Thieves Like Us Part 6

A silver Lexus turned into the driveway, keying the gate open and following the half-moon curve that led up to the house.

Leaning over to plant a quick kiss on top of Libby's forehead, Janet said, "Stick to watching the guys your own age, kiddo. And especially avoid the ones who are cute in a really bad way."

Libby watched Rocky's car as she pondered Janet's comment. "Tanya and I were thinking that the cute in a bad way guys seem like they'd be a lot more fun to be with."

Janet would have loved to brush it off, but Libby's voice had become hesitant and her expression was serious. She honestly wanted advice. A frisson of panic slid through Janet's chest at the thought that Libby might be pondering a relationship with a tempting bad boy. She might even already have one. Whatever Janet said could have a big impact.

d.a.m.n, this was supposed to be Ellie's job.

She took a deep breath and tried to give a serious answer without making it sound like a sermon. "Cute in a bad way also means dangerous. A guy who overwhelms your senses keeps you from thinking straight. That'll get you into trouble every time. Trust me. It's best to just avoid those guys for now." Or forever. Janet stood, anxious to meet Rocky at the bottom of the steps before Libby had a chance to ask more uncomfortable questions.

"Is that what you do?"

"Definitely," she called out. Halfway down the steps she turned to give Libby a sharp look. "And don't say it. Not that it's any of your business, but he's just giving me a ride."

Libby didn't say anything, but she didn't have to. Janet could clearly read the pity on the girl's expressive face. Great.

Slipping into Rocky's car, she slammed the door and grumbled, "Hi."

He smiled, steering around the paved loop that sent them back down the driveway. "Good morning to you, too, sunshine."

She squeezed her eyes shut. "Sorry. I just had my love life reviewed by a teenage girl and it was found lacking."

"Sad but true," he said with a nod. "By the way, I can fix that for you anytime you want."

She ignored the intriguing tickle in her mind and shot him an evil look. "That wasn't an invitation, Romeo. I happen to like my life the way it is."

He winked. "Tempt not a desperate man." The glance he slid her way held a flash of heat.

Her brow creased as she repeated the phrase to herself, testing its familiarity. It couldn't be. "Was that Shakespeare?"

"Romeo and Juliet. I thought we had a theme going."

She stared at him as he drove. "You're full of surprises, aren't you?"

When he turned toward her, that devilish look was back in full force. "You have no idea, sweetheart."

Her breath caught as desire slammed into her chest, then shot down to her pelvis with such weight that she wiggled in her seat. Naturally, he noticed. She saw his glance fall to her lap and an amused twitch touch the corner of his mouth. Cheeks flaming, she slunk down and faced out the window. Celibacy must really be taking its toll, because something about Rocky Hernandez had awakened hormones that had been slumbering peacefully in her for over a year. She had to get control of her body's reactions to those s.e.xy smiles and searing looks.

She said nothing for a while, then decided the silence was too uncomfortable. "I got a call from Ellie last night."

He raised his eyebrows. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"Not really, but it scared Ellie. Authorities detained them at the Frankfurt airport until they contacted the Bloomfield Hills police. Seems Furley and Beckman took your advice and questioned her about our visit to Portman's."

"Huh. Good for them."

"What do you mean? Do the police really think this is some sort of international conspiracy, with Ellie spiriting the rest of the loot out of the country?"

Her outrage seemed to amuse him. "I doubt it, but it's good to know the detectives are looking into all possibilities and questioning everyone involved, even though I don't have much faith in their ability to find the rest of the jewels. They don't have enough contacts in that world to even know where to start."

She considered his answer. "And you do?"

"I did." He paused. "Yeah, I suppose I still do. But it's not my job to investigate robberies and find stolen jewels. Let the FBI do it."

She felt strangely relieved to hear that he had no interest in contacting people from his former life.

He pulled into her driveway, and she winced at the sight of her damaged car. The first thing on her agenda today was to get it to a repair shop and arrange for a rental car. "Thanks for the ride," she said, grabbing her overnight bag as she got out of the car. Rocky met her at the front b.u.mper.

