Read Touched by a Thief Online
Authors: Jana Mercy
Not ever.
She wouldn’t start now over a man who hadn’t thought twice at selling her out on more than one occasion.
He deserved whatever Gerard had done to him.
She closed her eyes, knowing if Gerard looked into her eyes, he’d see the sadness she knew was there. Knew that she couldn’t quite hide.
Monte was going stir-crazy. Gerard had been away from her for most of the day. Fortunately, he hadn’t drugged her again since that first day they’d arrived at wherever it was they were at. She still had no clue.
Nor had he provided her with the first stitch of clothing, claiming it only got in the way when he’d come for her.
However he had locked her into the bedroom suite.
She’d exchanged one prison cell for another. Oh, wherever they were boasted only the best amenities, but Monte recognized the fact that she was just as caged as she’d been while under the warden’s watchful eye.
She hated it just as much.
And was ready to fly the coop, to make a deal with the devil to escape.
Regardless of the way she went, she wanted out.
For the past two days she’d been trying to devise a plan that would get her out of Gerard’s clutches. Finally, she’d come up with one. Not the best of plans, but at least she had a plan.
Walking into the bathroom, she opened Gerard’s medicine cabinet, looked at the assortment of medications and began opening bottle after bottle, dumping the contents onto the counter top.
Once she had a large pile, she picked up a handful and put them in her mouth and swallowed.
“I thought I said not to interrupt me?” Gerard snapped at the voice interrupting his meeting. At his guard’s words, he blinked, jumped up from his seat, earning him the stares of the others at the table. “She did what? I’ll be right there.” He turned to the men he planned to make more than a billion dollars doing business with. “If you gentleman will excuse me. My assistant,” he gestured to Butch, “will see to any needs you have.”
With that he calmly walked from the room but the moment the door closed behind him, he broke into a run.
Monty had attempted to take her life?
She wouldn’t.
Not Monty.
Not his beautiful Monty.
When he burst into the room, several of his men were there. Monty however was not.
“Where is she?”
A six foot three no-neck scratched his head. “It’s the oddest thing, boss. When we got in here, she was gone.”
Gone? “How is that possible?”
“Ollie has gone to review the security footage to see what happened. All I know is I got a call that she was down and needed assistance, but when I got here the door was unlocked and she was gone.”
“Find her.”
“What about the necklace, boss? She still have it?”
“Yes, she does. Find her.” What he didn’t tell his men was that Monty had a forged copy of the necklace. Not the real deal. A copy meant to throw her off, to throw off anyone else who might consider double-crossing him. Such as Ian McGowan.
His lips twisted with displeasure. “McGowan’s body ever turn up?”
“No, sir. No body was found, but Lee said he was positive the bloke was dead.”
“There is no positive without a body.” He’d go check the damned security footage himself. And Ian McGowan better not have come back from the dead and taken his woman.
“You’re sure Monty overdosed?”
“Positive, boss. She downed half your medicine cabinet. She’s probably as dead as McGowan.”
Which didn’t convince him of a damned thing.
“Find her. Find her fucking now!”
Men scattered from the room, but Gerard knew they wouldn’t find Monty. Not until she was ready to be found.
Not until she realized she had a fake.
Then she’d come back to him and he’d mete out her fate. McGowan’s too.
“Monty?” Ian tapped her lifeless face. “Wake up, Monty. Your pulse and respirations are normal, baby. Wake up.”
He’d been in the security room, had watched in horror as she downed the pills, had snuck out without the bloke ever knowing he’d been there, and had gotten to Monty first, had carried her naked from the suite, and now hid just a few floors beneath Kincaid’s apartment. Hell, they needed to get out of there. Fast.
“Monty, wake up.”
What had she taken? Why hadn’t it affected her heartbeat and breathing rate? The number of pills she’d taken should have done more than make her lose consciousness. Most likely, she shouldn’t be breathing at all.
Unable to bear the thought, he bent, pressed his lips to hers, wanting to feel her sweet breath against his mouth. “Monte, love, open your eyes and look at me.”
She didn’t open her eyes, but when her forehead came crashing into his full force, his closed. Closed yet he still saw stars dancing about his head, along with a tremendous amount of pain.
“Hell, Monty. What was that for?”
But rather than answer, her knee came up, crashing way too close to his private area.
“Damn it, quit that, Monty. We don’t have time for this.”
He grabbed for her wrists, but she evaded him. And for all the pain careening through his still shaken head, he wanted to kiss her. Kiss the hell out of her for the fact that she lived, had regained consciousness, and was naked and squirming against him.
“I have all the time in the world,” she spat at him.
“Kincaid will find us if we don’t get out of here pronto.”
Then it hit him. She hadn’t really ever lost consciousness.
“You little faker you.”
Her eyes lit on him and she smiled like the Cheshire cat. “Whatever do you mean?”
“I mean you about made my heart stop with that slight of hand of yours, you let me carry you out of Kincaid’s lair, and the whole time you were faking it.”
“I don’t fake it, Ian. It’s a man’s responsibility to make me enjoy myself enough that I don’t have to fake it. You should know that by now.”
“You never had any complaints where I was concerned.”
“Didn’t I?”
“No, you didn’t.” But instead of choking her as he’d liked, he rolled on top of her and stared down into her lovely eyes. “You scared me. More than I think I’ve ever been scared. I was afraid that by the time I could get you to help it would be too late, but I knew I couldn’t leave you in Kincaid’s clutches.”
