Heart of a Thief

“Hold on. Just a little longer. Just until we get somewhere safe.”

He ran his thumb along her jaw and stroked her neck. He pressed his other hand to her back, feeling the heat of her skin, the violent shivers still jerking through her.

A few heartbeats later, she lifted her chin. Her lips were inches from his, whipping his nerves into sudden awareness. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to slide his mouth down that skin, taste the heat of her flesh, lose himself in that hot rush of lust.

But he couldn’t go there. She needed comfort, not sex. She was injured, shocked, rattled by the harrowing night.

He forced his hands to her shoulders and inched back, increasing the distance between them. Her gaze stayed on his, trapping him, reeling him in, while the blood rocked hard in his ears.

“What are we going to do now?” she whispered.

Get away from temptation, first off. He let go of her shoulders, grabbed a branch above him, and rose. “Get out of here before that helicopter comes back. Find a place to rest.” Somewhere they could make plans, get medical help for her leg.

Somewhere the police wouldn’t find them.

A sense of inevitability swept through him. He knew only one place that fit that description—aside from the slums where he’d grown up.

El Aro. The Gypsy enclave in downtown Madrid where his aunt Carmen lived.

Grim now, galled at having to ask his relatives for help but knowing he didn’t have much choice, he shoved his way out of the shrub. “Come on.” He turned back and pulled her out. “We need to find a car.”

“Where’s yours?”

“Back at the palace.” Surrounded by police, no doubt.

Still scanning the area, alert in case the helicopter swung back, he headed toward the parked cars lining the road. Sofia hobbled behind him, not even protesting his intentions, and he wondered if she had grown numb.

He finally spotted an ancient Seat, a car he could quickly hot-wire. He stopped, glanced around to make sure the road was still deserted, and expertly shimmied the lock.

“Get in,” he told her.

While she limped around the battered car, he rummaged under the dashboard. He found the ignition wire, isolated the starter, made a few twists and slid inside. A quick touch of the starter wire fired up the engine. Sofia shut her door, and he eased out the clutch and drove off.

The irony of his actions struck him hard. He’d gone full circle in the past few hours, from being poised on the edge of triumph to reverting to a life of crime.

Breaking the vow he’d kept for fifteen years.

He blew out his breath. Fatigue from the long night rocked through him, and he rubbed the ache at the base of his skull. He hadn’t asked for this trouble. He’d been set up, sucked in—and now he couldn’t escape. He had to find that necklace, clear his name and protect Sofia from Antonio’s killer, whether she was involved in this plot or not.

So while he hadn’t chosen this war, he couldn’t shirk it. He had to fight it with everything he had.

He glanced at Sofia. Her eyes were closed, her breathing rough. Her hair was wrecked, her soft cheeks streaked with grime, her once-elegant gown destroyed. And before he could stop it, something shifted inside him, something long-buried flickered to life.

Maybe it was the weariness, the ordeal of the past hours creeping in, blunting the bitterness he’d harbored for years. Making him remember the good parts—her gentleness, her passion, the sex.

Too dangerous. He yanked his gaze back to the road. This woman had betrayed him. He didn’t dare trust her, no matter how innocent she looked right now. Plus he had police on his tail, a killer stalking his heels. He couldn’t let down his guard.

Because if he wasn’t careful, he’d fall for Sofia again. And that would be the biggest danger of all.

Chapter 5

The dull pounding in Sofia’s skull and the savage burn torching her leg dragged her to awareness. She lifted her hand, pressed her trembling fingers to her forehead to still the wild ache slicing her brain and moaned. But she couldn’t block the images flashing through her mind—that pooling blood, the splattered flesh, Antonio’s bulging, terrified eyes. Nausea churned from her belly, swelled into her throat. What an exhausting, horrendous night.

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