Stolen Love, The Complete Collection: An Alpha Billionaire Romance (5 page)

Brett and I had agreed that if I didn’t find Mackenzie in three days, we would consider turning her name over to the director and the police. But I was fairly confident I could find her before that deadline.

There were so many emotions pummeling through my mind—anger, passion, intrigue, frustration, irritation—that it was hard to keep up. When I thought of Mackenzie, I felt both positive and negative things, and it was hard to get my mind straight.

What the hell was I going to do when I found her? There was a part of me that wanted to wrap my arms around her and hold her tight, and there was another part of me that wanted to strangle her and throw her ass in jail.

So which part was going to win?

Chapter Two

Mackenzie

Day One

I paced my living room like a puma during a hunt. I moved rapidly from one end of the room to the other, my thoughts consuming me. My fingers still tingled from the treasures I had stolen. It was always like that after a successful caper. I had all kinds of nervous energy I needed to expend. If I didn’t, I would probably go crazy.

I couldn’t help but smile every time I thought about the gala. Absconding with those paintings had been a piece of cake. Now I had a few treasures I could sell on the black market and make an absolute fortune off of. I raised my arms above my head and stretched while wiggling my ass in a happy dance. Then I resumed my pacing.

After my screw-up at Jason’s place, I had started wondering if I should retire and get into another line of work. I had committed one blunder after another and had ended up feeling rather stupid, especially when I awakened to find myself handcuffed to his bed. Just thinking about it started my blood boiling again. And then the jerk had had the nerve to force me to be his slave! I should have just taken the option of jail rather than swallowing my pride and working as his assistant—even if it had been for only one day. But then I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to get the paintings, so it had all worked out splendidly in the end.

Getting caught at Jason’s house had caused me to doubt myself, but plucking those paintings at the gala had reaffirmed I was a force to be reckoned with, and Jason had better not take that lightly.

Jason and Brett had certainly made things easy, bickering with each other and vying for my attention and affection. They’d been putty in my hands. Jason may have stopped me once, but I was quick-witted and damn smart. I won in the end, and that was all that mattered.

I tried sitting down, but I had to keep moving. Too much nervous energy. I was waiting on bidders to take the paintings off my hands. That was an important part of the job—getting rid of the merchandise as quickly as possible. Keeping it around was too risky. Soon I would have a winning bidder, the paintings would be with their new owners within twenty-four to forty-eight hours, and I wouldn’t think about them again. That’s the way it always was for me. On to the next one.

The front door swung open, and a vivacious Vietnamese vixen strolled into the room with a big smile on her face. Lexy was my best friend and partner in crime. We had been living together for years. She was easily my favorite person in the whole world. We had been through a lot together, and we always had each other’s backs no matter what.

Lexy was super short but weighed a whopping 125 pounds. She didn’t have an ounce of fat, however. The girl was absolutely fierce in the gym and packed a lot of muscle. She could easily deadlift sixty pounds.

“Hey, Mackenzie, welcome home. I missed you, girl. How was the capering?”

“Well, my target changed unexpectedly, but in the end, I got two high-end paintings that were worth a lot more. So I would have to say it was a raging success.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“How about yourself?” I asked.

“You know that handsome businessman I’ve been scoping out for the past two weeks?”

“Oh, you mean the youngest CEO in the world?” I said, laughing. “Yeah, no small catch there, Lexy.”

“Yes, well…he’s my long-term plan. But, in the meantime, I was able to snatch some ancient Chinese relics from his young—and, might I add, very inexperienced—cousin.”

“James Trenton’s cousin? Wow, you
are
ballsy.”

“Oh, yeah, and he’s really nothing like him. He seemed almost scared, so the snatch was a piece of cake. So it sounds like we each had a very successful venture.”

“Yes, indeed we did,” I agreed. “We should celebrate.”

“Great idea. Why don’t we hit up our regular place?”

“Sounds good to me. Let me get ready.”

