Treasure Me (Love Thieves #2)

By Heather Long

One Treasure...
Some would kill to know what Sophie Kingston knows. Rich and powerful people will do anything to possess the secret, but not even Sophie realizes how much danger she is in—or how far they will go to hunt her down and take it from her. But when she sees a murder no one can prove, the threats to her life keep coming.

One Hunt...
Pietr Sauvage is neck deep in the hunt for The Fortunate Buddha when a lead draws him to New York and thrusts him into the life of art history specialist Sophie. What began as a favor turns into a desperate need to protect the sexy curator from the dark web of deception threatening to pull her under.

Too Many Thieves...
Lost in the shadow of intrigue and danger, Sophie must learn to trust Pietr, a man with an agenda, a man she can’t help but desire, before the ruthless thieves steal their only chance.

Raising the stakes heightens the attraction...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Decadent Publishing
• Release date: May 16, 2016
• ISBN: 9781683610441

Heather Long

Heather Long lives in Texas with her family and their menagerie of animals. As a child, Heather skipped picture books and enjoyed the Harlequin romance novels by Penny Jordan and Nora Roberts that her grandmother read to her. Heather believes that laughter is as important to life as breathing and that the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus are very real. In the meanwhile, she is hard at work on her next novel.

Book preview

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Treasure Me

Copyright  2016 by Heather Long

ISBN: 978-1-68361-044-1

Cover art by Mina Carter

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC

Look for us online at:

www.decadentpublishing.com

Dear Reader,

Way back in 2008, I had an idea for a story, a story about a Robin Hood style thief, one who took from other thieves in order to return stolen history and precious items to their rightful owners. Over the years, tales of how many families lost valuable pieces to Nazi looting and how, even after the war, it was hard for those who survived their hell in the camps to locate much less receive back what had been theirs

those stories touched me. While no work of fiction can undo any of what has come before, I believe it’s important to never forget.

The item stolen in this tale is not from one of those families, yet the thief who goes to reacquire it works for an organization which dedicates itself to the repatriation of art to where it belongs. Mingling the idea of doing the right thing with a legendary item which promises good fortune seemed like a fun idea then and remains so today. That was the premise behind the book which became Catch Me.

While writing that book, I fell in love with Max’s cousin Pietr, and I knew he would need a tale of his own. Only Pietr had a charming arrogance to him that demanded he be taken down a peg and I knew just the woman to deliver that comeuppance, a woman who would never have dreamed of doing so—until she met him.

After undergoing significant edits, I present to you the second of The Love Thieves trilogy: Treasure Me. I hope you enjoy Pietr and Sophie’s tale as much as I did writing it.

Heather

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Catch Me by Heather Long

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Also by Heather Long

Always a Marine

Series so Far (in order by release)

Once Her Man, Always Her Man

Luke & Rebecca

Retreat Hell! She Just Got Here

Logan, Jazz & Zach

Tell It to the Marine

James & Lauren

Introduction of Matt McCall and Damon Sinclair

Features an appearance of Logan Cavanaugh

Proud to Serve Her

Damon & Helena

Matt, James, Lauren, Luke and Rebecca mentioned

Her Marine

Brody & Shannon

No Regrets, No Surrender

Logan, Jazz & Zach

James featured

The Marine Cowboy

A.J. & Sheri

Phone call from Luke

The Two and the Proud

Rowdy & Kim

A Marine and a Gentleman

Brenden & Liam

Appearances of James, Logan, Jazz, Shannon, Rebecca, Lauren

Combat Barbie

Kyle & Mary

Jazz makes an appearance via phone

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Joe & Melody

James makes an appearance

What Part of Marine Don’t You Understand?

Matt & Naomi

Appearances by James and Logan, Damon is mentioned

A Marine Affair

Eli & Rick

Marine Ever After

Paul & Lillianna

Multiple appearances at Luke & Rebecca’s wedding

Marine in the Wind

Greg & Georgia

Appearances by A.J. & Sheri

Marine with Benefits

Derek & Kara

Appearance by Logan

A Marine of Plenty

Charlie & Jana

Appearance by Naomi

A Candle for a Marine

Isaac & Zehava

Appearances by Zach & Shannon

Marine Under the Mistletoe

Kaiden & Rowan

Have Yourself a Marine Christmas

Rebel & Noel

Appearances by Derek, Kara, Luke and James

Lest Old Marines Be Forgot

Tom & Brenda

Appearances by Luke, James, Logan, and Damon

Her Marine Bodyguard

Shannon & Brody

Multiple appearances including Luke, Logan, Zach, Jazz, Mary, Damon & Rowdy

ROAR Series

Mischief, Mongrels & Mayhem

The Black Hills Wolves

What a Wolf Wants

Wolf in Winter Clothing

Scent of Madness

The Love Thieves

Catch Me

Treasure Me

Coming Soon

Hunt Me

Dedication

For every man who learned that the secret to stealing a woman’s heart lay in giving her the key to his own.

Acknowledgements

Every project is a labor of love and while writing may be a solitary business, I couldn’t do it without the strong support of so many—sometimes too many to name. So this is for all of you.