She stopped. "Where are you going?"

"Into your condo. Give me the key. You're not going inside until I check it out." He held out his hand.

It had been so long since a man had tried to look out for her instead of putting her in harm's way that it took her by surprise. Wordlessly, she handed over the key.

She stayed on his heels as he climbed the steps and unlocked the door. As soon as he pushed it open, she stepped forward, following him in. One step put her on the threshold; the second step made her run smack into his back.

"Hey! What are you do-" her complaint stopped when she noticed the alarm box on the wall beside her. The cover was dangling from the only wire that wasn't cut. Peeking around Rocky, she saw what had made him stop.

"Holy s.h.i.t," she whispered.

Sofa cushions had been flung to the floor and slit open. So had the exposed back of the sofa. And the chairs. Janet stared, eyes wide and mouth gaping, barely able to comprehend the destruction. Paintings off the walls, furniture overturned, books scattered everywhere. Nothing seemed to have been spared, even the carpet, which had been sliced and pulled back in places, revealing the subfloor.

The scene hit with a visceral blow that left her gasping for breath. Strangers had been here, searching her home, handling her things, destroying whatever they touched. Violating her. Deep inside, something primitive and territorial screamed, "My stuff! My home!" They had no right. They'd probably even gone through her drawers, touching her most intimate possessions. Anger churned, building energy and seeking release.

Rocky forced her backward, out the door, and she turned on him, unleashing the outrage that had nowhere else to go. "Let me go!" She tried to push past him, but he grabbed her arm. "It's my house!"

"You're not going in there until the police go through it." He caught her struggling arms, holding her away from the door and absorbing a few flailing jabs in the process.

"I have to go in! Where's Jingles? d.a.m.n it, Rocky, what if they hurt him? Let go of me!"

"Janet, stop." When fighting him didn't work, she stood and glared. "Your cat's all right. He's probably hiding under the bed or on top of the refrigerator."

She aimed a vicious look at him for patronizing her. "You don't know that."

"I know whoever broke in doesn't care about your cat, and they wouldn't waste time catching him. They had only one thing in mind. Believe me, Jingles is fine."

She broke free with one final twist, still reluctant to back down. "He'd better be. How did this even happen? I thought the alarm system was supposed to go off if the wires were cut."

Her anger seemed to bounce off him without effect. He pulled his cell phone out but kept his eyes on her and didn't move away from the door, obviously not trusting her to stay out of her own home.

"Alarm systems work fine, and I'm sure this one went off as it should have. But I told you there are always ways to get around alarms. The guys who did this are pros, and nothing would keep them out."

He would know.

It was probably best not to throw his past in his face. After all, he was on her side. But the frustration boiled over, and she kicked the front door.

"I don't blame you for being mad," Rocky said. "But I'm sorry to say, this was bound to happen. It's why you stayed with Elizabeth last night, and I'm glad you did. Nothing can keep a determined thief out. This was probably the work of two or three men. They probably posed as employees of a security company. They could have told your neighbors they were testing your system, or working on it, and to ignore any alarms they might hear for the next ten minutes. Then they broke in, disabled the alarm-which went off for all of five seconds-and went through your house while the neighbors ignored the fact that you were being burglarized. But you can't blame them. The guys probably had uniforms and a van with a company name on the side. This was a professional job."

Her anger had died down during his speech until she was simply standing in thoughtful silence, amazed at how easily someone could bypa.s.s her security system. He took advantage of her subdued att.i.tude, pointing at the wrought-iron bench beside the door. "Sit down. The sooner I call nine-one-one, the sooner you can go find Jingles, and a cat carrier, and whatever else you need to stay with Elizabeth until these guys are caught."

She sat. He was right. Right that she shouldn't go inside until the police arrived, right that she would have to move out, and right that breaking in had probably been a whole lot easier than she imagined. "What do you think they would have done if I'd been home?" she asked.

His jaw tightened and his tanned skin seemed to go a few shades paler. "I don't know. I'm just glad we didn't find out."

