Don't Go Stealing My Heart - Kelly Siskind Page 0,104

past weeks. She wanted more of it, to know how it felt to work a full day and use that money to buy groceries and pay her bills. To groan when her alarm clock woke her for a job and feel relief when the weekend rolled around. Habits most people detested. She’d trade her Charger for that simple life.

She also wouldn’t mind drop-kicking Lucien in the groin. And he still had Lucy. Her sweet girl was in his care.

If she was going to overpower him, she’d have to stall for time, distract him with his ego. Wait for Yevgen to leave the sound room and the estate, secure her footing, then pounce.

She stood from the wall and faced him as though ready for his bullet to end her heartache. “I knew you were good, Lucien, but this is…” She whistled a low note. “Did it ever bother you, lying to me?”

His finger teased the trigger but didn’t pull. “I’ve always been fond of you. I’m fond of all my children.”

Children plural? How many had he used? She wanted him to choke on his tongue, but she schooled her expression. Talking. She needed to keep him talking, while slowly shifting her stance, angling her body. “Did the others not last?”

“They served purposes, but none were as moldable as you.”

High praise on his lips, but a repugnant insult to her. “You always did know how to make me feel special.” Cared for and safe. There was no denying that. “I did love you, not that it matters now. Fake or real, you changed my life.”

Living with him had beaten scrounging for food on the streets, dodging fists and switchblades in foster hell. That truth twisted with his lies, but neither changed her current circumstance. His gun was still aimed at her. Lucky for her, it had shifted a hair lower. He should know better than to let his guard down with a mark, but the gleam in his eyes made him look high. Like the success of this long con had pumped him full of heroin.

Yevgen exited the sound room, a flat pack on his back. The signed gold record secured, no doubt. He curled his lip at Lucien. “Why is she still alive?”

“Since when do you question me?”

Yevgen’s attention shifted to her neck. “That necklace is a knockout. Could get a pretty penny for it.”

Her hand jerked, but she didn’t touch the teardrop diamond. Like the gold record, this was a family heirloom. Irreplaceable. Worth more than money. She cursed herself again for not returning it. “Guess you’ve lost your touch. Can’t recognize costume jewelry from the real deal.”

He slinked toward her, vile and mocking, aware of her desperate lie. “Sentimental, huh? Or playing your man? Fucking him for the money. Yeah, that sounds about right.”

“Take it and go.” Lucien’s patience was wearing thin.

Clementine clenched her jaw to stem the rising tears as Yevgen slowly unclasped the necklace. It dragged along the cut on her neck, a stinging pinch she felt in her heart. She would not cry. She refused to shudder at Yevgen’s nearness. Any reaction from her would prolong his presence, and getting him out of here was her only chance to take Lucien down and find a way to get that necklace and signed record back.

Jewelry clasped in his hand, Yevgen blew her a kiss. “I’ll miss you, sweet Clementine.”

Total psycho. But he’d be out of the house shortly, probably through the lower level patio doors. As long as he didn’t return and distract Lucien, she’d have that gun in no time, and she’d point the barrel at Lucien’s temple. Then at Yevgen’s.

She’d be the one in control.

Jack peeled into the estate grounds and careened along the winding driveway, unsure how the wheels were still on the road.

Alistair braced his hand on the dashboard. “Mind not killing us before we get there?”

Curses grumbled from the guys in the back. The estate loomed ahead, and there were no cops, as he’d feared. Clementine’s rental was in front, the only sign of trouble her still-open door. She could be in the house, another stab wound in her gut.

He slammed on the brakes and skidded to a stop.

Alistair grunted. “I think my kidneys landed in my lungs.”

Jack’s body still vibrated from the engine, every nerve ending on high alert. He wanted to race into the estate, check on his family and Clementine, but if an intruder was in there, if he had a gun, things could go south fast. “Let’s wait