two. He’d seemed to feel bad about her treatment and had been more gentle with her.
But he was the one who shot her mother right in the face. He was the one who had coldly told Stranger that Sterling ordered no survivors.
The third man on her list was Blondie. It was a slightly ironic name. Yes, he was blond, but somehow the hair color denoted a fairer nature that this man didn’t possess. His short hair and rough goatee hid handsome features, but when he spoke, he spat out orders. When he grabbed her, it was as though she was an object and not a person.
Yet he was the one who was the reason for her escape. After Isobel had been murdered, Blondie was the one who had thrown her into the elevator to freedom and warned her never to come back.
But that one nice act wouldn’t be enough to save him. Guilty by his own actions and guilty by association, Melody would make sure he got his too. But first of all, she’d need real names. So she’d start with the one name they did have. Jonathan Sterling.
“He’s not an easy man to track down,” said Toni carefully.
Too carefully, which made Melody suspicious. “He’s not easy, but you’re a genius who can get anything she wants as long as there’s Wi-Fi. What’s the problem?”
“The problem is that Sterling knows that. I don’t know how, but he hasn’t touched a single email account, phone, or bank that he is related to. I’m monitoring everything, and I’m sure that he’s going to make a mistake eventually. It might just take a while.”
“We can’t wait any longer! We need to—”
“Bum out in your friend’s basement while sleeping all hours of the day?” completed Toni.
“Get off my back,” said Melody firmly. “What the hell am I supposed to do? Get my own lair beneath a convenience store, like you? You’re not exactly the model of appropriate social behavior.”
Toni set her hands on her hips and glared down at Melody. It was obvious they were sisters. Even though their older sister, Jennifer, was tall and lean, Toni and Melody were both average height, around five foot seven. Melody had always liked the red in her hair and kept it natural, but Toni had been bleaching her brown locks since they were teens. Except for the slightly visible roots, no one would ever know she wasn’t a natural blonde.
They might have the same pert nose and brown eyes, but that was where the similarities ended. Toni had always been rebellious, taking after their mother. Nothing made Toni happier than when she was breaking a rule or a law.
Melody had been the odd one out in her family. Although her mother and two sisters had always seamlessly stepped into the role of criminal, Melody had always looked around herself and craved the life she’d been denied. The life of someone who paid taxes. Whose only fear when the red and blue lights appeared behind them while driving was a speeding ticket.
And what had her quest for normalcy gotten her? A practically estranged family, a good-for-nothing ex-husband, and the knowledge that now she didn’t really belong anywhere. Yep. Thoughts like this were why she’d spent the last two weeks sleeping.
“There’s a space between retreating into yourself and going on a revenge mission. Get up. Get dressed. I’ll take you out for a drink.”
Melody sat up as something hit her. “He’s not online.”
Toni looked at her as if she’d just blew a fuse. “Sterling? That’s what I said.”
“If he’s not online, then we have to look offline.”
“I don’t think you get how this whole Internet thing works.”
“No, Sterling isn’t like Stranger. He’s not going to disappear on some desert island and cut off all communication. He’s still going to run his businesses. So maybe we should focus on the business. Who is he working with that he would contact? Maybe they’ll be less careful.”
Toni’s lips tightened and Melody knew before any words came out that her sister was about to shoot her down.
“We’re all working hard on this. Scott Hart wants Sterling caught more than anyone. Austin and Jennifer are off playing the happy couple, but they’ll be back the second Sterling shows up. Even Weston is on call. Take it easy.”
“You don’t think I can help.” Of course Toni doubted her. She’d been out of the game for years.
“I think our mother was just murdered right in front of you,” said Toni forcefully. “This doesn’t have a thing to do with what I think of your abilities. And, for the record, I think you could get away with murder as long as you batted your lashes just the right way. This isn’t a judgment. This is me being concerned for you. Okay?”
Melody ran a hand over her eyes and then back through her hair. Toni was right. There was no need for her to be so suspicious. It was her own doubts in herself manifesting. Maybe if she’d stayed with the family business, she wouldn’t have gotten herself kidnapped. Maybe if she’d kept her mind sharp and her body ready, she could’ve fought off the men who had snatched her when she’d tried to get out of San Francisco.
Maybe Toni should keep her out of the loop. If Melody hadn’t been taken, they would’ve gotten away free and clear with the Dragon Heart necklace and Isobel wouldn’t have had to pay the ultimate price....
Toni snapped her fingers three times in rapid succession. “Hey, you still there?”
Melody blinked a few times to clear her mind from the troubling thoughts. “I don’t know what to tell you. I’m not okay. I wasn’t okay before all of this and now that Mom is gone... I feel like you want me to give you some sort of reassurance, but I don’t have any to give.”
Toni sighed and a deep sadness crossed over her face. Melody really wished she could help. She wasn’t the only one who had lost a mother that night, but at the moment, she didn’t think she was capable of giving Toni the comfort she deserved.
“Okay then,” said Toni. “I’ll leave you alone, but you know that I’m here for you if you need me, right?”
Melody nodded. “I know. And I appreciate you stopping by.”
Toni handed Melody a small card. There was nothing on the card except seven numbers in a simple black font. “Memorize this. I won’t answer, but it’s connected to a voicemail I’ll be checking regularly.”
“You don’t have your other phone anymore?”
“For now, but I tend to ditch those on a regular basis. This way you’ll still have a way to get in touch no matter what river my phone is at the bottom of.”
Melody slowly turned the card in her hand. It was such a sudden reminder of the type of life she’d been trying to get away from. The life of burner phones and always looking over your shoulder. “Thanks,” was all she said. Toni was more paranoid than most, and it was nice that she tr
usted Melody with a phone number. “Let me walk you out.”
Toni shook her head. “No. You get dressed. Throw on some mascara and tight jeans and go out of the house. I don’t care if it’s just to the grocery store. I respect your need to grieve alone, but you need some reminder that there’s a world outside this basement. Fair?”
Melody dreaded the thought of going out. Making small talk with others... giving fake smiles and pretending she wasn’t breaking apart at the seams. “That’s fair,” she finally admitted. No matter how much the idea repelled her, she knew Isobel would be turning over in her grave if she knew what Melody had been doing.
Isobel was never the type to wallow or stand still. She was off chasing the world, no matter the cost. Melody stood and gave Toni a quick hug before her sister left. For a few long moments, Melody fought the urge to crawl back in bed, but she finally forced herself to get in the shower.
The warm water not only massaged muscles sore from sleeping on the old mattress for too long, but helped to wake her up. She felt clean and awake and fresh. A feeling she hadn’t felt in a while. While she ran shampoo through her hair, she thought about where she should go. She didn’t want to go anywhere that required actual conversation. And she didn’t want to go to some restaurant and sit by herself.
If she were anywhere else, that would be fine. But not in this town, where everyone knew her. No one in the town of Huntsville knew about Isobel. If she sat alone and looked depressed, they’d think she was moping about her divorce. She’d already given Ben enough. He didn’t need the satisfaction of thinking she was still hurting over him.
Though, there was one place people went to sit alone all the time. They’d finally put in one of those big chain coffee places down on Main Street. She could take her laptop and plug in while drinking a latté and hopefully, if she put in her earbuds, no one would bother her at all.
Happy with her decision, Melody actually had a little smile as she put on her makeup for the first time since her mother’s rehearsal dinner. From foundation to eyeliner and mascara. It was nothing compared to what she used to wear, but it was enough to make her look human at least.
The Beautiful Thief (The Stolen Hearts #2) Page 1
