The Last Heist (Pretty Thieves Book 1) Read online

  Losing their mother had been a devastating blow. She remembered the day she’d gotten the news, remembered the funeral and how Milo, at the ripe age of fourteen, had held her while she cried. They’d been close before that moment, and inseparable every moment after.

  Life with Uncle Sebastian had been hell. He’d used Dani and her to lie, cheat, and steal from everyone and everything. And he’d always held their sick aunt’s well-being over their heads as collateral. Serena had needed Milo then. He’d been her rock. The only piece of stability in an ocean of sharks. If he thought for one second that they’d pick up where they left off eleven years ago as if none of it had ever happened, he was sorely mistaken.

  His eyes sharpened. “What?”

  She tucked her top lip into her teeth.

  Don’t do it, Serena. Don’t fight with him.

  He lifted his eyebrows. “Did I say something wrong?”

  “You’ve got a lot of balls, Milo. That’s all.”

  He laughed. “Why does my being single piss you off?”

  “It’s not that you’re single. It’s that you hinted I’d be mad if there was someone other than me. And, for your information, there is no you and me.” She wagged her finger between his body and hers.

  He cocked his head. “I think you read too much into it.”

  Her body temperature spiked. “Why did you bring me here?” She shook her head. “I was stupid to come.”

  Pain spread through her chest, threatening to expose her insecurities, her vulnerability . . . everything he’d left her with. She was the one who’d gone running to him at the first opportunity. How pathetic was she? Hours after catching a glimpse of his handsome face on social media, she ran to his sister’s bar in a moment of desperation. Not just for his help—but to see him. And here she was, rubbing her own face in her shitty past. He sure as hell didn’t have to make things harder, though.

  His eyes softened, and just like that, her anger deflated. She’d never been good at staying mad at him. Maybe that was the problem.

  “Serena, I was a young, dumb kid. After your idiot uncle got my dad locked up, I just . . . being with you would’ve been the ultimate betrayal.”

  “Did he say that?”

  He reached behind his head and scratched. “Hell, you remember my dad. He was more hotheaded than you are.” His lips worked into a grin.

  Her body hummed. That grin was what got her every blasted time. “You might have been a dumb kid back then, but you weren’t two years ago when you said you never wanted to see me again. It’s just like you to minimize your actions.” She laughed. “You must think I’m an idiot.”

  His body remained in the relaxed pose, but a muscle in his throat jumped. “You came to me, Serena.”

  She folded her forearms over her stomach and rubbed the chilled skin of her arms. He didn’t seem to want to let her forget that. He straightened and stepped closer to her.

  Her eyes stayed trained on him. She felt like prey watching its predator. He lifted his hand, and the back of his knuckles brushed her cheek.

  “I was trying to protect you. You and I both know that if the FBI had arrested you, shit could have gotten ugly for you and Dani.” He exhaled and looked away before rounding on her again. “I was mad that night. I’d hoped like hell you’d managed to get out of that life. Seeing you there showed me you hadn’t changed . . . and I had. I was scared, dammit. Scared of falling back into that rut alongside you when I was so close to being out.”

  “You know I didn’t have a choice then.”

  “There’s always a choice.”

  She scoffed. “That night you told me you were working as a mole. How did you get involved with the FBI?”

  “Rhett Callahan, an FBI agent, approached me with a bunch of evidence of the last job I’d worked—stealing a painting worth millions. He said I could either help them land Alban on some charges by working undercover, or go to prison.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “I guess that’s not a tough choice.” Then she wrinkled her nose. “Who’s the friend you called after I spoke with the police?”

  “Same guy.”

  “Wait. The FBI agent who caught you stealing is now your friend?”

  “Why’s that so shocking? People become friends under unusual circumstances all the time. Besides, I’m an honest citizen now,” he said with a wink. “When he made me that offer, it felt like a golden opportunity. A way to get out of that business without having to worry that someone would be angry at me for leaving and rat me out. You know how those people are. No one ever wants good for anyone else.”

  Was he talking about her? Did he think she hadn’t wanted better for him? She let the words fall between them. “Going undercover to nail Alban Moussa was risky.”

