The Beautiful Thief (Stolen Hearts #2)(10)

She looked down at herself and noticed a blanket covering her. When she pulled it down, she verified that her dress was exactly how she remembered. She didn’t feel violated in any way. Well, that was a lie. She’d been drugged and not only had she not gotten Jadon’s laptop, but Blondie was once again gone without leaving her so much as a name.

She glanced over to the still half-empty glass of drugged water. But he hadn’t left without a trace.

Melody took a deep breath and allowed the rage to soak in. This was it. Blondie had gotten the best of her twice now and she wasn’t going to let it happen again.

And the next time she saw him, it was going to be on his home ground.





Scott Hart kept running. He ran as though he were being chased. He ran as if the beasts of hell were on his heels. He ran as though if he just went the tiniest bit faster, he could change the past.

When his phone rang, he almost ignored it. These workouts could get an incredible amount done, but if he fell out of his trance-like state as he ran full-out, he might not be able to get it back.

But at the last second, he screeched to a halt and answered the unknown number. “Yeah?”

“Hey, is this Scott Hart?”

If this was a telemarketer, he was going to throw his phone across Central Park and keep running. “This is Hart.”

“I’m Officer Eagan over at Chicago PD. I’ve got a woman here who says she knows you. She asked me to run prints on a glass. It sounds like she was drugged, but she’s refusing to press official charges.”

Scott stiffened as he finally gave his full attention to the call. “Who is the woman?”

“According to her ID, Melody Murray. She made it sound like you knew she was here, but I wasn’t sure....”

God damn it. He knew she was going to be a loose end after the San Francisco fiasco. Not that he could blame her. After what she’d seen, he supposed he should be more surprised that she’d waited three weeks before she started to get into shit. “You said you think she was drugged? Is she okay? Has she been hospitalized?” He was already mentally calculating the time it would take him to get to Chicago.

“She seems fine. According to her, nothing happened that could be prosecuted; she just wants a name. Normally I never would do this, but you helped out on the Cubs Strangler a few years back and I owe you one.”

Scott thought about his options. If he told Eagan to ignore Melody, she likely wouldn’t stop whatever she was up to. She’d find another way to get prints run. But if he said yes, he could keep an eye on her and, even better, make her own family watch out for her. “Go ahead and run the prints if you don’t mind. Just make sure you send me the same information you send her.”

“Will do. I hope everything is going all right on your end. I heard you were taking a break from the force. You know, if this is about Catherine, I’m—”

“I have another call coming in,” lied Scott. “Thanks again for your help.” He hung up before Eagan could say one more thing about Catherine or his job situation. There were some subjects that were always off-limits.

He scrolled through his contacts until he got to the Murray women. He should call Jennifer. He knew her best and he knew her boyfriend reasonably well. But suddenly he hit the number for Toni instead.

Jennifer and Austin were still in their honeymoon stage. If he could avoid disturbing them with shit, he would. Toni, on the other hand, seemed like she lived for drama. He half expected her to let the call go to voicemail, but she answered on the second ring. “What’s wrong?”

It wasn’t the politest greeting, but he knew where she was coming from. They weren’t friends. The only thing they had in common was that they wanted to bring down Jonathan Sterling and all his associates. If he was calling her, it was only because there was news. “What’s going on with your sister?”

There was a muffled “hold on” before she said, “Which sister?”

“Melody.”

“Melody? I just saw her last week. She was a mess. It looked like she hasn’t gotten out of bed since San Francisco. I had to practically drag her back out into the sunlight.”

Scott ran a hand over his forehead and through his hair. Now that he’d stopped running, the sweat was starting to bead. “Good news. It worked. I got a call from a cop in Chicago. Apparently she’s asking him to run some prints for her and using my name as a reference.”

“She’s what?” The words were sharp and loud and whoever she was with said something and Toni quickly shut them down. “I said give me a minute.” Scott assumed she was talking to whoever she was with because the next thing she said to him was, “Where is Mel now?”

“Probably still Chicago. I just got off the phone with the guy. But running prints won’t take long.”

“Shit.”

And then the line was dead and he was standing there, sweating all over his cell for no reason. Scott sighed and put his phone away as he turned back in the direction of the loft apartment he was renting week by week. Considering what Melody was going through, he was willing to bet this guy she was tracking down had something to do with her mother’s murder, which meant he had something to do with Sterling.

Which made this his business too. Time for him to take a trip.