* * * * *

We went to a quaint little restaurant that had quickly become our favorite place to eat. It was a little hole in the wall that only people living in the neighborhood really knew about, but that didn’t hurt the business at all—it still managed to stay very busy. The locals knew they had a diamond in the rough and managed to be in there enough to keep the doors open. The food was amazing, and the staff were like one big family.

I had never felt so hungry in my life. I think the excitement of a caper and the adrenaline rush afterward often burned off more calories than a couple hours in the gym. By the time the waiter brought us our meals, I was ravenous. I had ordered pork chops with gravy and a rice stir fry.

Yum!

I couldn’t wait to devour it. The waiter had also brought us another round of drinks. I drank only whiskey on the rocks. It burned going down, reminding me that I was still alive—a reminder I needed every once in a while. I took a sip of it and let it warm me up.

I looked up at my oldest and dearest friend and bombarded her with questions. “Lexy, do you really want to do this forever? Where do you see all this going? Is this the life you always dreamed of having? Is there anything else you want in life?”

“Wow, that’s some heavy talk over pork chops, my friend.”

“I know.” I laughed, feeling suddenly self-conscious. “But I just wonder about it sometimes. It’s not like we dreamed of being thieves when we were young, so how in the world did we end up here?”

“You’re not alone. I wonder about that sometimes, too.”

“So what do you dream about? Anything?”

Lexy looked up from her plate of chicken and smiled at me. “I want to paint.”

“Really?” I said, surprised.
How did I not know that?

“Yes, those paintings we steal? I admire the artists. I’ve always loved painting, but I don’t spend a lot of time honing the craft. I’d love to be an artist one day. To see my own work hanging in a gallery.”

“And someone else stealing it?”

She laughed out loud. “
Exactly
. I just love the amazing things that can be accomplished with a brush. Those paintings are just so incredible, and the people who created them? Imagine the things that must be going through their heads! They’re geniuses, and some of those who painted hundreds of years ago never got the recognition they deserved, not until after they were dead.”

I smiled at Lexy. It was one of the things I loved most about her—she had strong passions. She devoured life and saw the myriad colors in it. We lived a cynical existence at times, but no matter what we did, she lived life with abundant energy and with her eyes wide open. She had an optimistic view of the world, and although we worked together, she didn’t hold the same hatred for the rich as I did. To her, it was just a job.

“Yeah, I get that,” I told her. “I’ve always held a certain fascination for art, too. Of course, unlike you, I don’t have the talent to actually paint anything myself.”

“Well, I’ve been practicing my painting by creating replicas. It’s rather cool trying to mimic someone who has great technique, to see the brush strokes they used to get the painting the way they wanted it. I find it lots of fun. I’d like to set up my own studio and just paint all day. That’s my ultimate dream.”

“Sounds amazing. I hope you do it.”

“What about you? What do you want in life? Do you plan on doing this forever? I mean, let’s be honest, the money is great, and it’s very exciting. We live very comfortably, and we don’t want for anything. What more could we really ask for?”

I took a sip of my drink and thought about it for a moment. “To be honest, I’m not sure. I’m pretty content in my life. And you’re right. I haven’t wanted for anything in a really long time. I really love my life although I don’t think I’ll caper until I die. But I’m not sure what direction my life will take—or the direction I
want
it to take.”

“You really don’t want anything else?”

“Lexy, all I want is to be free.” I stared down into my drink. “I don’t want to feel trapped or tied down. I just need to be free. That’s what makes me happy. I also want you to be happy—that’s very important to me.”

She smiled. “Well, thank you, and of course I want the same thing for you.”

I had given Lexy my honest answer about the whole thing, and nothing I had said was untrue. But internally, I was constantly fending off images of Jason’s face. I don’t know why he kept popping up in my mind’s eye. Why I was wasting any time thinking about him. He had treated me like a prisoner and had tried to take from me the one thing I needed and wanted—freedom.

So why am I thinking about him?

I shouldn’t be. Just like those paintings, once he was out of my life, I should have been able to forget him. And yet there I was, sitting across from my best friend, eating pork chops, and the only thing I could focus on was a man who had handcuffed me to his bedside table.