“Why not?”
“Because any moment he’s going to realize he doesn’t have the Degassi.” With each passing moment he was becoming more and more aware that she lay naked beneath him, that her foot had begun rubbing against his black jean covered calf. God he wanted her. Wanted to feel her living and breathing around him. If he’d thought for a moment that he could sacrifice Monty for his career, in the seconds he’d watched her drop to the floor and not move, he’d known the truth. He wouldn’t sell her out. Not ever again.
She looked up at him in confusion. “Of course, he doesn’t. I do.” She lifted the necklace away from her neck, holding up the jewel between them.
“Actually,” Ian let his forehead drop to hers, wincing at the tenderness where she’d head-butted him, “you do, but Kincaid doesn’t know that.”
“He’s the one who gave it to me.”
“He allowed us to bring the jewel into the country, allowed us to make it through customs with the real deal. But after he kidnapped you, he exchanged your necklace with another.”
“I would have noticed.”
“You didn’t. You’ve barely looked at the necklace because you see it as a means of his trapping you to him.” Ian pressed a kiss to her startled mouth, loving the warmth of her full lips against his. “What the arrogant bastard didn’t know was that I’d already exchanged the necklace with a fake.”
Chapter Ten
“You exchanged the necklace with a fake?” Monty let that soak in. So when she’d thought Ian had left her with the necklace as a show of his trust, he hadn’t been showing anything.
Not that she’d accepted that token of trust, but still…
“You act as if you didn’t already know I was a better jewel thief than you. We established that months ago.”
Her mouth dropped open at his words, at his teasing tone, then she laughed. A joyous sound that she didn’t quite understand, but still escaped from her all the same.
“Kiss me, Monty. Kiss me as if you’ve missed me as much as I’ve missed you these past few days,” he whispered, but didn’t wait for her to do so. Instead, he lowered his mouth to hers and claimed her lips with his possessive caresses.
She let go of the necklace, letting it dangle at her throat, wrapped her arms around his neck, and held him close to her, kissing him back with all her might, with all of the crazy joy filling her heart.
“As if you’ve missed me as much over the past few months as I’ve missed you.”
Why was he saying these things? To set her up again? Her heart couldn’t take it.
She closed her eyes.
“Open your eyes, Monty. Look at me when you’re kissing me. I want to know that you know it’s me you’re kissing.”
She left her eyes closed. “I don’t have to open my eyes to know it’s you.”
“Because you feel it here?” He slid his hand between them palmed her left breast, her heart beating wildly beneath his warm skin.
Her eyes fluttered open. “Ian.”
He grinned down at her. “What you want me ‘in’?”
His words struck a memory and she stared at him in renewed awe, fingered the pendant at her throat, and shook her head, impressed in spite of herself. “It’s bugged, isn’t it? You’ve been listening to everything I say?”
“How do you think I found you so quickly?”
“So quickly? It’s been days.”
“We’re in Africa, Monty. Getting here undetected wasn’t as easy as you might think.”
Africa? Gerard had drugged her and brought her to Africa?
“And yes, I’ve heard everything you’ve said from the moment Kincaid showed up at his London apartment and stole you away.”
But if he’d replaced the gem with a bugged one, he had to have suspected. “You knew he was coming for me?”
“My job was to deliver you and the necklace. I knew he was coming for you.”
“And you let him take me?”
“I had no choice.”
“There’s always a choice.”
“More is at stake than you realize.”
“My life was at stake.”
He didn’t deny her claim, just brushed his knuckles across her cheek. “It still is, Monty. We need to get out of here before Kincaid lets lose with hell’s fury. He’ll stop at nothing to find you, to find the Degassi.”
She nodded, recalled her nudity. “You didn’t happen to pack some extra clothes?”
He stood, reached for her hand and pulled her to her feet, his gaze eating up her exposed body. “A shame to cover something so beautiful.”
“But definitely not wise to leave me uncovered if we’re planning to go unnoticed.”
He flashed another grin. “Good point.”
He walked over to a closet and began rummaging through items. “Not exactly your size, but it’ll have to do.” He tossed her the items he’d pulled out. A khaki skirt and a white blouse.
“Not exactly getaway clothes are they?”
“It’s not even noon in the middle of bloody Africa. Would you prefer skin tight black leather?”
He knew that she would, but he was right, they needed to blend. She slipped the clothes on while he messed with his watch.
“Kincaid has men swarming the entire building. Which he happens to own so no doubt he has access to every suite.”
“What’s your escape route?”
He glanced at her and grinned. “What makes you think I have one? You sort of threw everything off plan with your feigned overdose. I risked everything by going to you instead of following through with what I came to do.”
“What were you there to do?”
His gaze held hers. “To take Kincaid down, along with the men who were there with him.”
“And they escaped because of my slight of hand?”
He grinned. “Doubtful.”
“Doubtful?”
“I shouldn’t be telling you any of this.”
“Why not?”
“Because we’re not in the clear yet.”
“No?”
“Not until Kincaid is behind bars, along with his consorts.”
Gerard behind bars. Just as he’d put her there, he’d serve a similar fate. “Are you the police then?”
Ian shook his head. “I’m not with any organization you’ve ever heard of.”
“Try me.”