"Me, too." She leaned back against the iron curlicues of the bench, thinking about how close she'd come to danger and how scared Rocky had looked at the very idea. "Thanks, by the way. You're the reason I wasn't here."

A hint of his crooked, mischievous smile came back. "You're welcome."

She sighed. She couldn't help it, she loved when he did that. And hated that it made her feel weak all over. Mentally, she went through the litany. She couldn't trust her instincts. After being taken in so easily by a slimy psychopath like Banner, she'd be better off never trusting them again.

It was probably best to divert the conversation to a subject Rocky would be less charming about. "So what are we going to do about whoever broke in here?"

It worked; the smile disappeared. "We're not going to do anything. The police are going to investigate the break-in while you stay safely tucked away at the Westfield mansion."

The irony didn't escape her-Rocky, the ex-thief, was following the law to the letter, while she was looking for ways to skirt the cops and handle it herself.

"We could at least find out who sold Banner the jewelry in the first place, couldn't we? He rarely traveled, other than a couple business trips to Colombia, so I'll bet he bought them around here."

"Good point. I'll tell the cops and they can take care of it."

She blew out an exasperated breath. "Rocky, if I've learned anything from my train wreck of a marriage, it's that no one can take care of me better than I can. I did it when Banner tried to have me killed, and I did it again when he wanted to take me hostage. Okay," she amended, "you helped with the last one. You can help this time, too."

He snorted a laugh and shook his head. "I admire your spirit, but this isn't the same, and the police are already involved. Besides, they have better resources."

But not better contacts among professional thieves. She wouldn't say it, because it would be like asking him to slip back into that life in order to help her, and she really didn't want him to do that.

She sat back on the bench and folded her arms over her chest. To her surprise, she felt his arm slide around her shoulders and squeeze gently. She stilled, not sure where this was going.

"I know you've gotten used to taking care of everything yourself."

She gave him a cautious look, but said nothing.

"That's what your life has been for a year now. You had to defend yourself against Banner, both physically and emotionally. You put in ridiculously long hours going over Aims's accounts with the IRS, trying to save the air freight division when Westfield-Benton would have written it off as a loss. Aims Air Freight only exists because of your efforts."

Ellie must have told him about that. "A lot of families depended on that company for jobs."

"And you saved them because you took charge when no one else would. That's fantastic. I can only imagine how you had to fight for every personal a.s.set against Banner's rabid pack of divorce lawyers."

She raised an eyebrow, conceding his point. "They were vicious." She hadn't even asked for much. The car he'd bought for her and enough money to buy her condo. Even though Banner's own mother had encouraged her to demand more, it had all felt tainted by a.s.sociation with Banner. "How do you know about that?"

"I heard some things from Ellie, plus I could see the strain on your face. You've had a lot going on this past year."

"Oh good, I looked haggard and tense for a whole year. You sure know what a girl likes to hear."

She'd said it lightly, but his expression was serious, almost sad. "I didn't say you looked haggard. You looked like a beautiful woman with far too much stress in her life."

She hadn't been fishing for compliments. Suddenly self-conscious, she lowered her eyes, but he moved his arm off her shoulders and curved his finger beneath her chin, lifting it until she met his gaze again. He was a little too close, close enough for her to see that his eyes were a deep chocolate brown, and his lips had a sensual curve even when tightened by concern. Something inside her squirmed as she flicked her gaze from his eyes to his mouth and back to his eyes. She didn't know where to look when everything about him made her nervous.

He didn't seem to have the same problem; his gaze was unwavering. "I'm not trying to flirt with you, so don't get defensive. I'm only saying that taking care of everything by yourself has become a habit, and you don't need to do it anymore. You can actually depend on the authorities to take care of this one for you."

Despite that zinger about looking beautiful, which might not be flirting but was d.a.m.ned unsettling, he was right. His little speech wasn't a revelation, but she'd needed to hear it. It felt like someone had finally given her permission to relax, to quit trying to regain control of every aspect of her life.

She sighed and nodded, using the opportunity to pull away from his hand and quiet the fluttering in her chest. "Okay," she promised. "No chasing after jewel thieves."