Chapter Three

Mackenzie

Day Two

I sipped at my coffee the next morning as I thought about the paintings I had in my possession. I hoped a deal could be made by that night so that I could be done with them. I suspected it was going to be a very busy day for me.

Lexy came down the hall and entered the kitchen. It was early, and yet she was already dressed to start her day. I couldn’t say the same, however—I was still in my flannels and had no intention of moving from my spot anytime soon.

“Where are you heading to so early?”

“Don’t you remember? I have to meet the source today about our next marks.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right. Sorry. My mind has been on those paintings and…other things. Sounds exciting. Do you want me to come along?”

“No, I think I should go alone. Enjoy your morning. I’ll see you later.”

I watched as she left, and then I carried my cup of coffee into my office. I needed to get my buyers settled on the paintings sooner rather than later. I did not want to have them for another day. It was time to free myself of them and get them to the highest bidder.

I sent out messages to the buyers to let them know I needed the final bids ASAP as I was choosing a buyer. There would be no further negotiations. Once that was completed, I started researching a couple of leads I had been interested in as future marks. I thought it prudent to always to be one step ahead. And although we already had our next marks in place, the research for new ones never ended. We usually had back-to-back marks on hand because Lexy and I rarely took time off. We had a new job ready to go as soon as we finished one. Both of us liked to keep busy, and I didn’t want to miss out on scores because I had waited too long.

I finished up my research and sat back in my chair. I closed my eyes, and thoughts of Jason kept popping up in my head. I chuckled at how surprised I had been to see him instead of the old man at the mansion. God, he had looked so hot. If he didn’t irritate me so much, I could find him almost irresistibly sexy.

I smiled at the thought of calling one of my regular friends for a little tête-à-tête. I rarely stayed in relationships because it complicated my lifestyle, but a girl had needs, so it never hurt to have a friend available who could provide the necessary benefits. I put in a call to one of those friends and decided to slip into something a little sexier. I went into my closet and picked out a sexy, red lace slip. The more I thought about the visitor who was due to arrive, the more turned on I became.

I returned to the kitchen and poured myself another cup of coffee while I waited. It had been quite a while since I’d had sex, and I was looking forward to being with a man once again.

As time passed, I kept looking up at the clock and wondering where my hunky man was. It finally became obvious that my friend wasn’t going to show up. I was puzzled. He had always come through for me in the past. Why would he change his mind this time—and not even call to tell me? Surely he wanted to come and enjoy me just as much as I wanted to enjoy him. I began to worry that something had happened to him.

There was a sudden knock on the door, and I threw my hands up in the air, exclaiming, “Finally!”

Assuming a sexy pose, I opened the door to let him in and froze. Jason stood on the other side of the door, and he looked really miffed.

Shit, oh shit!

Instantly, the fight-or-flight adrenaline rush coursed through my body, and I knew I had to make an immediate decision about what to do. I didn’t know how Jason had found his way to my home, but I needed to play things a certain way. I had the choice of either slamming the door in his face and fleeing or coolly pretending that his appearance on my doorstep was exactly what I had expected.

I chose the latter.

I swung the door open wider and turned my surprised smile into a sultry and seductive one, just as if he was the man I’d been expecting. The other man, however, I would kill the next time I saw him for putting me in this rather uncomfortable position. The two had better not be connected.

Jason stormed through the door, breezing by me. I slowly closed my front door and turned to him. He stopped storming around my apartment and stood standing in my living room, looking pretty pissed. I almost laughed at the sight of him breathing so hard. Man, he really was upset. But good for him for finding me. I had to give credit where credit was deserved after all.

I walked toward him, and before he could give me a piece of his mind, I placed my mouth softly against his. My kisses went from soft to passionate in seconds. After all, I was in need of a hot, sexy man that could make me feel incredible, and Jason might be just the man for the job. I decided to milk his presence for all it was worth—especially since he was the sole reason I was so sexually frustrated in the first place. It was only fair he be the one to release me from my frustration.