Stolen Love, The Complete Collection: An Alpha Billionaire Romance (4 page)

I needed to claim Mackenzie as my own before I lost her for good. Would that be easy to do, or would it be like
Mission Impossible
all over again? The last time I checked, she wasn’t too impressed with me or my lifestyle and all its trappings. I’d have to change that. But if I swooped in and stole her from Brett, would that hurt our friendship? I hoped not, but it was early on, so Brett had no idea if she had already been claimed by me or not. It was still open season.

“Don’t you have to get going to get ready for the party?” I asked.

Brett turned his attention from Mackenzie to me. “Actually, I brought my stuff here. I was going to go with you. I had no idea you had a new assistant, so I thought we’d have a few drinks here and then hit up that party.”

Damn, he isn’t going to let me have a moment alone with Mackenzie.

Chapter Eight

Mackenzie

I watched the two men bickering with each other and felt like I was a prize to be won. It was very interesting indeed because I was actually torn between the two. Brett was a great specimen of a man—that was hard to argue. But for some alien reason, I had an attraction to Jason as well. I honestly couldn’t understand it, especially because it wasn’t just physical.

I didn’t like the fact that I was attracted to him—in fact, it really annoyed me. The last thing I wanted was to be some rich guy’s arm candy. I had no interest in that
at all
. I despised the rich and their lifestyle immensely and couldn’t imagine being any part of that world. And yet I couldn’t deny the attraction I had for him. It was all just a little too much to process.

I really needed to focus more on Brett. He seemed more grounded and down to earth than Jason. I sincerely hoped he wasn’t just another rich, arrogant tool, but the chances of him being friends with Jason and
not
rich were slim to none. They probably ran in the same circles, and by the sounds of it, they were attending the same party. Jason was just very intense, and I wasn’t sure if I could handle that in the long term. Plus, I couldn’t ignore the fact that I was working for him against my will. Not exactly a recipe for a successful romance.

I lavished as much attention as I could on Brett. I laughed at his jokes and flashed a smile at him whenever possible. There was a chance that he could become a part of my plan, and I relished that idea. It was obvious that my attention to Brett was starting to bother Jason, and it served him right. I didn’t like being forced to do anyone’s bidding. Every time I giggled at Brett or said something nice to him, Jason’s face visibly clouded over. But then when he got that stormy look in his eyes, my stomach would flutter as if invaded by hundreds of tiny butterflies.

The crazy thing was, I couldn’t tell if the fluttering was the result of nervousness or excitement.

Jason turned to me and said with a smile on his face, “Mackenzie, how would you like to come to the party as well? As my assistant, of course,” he emphasized.

“You’re inviting me to a party?” I asked in surprise.

Hell, yeah.

Chapter Nine

Jason

The idea had been brilliant, actually, and I could tell that Brett had instantly regretted not asking her himself. I had won that round, but he didn’t seem too pissed about it. Maybe he would just back off and let me have her. But judging by the way he looked at her in the dress I had sent over, that was probably a heap of wishful thinking on my part.

I didn’t want her to think that I was trying to get in her pants because that would set us instantly on the wrong path. That’s why I had emphasized that she was to be my assistant at the party and nothing more. Plenty of my business associates would be in attendance, so it made sense for her to be there. Maybe by being at my side, she’d find some interest in me instead of Brett, and I would be able to keep her from falling for him.

All eyes were on me as I walked into the party with Mackenzie on my arm. Assistant or not, everyone was envious of me.

She looked up at me and beamed when we walked in. God, she really was beautiful. Whether or not she wanted it to happen or not, sparks were flying between the two of us. I couldn’t help but feel warm all over when she stood next to me.

“Brett, where’s your date this evening? I would have thought a handsome man like yourself would have a beautiful woman on his arm,” Mackenzie said.

I hated hearing her talk to him like that—it drove me nuts.

“Actually, my date fell through at the last minute. She’s probably at home washing her hair right now.” Mackenzie giggled. “But that’s okay, I don’t mind hanging with the two of you this evening.”

