Page 32 of Stolen Goods
An amused puff of air escaped his lips. “Maybe I like to see you squirm.”
Addy’s nostrils flared, but she kept her mouth shut, refusing to give him the satisfaction. Thad returned to her hair, running his fingers through the strands, snipping and shifting and snipping and shifting. Addy sank into the monotony, taking deep breaths to remain calm, though secretly, she was annoyed. Because he was right. Itwasa little easier now that the hard part was over, now that most of it was just—poof!—gone. Without that fear, other feelings crept out of hiding. Between his quick touches and the pressure of her curls being pulled, tingles slowly spread from the base of her neck up her scalp, reminding her of slumber parties and gossip and late nights with her sister (before she’d becomeLee). Familiar, and yet, entirely new. Because this wasn’t a girlfriend or a sister. It was a flesh-and-blood man, which made the whole thing unnervingly intimate. Her skin burned where his fingers grazed. A flush rose up her cheeks. The pounding of her heart shifted. The room shrank as a sweltering heat closed in around her. Every nerve in her body screamed when he leaned close and blew the loose strands from her shoulders, sending a wave of pleasure down her spine to pool somewhere deep within her gut.
“All done.”
Thank God.
Addy jumped to her feet, needing the distance, and slipped a little on the tub. Thad caught her, grabbing her biceps in his firm hands and holding her steady. She spun, ready with athank youon her lips, but froze when she caught sight of the mirror.
Holy crap! Is that me?
Addy swallowed. Thad stepped to the side, giving her room to see, a satisfied smirk on his lips, but she hardly noticed. She was too transfixed by the girl she hardly recognized staring back at her, bright turquoise eyes larger than they’d ever seemed before, lips fuller, features more striking now that they weren’t hiding behind a curtain of voluminous hair. Addy tilted her head from side to side, amazed to find how much lighter, freer, she felt without all that extra weight.
“Ready for phase two?”
“What’s that?”
She tore her attention from the mirror to look up at him, forgetting how close they were, how imposing he was. A current snapped to life between them, electric, pulsing across the small space separating their faces. Was she going crazy? Or did he feel it too? His stormy eyes were inscrutable, giving nothing away as they held her gaze. He wet his lips and swallowed. The fingers of his right hand continued to grasp her arm, almost unwilling to let go.
“What’s phase two?” she murmured, voice hardly more than a breath.
“Wardrobe.”
He coughed and turned away, exiting the bathroom before she had time to blink. The rush of cold air in his wake was like an ice bath as it shocked her back to life. Addy sprang through the door, watching as he hastily zipped the duffel bag and shrugged the mystery tube over his shoulder. Then he opened the door and stepped outside, not bothering to wait, but clearly expecting her to follow. What other choice did she have? None that instilled much confidence.
But he was still a stranger and a criminal, no matter what Jo said—and no matter how her body reacted. Addy returned to the bathroom and retrieved the scissors he’d discarded on the floor. They were sharp. They were pointy. They’d do. Carefully, she shrugged her apron over her head and folded it into a tight bundle, hiding the makeshift weapon inside. Then she followed him out the door.
- 11 -
Thad
He had to get out of that room, away from her, before he burst. The blood rush beneath his skin flooded like a river through a dam, wild and untamed. The bathroom was too small. Her skin was too soft. Her eyes—dammit!The way she looked at him was unnerving, as though she could see right through him, could see to the deepest part of him, even though they’d only just met. She seemed to trust him, to trust Jo. She’d even tried to comfort him—her apparent kidnapper—when he was in pain. Thad wasn’t sure if that made her foolish or brave, but either way, the act had touched him in a way that would stick long after their little adventure was done.
I shouldn’t have cut her hair.
She was beautiful before, but now she was striking, a bullet to the chest, one shot andbam!
Thad jerked open the trunk and threw his duffel inside. The Degas, however, required a gentle hand. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, forcing the tension out with the air. The attraction between them was undeniable, but it was to be expected. With the adrenaline rush, the high of escaping death, what else was supposed to happen? He was a man, after all. She was a woman. A little lust was natural—and that was all it would ever be. He just needed to get through the next few days. After that, this would be nothing more than a memory.As soon as I figure out what to do about Emma, I’m gone. This will just be a wild story she tells her friends. Nothing more.
“What’s in that?”
He spun on his heels, unused to being taken off guard. But there she was, standing demurely behind him, persistently attempting to tuck a loose, short curl behind her ear.
He raised a brow in challenge, responding in the only way he knew how—the way that ensured he’d keep his distance. “Do you really want to know?”
She pulled her lower lip into her mouth in a way that made his abs clench. “No, I guess I don’t.”
“Good,” he said and turned back to the car. Thad gently placed the Degas in the trunk and secured it in a safe spot beneath the back seats. Then he walked to the passenger side and opened the door. “Get in.”
Addison obliged. Thad shut the door, then left her behind as he ran to the office, paid for the night, and asked for directions to the nearest department store. By the time he returned, she was lost in thought with her eyes glazed over. They drove in silence, Addison undoubtedly ruminating over the crazy situation she’d found herself in and Thad meticulously trying to plan a way out of it. He had to get to Emma as quickly as possible, which meant they were going to Arizona. The drive alone would take somewhere around twenty-seven, maybe twenty-eight hours, but there was no way he could do it straight. For starters, he’d hardly slept more than an hour or two last night, and he couldn’t exactly trust Addison with the wheel. They’d have to stop for rest and food, which meant he had two, maybe three days to figure out how to disappear while somehow still protecting the few people he loved.
When they pulled into the mostly empty lot of the department store, Thad finally spoke up. “Don’t make eye contact with anyone. It’ll make us easier to forget. And if anyone asks if we need help, just say no politely.”
Addison nodded.
Thad parked and grabbed his baseball cap from the dashboard, then pulled it low over his eyes. “There are definitely security cameras inside, so I’m going to mostly keep my head down. You should go in first and I’ll be about a minute behind. We don’t want to be seen together on film, just in case. I’ll meet you in the dressing rooms. You grab some stuff to try on, while I grab some other things we might need. And then I’ll pay while you head back to the car. Okay?”
Again, a silent nod.