  “So’s stealing a Monet painting.”

  Ring ring! Ring ring!

  She jerked and turned toward her purse, which Milo had placed on a stool at the island. She pulled out her phone and looked at the screen. Dani’s image filled it, and she hesitated. FaceTime? Of all times, why did she have to FaceTime her now?

  She couldn’t avoid her. Serena had promised she’d call her sister when she got home and she hadn’t. Dani was going to flip when she told her about the accident.

  Milo’s eyebrows rose.

  “It’s Dani, I have to take it.”

  He nodded and turned to take two mugs from the cupboard.

  “Hello?”

  “Serena!” The piercing scream reverberated through the speaker, echoing in the space around her. Dani’s face filled the screen, her eyes wild and rimmed in smudged makeup, her blonde hair plastered to her face, her mouth covered with blood. Serena’s heart hammered against her throat, and she gripped the device tighter. Everything around her fell away.

  “Dani! Where are you?”

  “Stay away! Get somewhere safe!”

  Crack!

  A punch connected with Dani’s cheekbone, and her head snapped to the side. Milo’s body crowded her, and he grabbed her hand to steady the phone.

  “Who the fuck is this? Let her go—”

  The camera swiveled to a face covered in a black ski mask. “Hello, Milo. I’m glad I got the two of you together.”

  The muscles in Serena’s chest spasmed on each breath.

  “Listen, you sonofabitch,” Milo hissed.

  Serena wedged herself between the phone and him and forced her tongue to work over the tension gripping her vocal cords. “Tell me what you want. I’ll do whatever you want. Don’t hurt her!”

  “I knew you’d be easy to persuade.” The man’s voice dropped low, and her brain spun through a Rolodex of memories, searching for the owner of that voice. “I’m going to call you in a few hours with instructions. Stay tuned. Oh, and Serena?”

  Her lungs ached with the urge to scream.

  “If you call the cops, I’ll do a hell of a lot worse than punch her in the face. I’ll be in touch.”

  “Dani!” Her scream vibrated through her throat, yanking on her soul.

  The line went dead.

  CHAPTER 4

  Milo grabbed the phone from Serena before it smashed on the floor. Her fingers tented against her temples.

  “Oh my god, oh my god.” Her voice rose on waves of hysteria, and her body wavered. He pulled her to his chest as her knees buckled.

  “Milo, they have her . . . they have Dani. Oh, god,” she wailed. He held her tighter and lowered his mouth to her ear so she’d hear him over her cries.

  “We’ll find her. I promise you”—his voice threatened to break, but he forced it steady—“we’ll find her.”

  How the hell he’d do it was the question. But he had to. Dani was the person Serena was closest to. There was no way she could lose her sister. He wasn’t Dani’s biggest fan, mostly because she’d always been the one to rope Serena into dangerous situations, but she sure as hell didn’t deserve to be tortured. Sweat collected between his shoulder blades and every muscle in his body sprang to life.

 
With every minute that passed, the chances that they wouldn’t find her increased.

  What the fuck did they want? And what did Serena have to do with it?

  The caller had known him.

  I’m glad I got the two of you together.

  The voice didn’t jerk anything in his memory bank.

  Serena sucked in short gasps of air, and her back spasmed against his forearms. “Milo, what are they going to do to her?” Her voice pierced his heart.

  He closed his eyes. Jesus Christ. How could he reassure her? He couldn’t. All he could do was get help.

  He pushed her gently away and held her biceps. Her appearance had taken another blow. The black smudges beneath her eyes were now lined with red, tears had collected on her lashes, and crimson marks dotted her cheeks.

  “Listen to me. We’re going to find her, but we need to hurry. Sit down and have a cup—”

  She shook her head.

  “You need to calm down or you’ll be no help. I’m going to make a call and see if I can track her phone. In the meantime, I want you to think about who could possibly be behind this.”

  Her eyes darkened, the denim blue becoming damn near indigo. She swallowed and nodded. “Okay. You’re right. I’ll get it together.”