Great, I probably wouldn’t get a minute alone with her all night. Irritation at my friend welled up inside of me. We had never fought over the same girl, and I couldn’t figure out why it was happening now. Maybe it was because Mackenzie was the first worthy lady the two of us had met at relatively the same time.

Brett wandered off for a moment to talk to a few of his colleagues.

“No offense, Mackenzie, but maybe you could focus less on Brett and more on the fact that you’re here as an employee,” I hissed in her ear. The look on her face stopped me cold, and I instantly regretted my outburst. I had hurt her feelings.

Good one, Jason. I’m sure she’s just minutes away from falling in love with you now.

“Could you be any more of an asshole?”

“Mackenzie, I didn’t mean—”

“Forget it. I’m going home with Brett. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Stunned, I stood there as I watched her walk away. I looked around the room and couldn’t see Brett anywhere. I hoped she wouldn’t find him. I wasn’t sure what she meant by going home with Brett, but I didn’t like the insinuation. The very idea of her sleeping with him made my skin crawl.

I did a lap around the party and talked to some of the associates I had wanted to see while I was there. But the entire time I spent talking to other people, I couldn’t stop thinking about Mackenzie. Why had I behaved like that? How was I going to win her affection that way?

I decided to hunt down Brett and confront him regardless of whether Mackenzie was with him or not. He needed to know how I felt about her and that I wanted him to back off. If he was truly my best friend, he would do so without question.

I left the main area to go looking for him, hoping he hadn’t already left with Mackenzie. The image of them naked together entered my mind once again, and my stomach soured.

I found Brett standing outside of the men’s bathroom. I approached him and asked, “Where’s Mackenzie?”

He looked confused. “I thought she was with you. She’s your
assistant
after all. Why would she be with me?”

“Because she told me she was going home with you.”

“What? Really?” he asked with a broad grin, “Well, where is that lucky lady?”

“Stop. You really haven’t seen her at all?”

“Nope. I assumed she was with you. I was actually just going to come find you.”

“If she’s not with you, then where did she go?”

Brett shrugged. “How long has she been gone?”

“An hour.”

“Whoa. Looks like she left without you, bro. I do wish she would have told me. I would have gladly have driven her home.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I bet.”

“Relax, man. I’m sure she just went home. You’ll see her in the morning.”

“I guess. So what were you coming to see me about?”

“Aside from wanting to see Mackenzie again, I’d just gotten some alarming news from the hostess that I thought you’d want to know.”

“News about what?”

“One of the items being auctioned off tonight has been misplaced…or stolen. One or the other.”

“What?”

Dread filled my heart, and I knew exactly what had happened.
Mackenzie
had happened. She had totally tricked me. Telling me she was going home with Brett so I wouldn’t check up on her. How had I not seen that coming? She’d totally played me. I was too busy doing laps around the party and licking my wounded pride for it to even occur to me she might not be with Brett. She had robbed the auction that was to be held that night and had run like the wind. Was she gone forever? Could I even track her down at that point? My head was spinning, and I couldn’t quite get a handle on my thoughts. She was a sneaky little one, and I wondered how long she had been planning that con.

“What was the stolen piece?”

“Oh man, I don’t know if it was stolen. They may have just misplaced it.”

I shook my head. “No, it was stolen. Trust me. What was it?”

Brett looked at me, his expression confused. “It was the stellar painting that you donated.”

Of course. She didn’t get the art pieces she’d originally wanted, but she still got something of value. She would certainly make a lot of money off of that piece. How could I have been so foolish?

“Shit.”

“What? And how do you know the item was stolen?”

I sighed loudly. “I know it was stolen because Mackenzie stole it.”

“What are you talking about? Why would she do that?”

With no small amount of displeasure, I filled Brett in on the events of the night I had met Mackenzie. First, catching her in the act and choking her before realizing I was dealing with a woman. And then, explaining how I had detained her to question her by handcuffing her to my table. Brett was grinning like an idiot the entire time, and that ruffled my feathers even more. He was certainly enjoying my absolute blunder.

I explained how she had surprised me by being a cool chick instead of just a petty thief like I’d originally supposed her to be and ended my explanation with how I had blackmailed her into working for me to avoid jail.

