Touched by a Thief (2 page)

“With your military background, you have the necessary training.” His eyes locked with hers. “With your criminal record, you have the necessary know-how. You met Kincaid at a party. Our sources say he was smitten.”

She remained impassive. She hadn’t met Gerard at a party, but she wasn’t telling this asshole a thing.

“He’s made inquiries, let it be known to the powers that be that he’d be grateful for your release.”

Gerard was a man used to getting what he wanted. She’d slept with him exactly once, but that once blazed through her memory with the force of a tornado. A hard slapping of his body into hers that had left her purring with deep satisfaction. He’d offered to make her his mistress, to lavish her with her heart’s every desire, but she’d loved the thrill of the steal too much to be tied down.

Then came Ian.

For the first time in her life she’d known exactly what her heart’s desire was, had taken on a partner, had taken the fall he’d set her up to take while he moved on to the next steal.

Fool. She’d have been better off falling for Gerard than back-stabbing Ian. With Gerard she’d known up front to never trust. With Ian, well, everything she’d known just hadn’t seemed to matter as much as the deep strumming of Ian through her jaded veins. And damn it, those few weeks, she’d been happy, happier than she’d ever thought she could be.

That alone should have told her something was wrong with the scenario, but she’d been too blind to see beyond the shared laughter, the steamy sex, the intense light in Ian’s blue eyes when he looked at her—like there was no one else in the world he’d rather be looking at, like everything else paled in comparison to her.

Fool.

She pushed her body all the harder, expending her burning energy in the only constructive means at her disposal. Exercise.

“Our sources suggest you could penetrate Kincaid’s inner circle and retrieve the missing item.” He paused dramatically. “Your record would be expunged in exchange.”

Penetrate an illegal arms dealer’s inner circle and steal from him? Insane, but she’d be lying if she didn’t admit adventure stirred her blood. Or maybe it was the thought of escaping her not so gilded cage. Escaping being trapped with her thoughts of Ian. “What item?”

He hesitated, watched her closely for a reaction. “The Degassi Diamond.”

A diamond? Gerard had a diamond the government was willing to exchange her freedom for? Interesting.

As a thief, Monty took pride in knowing jewelry. During the past eight years she’d possessed millions of dollars worth of jewels, knew all the world’s most precious stones. Not once had she heard of the Degassi Diamond.

Gerard transported and sold guns, not diamonds, although she supposed it was possible he got paid with African conflict diamonds from time to time. But what would the U.S. government want with an African conflict diamond?

Something wasn’t right.

She held her gaze steady, not letting on that he’d piqued her curiosity about both the diamond and why Gerard, and the United States, would want the jewel.

Of course, the word “freedom” whet her tongue the moment he uttered it, just as the bastard had known it would. Otherwise he wouldn’t be telling her the slightest detail.

They knew they were making an offer she couldn’t refuse.

Freedom. How sweet that word, that thought. But she knew better than to appear too eager or to accept a deal without knowing the risks. She’d already served a hundred-and-twenty-one days too many of her overly harsh twenty year sentence and would no doubt make a deal with the devil to be free. Even if that freedom came at a steep price.

Stealing from Gerard. He’d no doubt killed for less.

“Kincaid has made inquiries regarding your release, made arrangements for your early release that we’ll honor if you agree to what we’re asking.”

Gerard had made inquiries? A sliver of emotion bubbled in her chest. She’d thought the world had forgotten her, that no one gave a damn that she’d dropped off the face of the earth. And they, whoever they were, wanted her to steal from the man who had arranged her release?

“Never heard of the Degassi.” Absently she stroked her finger over her bare throat, knowing the suit’s gaze followed her motions, knowing he was still trying to figure out why a man like Gerard would go to so much trouble to free a woman like her when he was often seen with famous actresses and models.

“Nonetheless it exists and Kincaid has stolen it. We want you to steal it back.”

The government wanted her to steal jewelry. An ironic smile played on her lips. Wasn’t that the exact reason they’d locked her in this hellhole?

“If I don’t?” But they both knew she would. It’s what she did best, what she loved, what she’d given up four years of Marine special ops training and missions for, what embodied who she was: a jewel thief, although she liked to think of herself more as a modern day Robin Hood, taking from the rich and giving to the poor.

“If you don’t?” This time it was the suit who shrugged. “You’ll spend the next twenty years of your life rotting in this cell with no hope of early parole.”

Chapter Two

Two hours of mission briefing later, doors clanged, sounds echoed, other prisoners whooped and hollered while two heavily armed guards escorted Monty through the cursed halls of the women’s penitentiary.

Freedom. With each step the thud of her heart beat stronger. Thanks to Gerard’s desire to be between her legs and his padding the pockets of some high up officials, the government planned to pardon her transgressions. Just like that.

Well, not really like that. They wanted her to find out where Gerard kept the Degassi Diamond and to steal it.

Which no doubt meant becoming Gerard’s mistress.

She bit the inside of her cheek. Gerard was a handsome devil with his coal black hair and gypsy blue eyes not so different in color from her own. Not a man a woman easily forgot even without consideration of his vast wealth and power.

They’d first met when she’d stolen his sister’s diamond and ruby pendant, valued at more than a quarter million dollars. Gerard offered a reward for the return that she’d been unable to refuse.