  “Good.”

  He turned and grabbed the coffee he’d made before Dani’s call had come in. Serena wiped her face with her sleeve, mopping up the remnants of tears. He moved her to the stool at the island.

  “Sit.”

  She pursed her lips but accepted the mug. Then he pulled his phone from his pocket and called the only person who could help.

  Rhett picked up on the second ring. “What’s up, bro?”

  He pocketed Serena’s phone, moved down the hall and away from the kitchen. “I need your help. The sister of a friend of mine has been kidnapped.” He massaged his temple. Christ, just saying the words aloud drove home how fucking dire the situation was.

  “Holy shit. Are you sure she’s been kidnapped?”

  Milo slid his gaze toward Serena perched on the stool, dutifully drinking the caffeinated brew. Her eyes bore holes in his head.

  “The kidnapper FaceTimed with her sister . . . uh, being held captive.” Hell, that was as tactful as he could get for Serena’s benefit. He cleared his throat. “They called from her sister’s phone. I need to track her device without getting the cops involved. Can you help?”

  If it weren’t for Rhett, he’d probably be in prison right now. Rhett had gone out on a limb when he offered Milo the chance to become an informant against Alban Moussa, and then he’d wiped Milo’s record, allowing him to walk away from his past. He’d been an invaluable ally and friend ever since.

  “Send me her information and I’ll get on it.”

  Milo disconnected, copied Dani’s number from Serena’s phone, and sent it to Rhett. The kidnapper probably wouldn’t continue to use her phone, but tracking it was a necessary step. With any luck, the sonofabitch was a moron.

  He retraced his path and stopped at the island beside Serena. Even in her current rough state, she still made his hands hum with the need to touch her. She kept her fingers circled around the mug. He surveyed the level of the liquid. She’d drunk half the cup. A bit of tension eased out of him. The coffee and the meal they’d had at the bar would likely carry her through for a few hours.

  “Who was that?”

  “My buddy Rhett.”

  The glaze that had been lingering over her eyes vanished, and she drew her shoulders back. “The FBI agent?”

  “I trust him with my life. I swear to you, he won’t do anything stupid.”

  “What’s he going to do?”

  “I sent him Dani’s phone number. He’s going to see if he can track it using GPS.”

  “How long will that take?”

  Shit. He hadn’t asked. “He said he’d work on it right away.”

  “But it could take hours. I can’t just sit here.” She pushed off the stool and dropped to her feet, which brought the top of her head level with his chest. Perfect height to snuggle.

  Snuggle?

  Jesus. What was wrong with him?

  Serena scooped her phone from the counter and tried to sidle past him. He hooked his fingers in the crook of her elbow.

  “Hold on. Where are you going? We need to wait for the kidnapper to call.”

  She looked at him as if he’d said the stupidest thing possible. “I’m not waiting. Dani messaged me before the accident. She had a job planned. Whoever took her could have something to do with it.”

  The sweater she wore, his sweater, prevented him from feeling her satiny skin on his palm, and the excess material swallowed up her slender build. Her hair, now dry, tickled his forearm.

  “Who was the target?”

  She huffed. “If I knew that, we wouldn’t be standing here. I need to get to her condo and look around. It won’t be hard for me to piece together what she was planning.”

  “All right, fine. But let’s get something straight.” At the dropping of his tone, her eyes snapped to his. “I don’t want you leaving my side. First the accident and now this—we can’t forget someone is after you too.”

  The color drained from her face and her arm fell from his hold. “Oh my god, what if they came for me first, and when I escaped, they went after Dani?”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Why would they come after you?”

  She brought her fist to her temple. “Think about it. How many people have I stolen from in the past? My face is on ads all over the city. Maybe someone wanted to get back at me.” She squeezed her eyes closed and then covered her forehead with her palm. “This is all my fault,” she whispered.

  He cursed and wrapped his arms around her. Her scent floated to his nostrils for the fifth time that night, and it took all his control to push it away and not succumb to the burning urge to kiss her.