He grinned, which made the whole lecture worthwhile. "Good. Besides, this might be the last you see of them. They did a thorough search, and didn't find anything. Maybe they'll figure out you don't have the other pieces." He c.o.c.ked his head in a mild warning. "But just in case, you stay with Elizabeth for now. Agreed?"

Janet nodded. Since she didn't have a clue how to track down burglars, letting the police do it would be a relief. And staying with her exmother-in-law was better than staying at a hotel. From what she'd seen of her condo, it was a sure bet she wouldn't be living there again until the insurance company paid to replace her furniture, and that could take some time.

She hoped Elizabeth Westfield wasn't allergic to cats.

Rocky rescheduled the day's appointments while he waited for Janet. She spent the first fifteen minutes sobbing over slashed furniture and broken knickknacks, while nursing a rising panic when she couldn't find Jingles. They finally heard his plaintive meow from beneath her bed, and she gathered him in her arms. Both Janet and the cat calmed as she buried her face in his fur. With her worst fear eased, she spent the next half hour reviving her outrage as she packed a suitcase.

Selecting clothes was complicated; drawers had been dumped and their contents strewn about the room. She rose from her hands-and-knees search on the bedroom floor, clutching a handful of lacy undergarments, lip curling in distaste. "Ick. I can't stand the thought that they touched these. I'll have to wash every single thing before I can wear it again."

Rocky looked at the flimsy sc.r.a.ps of satin and lace. "I'll help," he offered.

She gave him an exasperated look. "No, thanks. I can handle it."

He watched her select a couple of bras from a tangle of lingerie and couldn't help forming a few ideas about handling some other things. He was only torturing himself. "Where did you say that cat carrier was? I'll go find it." It was better not to think about her bras and panties if he was going to keep picturing them on her body. Then taking them off her body.

Two hours later he deposited Janet, Jingles, and a car full of luggage at Elizabeth's door. As he walked back to the car, Janet called, "Aren't you coming in?"

After waiting nearly a year for that kind of invitation, he couldn't believe he was turning it down. "I have to talk to Ben about the break-in. I might have a few contacts who know something."

She frowned. "I can't get involved, but you can?"

"I'm not getting involved. I'm offering information. That's all."

Even as he said it, he was afraid that wouldn't be all. His former world was reaching out its dirty fingers to touch the woman he-what? Wanted? Belonged with? He was hoping to work that one out, but he needed to keep her safe in order to do it. That might mean dealing with some shady characters he'd sworn to never see again. It already meant dealing with the cops. In his experience, that was only marginally better. At least there was one cop he could trust.

Ben brought Rocky back to his office, settling behind his desk and indicating the chair on the other side. Rocky was too restless to sit, though. He paced the room, pausing to look at pictures or handle objects without really seeing them.

Ben watched for several seconds before speaking. "I don't have anything new yet. It was a professional job, which you already know. At least two men, posing as security company employees." He rocked back in his chair. "The most we can tell, they weren't there more than a half hour, probably less. My guys will be asking questions, talking to contacts, coordinating with the FBI."

"You won't learn anything."

Ben pursed his lips, looking unhappy with the truth. "Maybe not. We don't usually see this kind of thing, but the FBI has experience with it on an international level."

Rocky shook his head as he paced. "This was someone local, I'll put money on it. It would have taken several days for news to get around and for the right people to fly here and start sniffing around. This happened within a day. I'm betting it's someone in the area."

Ben's eyebrows drew together in a look of disbelief. "And you think you can figure out who?"

"I'm not sure it even matters. If you catch them, someone else will just come looking for the Pellinni Jewels." He stopped in front of Ben's desk and braced his hands on the scarred top, leaning forward to emphasize the importance of what he was about to say. "This is going to get worse. These guys won't stop until they know Janet doesn't have the rest of the jewelry. You need to prove she doesn't."

Ben rubbed the crease between his eyebrows. "Should I even ask how I'm supposed to do that?"

"By finding out who does. Find out who sold Banner the necklace, and that person can tell you where the rest of the jewelry went."