Brett was laughing by the time I finished. “Man, you sure can pick them. I can’t believe your rotten luck, man. How do you get robbed twice in one day?”

I shook my head. I couldn’t believe how much he seemed to be enjoying himself. “Well, technically it wasn’t twice in one day. The first happened over a long period of time—I just found out yesterday who was responsible.”

“Whatever. Jason. You get robbed a lot. My next question is, what did you expect was going to happen? You think you can blackmail a professional thief into working for you, and it’ll work just like that? Why would she want to be your assistant when she could make thousands, even millions, off the stolen merchandise she gets from people? You couldn’t possibly have thought she would just stay with you and never go back to the only thing she’s known.”

“Hell, I don’t know what I was thinking. I just knew I liked her, and I thought if she worked for me, I could keep her out of trouble.”

“I don’t blame you, man—she’s gorgeous. But I can’t believe she’s a thief. I can’t believe she almost robbed you blind last night,” Brett said, laughing, “and I also can’t believe that you choked that poor thing till she passed out!”

“Shut up, Brett. How is this helping me right now?”

“I guess it’s not. Sorry. But how could you think of bringing her
here?
Of all places? She knew exactly what she was doing. She probably had it all planned out.”

“I don’t know. It was honestly the last thing on my mind. What are we going to do? She could be anywhere by now.”

“Let’s find her.”

So that was our plan—we were going to try to track down the elusive and mysterious Mackenzie. The girl would be lucky if I didn’t choke her again when I found her. She had made a fool out of me and stolen yet another one of my paintings.

The hunt for Mackenzie was on.

Stolen Love

The Thief Series, Volume Two

(An Alpha Billionaire Romance)

By

Katie Kyler

www.KatieKyler.com

Chapter One

Jason

Day One

After talking to the director of the gala, I was even more amazed by Mackenzie. The girl’s skills were extraordinary, and I had definitely underestimated her from the start. The two paintings that were to be auctioned off had been left alone for only three minutes. The director was amazed somebody could be that slick and commit the theft without anyone seeing her come or go.

I wasn’t surprised, though. I should have known she would try something. She
was
a thief, after all. Even so, I still hadn’t seen this one coming. She had made a complete and utter fool out of me. The whole evening was my fault—I had brought a thief into a place filled with valuable merchandise. I couldn’t believe I had been stupid enough to let Mackenzie out of my sight for even one short moment. I had allowed her beauty and her wit to get the best of me and had assumed I had the upper hand when, in fact, she had probably been planning the heist ever since I invited her. She had played Brett and me against each other, and we had both fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. She probably hadn’t been interested in either of us. We’d just been just pawns in her game to get her hands on some valuable artwork.

Against my better judgment, I hadn’t told the director about Mackenzie. I knew she had the paintings, but I also believed I would see her again. I didn’t want Mackenzie to get nabbed by the police and dragged to jail. I wanted to get my hands on her first, even though I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with her when I did. But either way, I wanted to handle it myself.

I currently had a headache that made it feel like miniature miners were digging for coal in the recesses of my brain. I pressed my fingers against my temples and prayed for some relief. I was furious, and the throbbing in my head was not helping to assuage my anger. My teeth were grating in irritation, and my heart pounded out the rhythm of her name.

Mackenzie thump thump, Mackenzie thump thump, Mackenzie thump thump.

People continued to pass me and smile as they went about their evening, and I plastered a fake one on my face in return while I tried to figure out what I was supposed to do about this situation.

Mackenzie thump thump, Mackenzie thump thump, Mackenzie thump thump.

I needed to stop thinking because just the thought of her was starting to drive me insane. I couldn’t get those beautiful eyes of hers out of my head, and I certainly couldn’t forget how she had felt in my arms. This girl, this
thief
, had bewitched me, and I wasn’t sure exactly when it had happened. How had she gotten under my skin so easily? It was like she had cast a spell on me, and I would forever be cursed with thinking about her. She had drawn me to her in a magnetic way. I had to have her by my side. She couldn’t be lost to me. I would find her no matter what, and when I did, I would have to decide whether I was going to handcuff her or kiss her to death. Actually, I might do both.