  “It’s not your fault. For all we know, they came after you because of her. We need to stay focused.” He cupped the nape of her neck in his palm and tilted her head back so she was looking at him. “I’ll kill these motherfuckers for screwing with you.”

  Her lips parted, and a pink blush inched up her throat.

  “Let’s go, Milo.” Her words came out on a breath, lacking the urgency of the situation.

  He nodded but winced, taking in her appearance again. “No offense, babe, but I think you should clean up a bit. If someone sees you like this it’ll raise a lot of red flags.”

  Her lips pursed. “I know I look like shit, but we can’t afford to waste time.”

  “We also don’t want anyone calling the cops because you look like you were circle beat.”

  “Fine. Give me ten minutes.”

  * * *

  Milo made his way upstairs. The sound of splashing water warned him that Serena was still occupying the shower in the master bathroom. He drove his hand through his hair.

  Don’t even think about it, Milo.

  Exploring her slick, wet body in the shower was a fantasy he’d jerked off to more than once over the years. And she was there, right now, in his fucking shower.

  Naked.

  He had to get a hold of himself. Whatever embers still burned between Serena and him couldn’t be investigated. Not now, anyway. He’d be a grade-A asshole if he tried to bang her with her sister missing.

  The water shut off and he spun around in the room. Fuck, what had he come up here for?

  He crossed the room to his dresser and pulled out clean clothes. Sex wasn’t an option, but he could sure as hell have a shower and release some of the tension in his dick before they had to leave.

  The lock clicked on the bathroom door, and it squeaked open.

  Serena stepped out, her hair wrapped up in a towel and a matching one wrapped around her body. Water droplets glistened on her creamy skin, and her blue eyes looked damn near iridescent with her lashes and eyebrows damp.

  “Uh, hey.” She hugged the towel closer to her body, even though it was secured
between her breasts. She picked up her enormous bag from outside the bathroom. “I forgot this.”

  Fierce desire roared through his brain, making him unable to hear her words properly. He cleared his throat and nodded. “When you’re done, I’m going to shower.”

  She straightened. “Oh, well go ahead. I can get dressed in the other bathroom.”

  “You sure?”

  “Mmmhmm.”

  He approached the door too soon, and his arm brushed against the indent of her waist. His brain screamed at him to drop everything, pin her to the wall, and strip off the towel.

  He shut the door and let out a breath. Damn, he had it bad. Cranking the cold water, he stripped and then stepped under the spray. The floral scent of her shampoo lingered. It was the same scent she’d left on his sweatshirt.

  Christ.

  He snagged his hand around his neglected cock and stroked. It was a far cry from Serena’s hot, wet slit, but it’d have to suffice.

  For now.

  * * *

  Serena finger-combed her hair back into a ponytail, secured it at the crown of her head, and then adjusted her seatbelt. Milo’s hand hung loosely on the steering wheel, and his body was settled back into the seat, leaning slightly toward her. A hint of cologne wafted to her nostrils, warming her blood. The presence and scent of him calmed her frayed nerves. She’d had the fastest shower of the century, even though she’d felt it was the absolute last thing she should be doing with her sister missing. But Milo had been right—she’d looked like a train wreck, and they didn’t need to draw attention to themselves.

  Running into him in the bedroom had shaken her. He hadn’t even tried to hide the hungry fire that had exploded in his eyes. Or if he had, he’d failed miserably. A tickle of desire ran over her nipples in the vehicle’s chilly air. Dammit, she had to push her attraction to Milo from her mind. After this was all said and done, they could explore it. Maybe.

  Big maybe.

  The windshield wipers sliced through the rivulets of rain on the glass. She glanced at the clock on the dash of his car. It was after midnight. Normally she’d be cuddled up in bed at this time, but not a shred of fatigue weighed her down. Shit, she still hadn’t submitted the older couple’s listing contract, and she’d need to have someone take over the open house scheduled for tomorrow. She pulled her phone from her purse and typed an email to Melanie, giving a vague explanation of her emergency, and CC’d Carlee, her assistant, asking her to show the open house. She attached the paperwork she’d saved in her phone from that morning’s agreement and hit Send.