She’d broken through his high-tech security system, past his henchmen, and lay in wait wearing the necklace and a skin-tight leather catsuit when he’d returned to his room. One Gerard had taken great pleasure in tearing from her body.

A catsuit she’d taken great pleasure in his tearing from her body. Her inner thighs quivered at the vivid recall of how he’d ferociously brought her to orgasm time and again, of how he’d cum deep inside her from behind, having paused only long enough to put on a condom.

“Keep moving.” A guard shoved a gun in her back, reminding of where she currently was, why she was here.

A uniformed, expressionless woman shoved a box and a form toward her. “Check your items and sign here.”

No surprise that her Glock wasn’t in the box. Nor was her knife. But her eyes lit on a gold pendant and her fingers shook as she lifted the delicate chain and charm from the box. The fools had taken her weapons, but left something much more valuable.

After nothing more than artificial light within the confines of her cell for four months, the bright sunshine blinded Monty when she stepped outside the prison door.

Her gaze raked over the clothes she wore. Grime of months in prison caked her body despite the brief daily community showers she’d been allowed. A man used to elegant and perfumed women might turn his nose at the image she presented.

Sure, she still stood proud. Thanks to the hours filled by pushing her body to exhaustion, her physique boasted lean, tone muscles that matched those she’d sported during her Marine days. Gerard loved her hair loose, but she hadn’t taken it out of the long braid and it brushed across her back.

A black-suited man who resembled a former WWE wrestler, and might really be, stepped out of the driver’s side and opened the limo door.

“Ma’am,” he drawled, not batting an eyelash at her appearance.

She bet he didn’t usually pick up Gerard’s lovers from a women’s federal penitentiary.

Surprisingly, the back of the limo sat empty. Then again, thinking Gerard would come to the prison to collect her had been naive. He had others for such inane tasks.

Fridge? Sure enough there was a small refrigerator. Her stomach growled, reminding her that it had been over four months since she’d had anything beyond prison food. Still, some of her military stints made prison food taste like manna.

“Butch, maybe we should curtail that calorie splurge until I’ve had a chance to collect my things. I’m short on cash at the moment.”

“It’s several hours to Mr. Kincaid’s penthouse. Mr. Kincaid said to get you anything you want, anything at all. I’ll go through a drive-thru. Let me know if there’s anything else you require.”

Fast food in a limo? She smiled and leaned back against the seat. Her freedom in exchange for stealing a diamond. The government
wanting
her to steal.

If only it wasn’t from Gerard.

He wouldn’t be so forgiving a second time.

Hell, he hadn’t forgiven her the first time until their fighting turned into passion and they’d ended up tangled in the sheets and with each other.

She closed her eyes and remembered the blade she’d held at his throat, the cold metal barrel he’d pressed against her chest while waiting for her to slit him open. She hadn’t. Instead she’d kissed him until he’d lowered the 9 mm, kissed him until he’d taken the knife from her and plunged the blade into his headboard. Then they’d plunged into each other.

Sex with Gerard had been hot, wild, adventurous.

But it hadn’t compared to what Ian did to her body, to her heart. She’d loved Ian. Damn it!

Monty blinked. They’d pulled into a drive-through, Butch had paid, she now sat at the window awaiting her food, and the curious-at-whom-was-inside-the-limo lady asked if she wanted ketchup with her order.

Seconds later she slurped her milkshake, sank her teeth into the burger, and stuck a hot fry into her mouth. Sweet Jesus, but this was good.

She sighed her appreciation.

Freedom never tasted so good as it did at that moment.

Monty had been wrong. Freedom tasted even better in the form of the strawberries, chocolate sauce, and champagne Gerard had delivered to her bath later that evening.

Plopping her head against the Jacuzzi cushion, she savored another succulent berry while soaking her body in the hot, bubbly water. The bath smelled of roses, and she imagined she would too once out of the tub.
If she ever got out
. Which was questionable at the moment.

She didn’t care what she smelled like just so long as all the prison grime washed away.

Privacy. For the first time in weeks, she was alone. Her body hummed with the knowledge and she ached to run her fingers over her breasts, down her belly, between her thighs. It had been so long since she’d had any type of sexual release and she throbbed with need.

Keeping her eyes closed, she retrieved a berry, slowly dragged the plump fruit across her bottom lip before sinking her teeth in. Juice squirted, and she licked at the corner of her mouth.

“You missed a spot,” his refined, slightly aristocratic accent informed.

Slowly, Monty opened her eyes and regarded the man who had rescued her from prison—not exactly in the way he thought he’d rescued her, but definitely her freedom was due him. For that alone she felt indebted to the sexy bastard. Feeling indebted wasn’t something she cherished, but thanks to her fuck up with Ian, she had no choice. She wouldn’t go back to jail. Not ever.

He moved closer, knelt next to the tub and darted his tongue over her lips, removing all traces of juice. He didn’t try to turn the caress into a kiss and neither did she, letting him set the pace of what happened between them, letting the heat inside her stoke higher and higher. Just the thought of feeling his hard shaft thrusting inside her had her pussy swelling, on the verge of spontaneously spasming.