Treasure Me

One Treasure

Some would kill to know what Sophie Kingston knows. Rich and powerful people will do anything to possess the secret, but not even Sophie realizes how much danger she is in—or how far they will go to hunt her down and take it from her. But when she sees a murder no one can prove, the threats to her life keep coming.

One Hunt

Pietr Sauvage is neck deep in the hunt for The Fortunate Buddha when a lead draws him to New York and thrusts him into the life of art history specialist Sophie. What began as a favor turns into a desperate need to protect the sexy curator from the dark web of deception threatening to pull her under.

Too Many Thieves

Lost in the shadow of intrigue and danger, Sophie must learn to trust Pietr, a man with an agenda, a man she can’t help but desire, before the ruthless thieves steal their only chance.

Raising the stakes heightens the attraction

Treasure Me

The Love Thieves

Book 2

By

Heather Long

The value of the Fortunate Buddha is not the precious stones or metals, but the legend of good luck it brought to the temple visitors who made a wish and a prayer while rubbing its ruby-studded belly.

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. - Buddha

Chapter One

A sharp crack snapped the silence in half. Sophie shoved her fist into her mouth, determined to strangle the scream clawing its way up from her belly. If it had only been just a sharp crack, she could have dismissed it. The museum’s basement was overpopulated with more artifacts than three lifetimes worth of curators had been able to catalog. The harsh snap could have been a displaced shelf, a fallen item, or even the old air recycling system kicking on.

The body crumpling to the floor shot down any other reasonable possibilities. Royce Hinkley, curator, art expert and head of the Seven Fates exhibit lay dead. His empty eyes stared across the open expanse between the stacks. Sophie tore her gaze away from him and turned it toward the hard metal support for the shelves housing minutiae from dozens of Egyptian excavations.

A shuffle step and the man with the gun stood between her and Professor Hinkley. Sophie shrank against the stacks, holding her breath. She prayed the shadowy depths of the archivists vault would hold her secret as deeply as it held the ancients’.

"Non. The distinctly melodic French splashed the reality of the situation at her. He was trying to double cross us. He did not have the Buddha. Oui. I will check in tonight."

The Buddha.

Sophie flattened herself against the metal struts, her pulse hammering her into place. The man’s gun vanished, and he bent, seizing Professor Hinkley under the arms, and then hoisted him.

Dear God

he killed him already. What more could he want with him?

Professor Hinkley’s head flopped, bouncing like a bobblehead as his assailant balanced the corpse’s weight over his shoulders. Sophie swallowed back the gorge burning up her throat. He turned, heading away from the Egyptian stacks and toward the Mesopotamian. Sophie kept herself as still as possible, holding her breath until the last shuffling step faded away.

Only then did she look down at the Buddha peeking out from the bottom of the cart. The golden man seemed to be winking at her.

***

Dr. Kingston, I believe you. Detective Bryant leaned against the corner of the desk, staring down at her with sad brown eyes that told a tale of pity and patience. He wore an air of disappointment like a rumpled, stained tie discoloring his disposition. I understand what you think you saw, and I appreciate that you took the time to report it. But our crime scene unit has been over the vault, we’ve talked to your coworkers, we’ve spoken to the director. Dr. Hinkley is on a leave of absence. He began it this morning.

Leave of absence? Since when? Professor Hinkley had been excited about new possibilities for his Seven Fates exhibit. If he’d planned a sabbatical, he would have had to find coverage for his projects.

The detective shrugged. We’re trying to contact him, but his sabbaticals seem to be something of a legend among your coworkers. No one else is reporting him missing, and, unless the lab turns up any trace evidence, I’m afraid there’s not much else we can do.

Sophie opened her mouth, and then shut it again. The clock on the distant wall ticked past 8:00 p.m. Twelve hours since she’d seen the professor’s dead body. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw his head bounce as the shooter picked him up. She could hear the dulcet French intonation of the words as the man spoke into a phone.

She’d hidden in the stacks like a coward for more than thirty minutes before daring to make an escape and call the police. Despite arriving quickly, sweeping through the vaults, and inspecting the crime scene, they’d found nothing.

Not even blood.

It wasn’t possible.

She’d seen the professor shot. She’d watched him crumple to the ground. Sophie swallowed the gorge threatening her once more.

Could I have imagined it?

The thought pinged against her conscience. It simply wasn’t rational.

***

The six-floor climb had never seemed as long as it did tonight. Sophie’s legs burned with each floor, the fatigue dragging her under like a riptide off a summer beach. She’d declined the walk to the door from the detective, all too aware of the sympathetic glint in his gaze. She’d answered his questions for hours, but with no success. No body, no crime.

A bang behind her sent her pulse rabbiting. Sophie looked over her shoulder to see Mrs. Bruno tugging her over-packed, two-wheel shopping cart up the stairs, one thump at a time. Keys looped over her fingers, Sophie pivoted and darted down the steps to grab Mrs. Bruno’s cart before it overbalanced and carried the old woman and her groceries down the stairs.

And where is your grandson? she asked in lieu of a hello. Mrs. Bruno’s well-lined face wrinkled up into a smile.

He had a hot date with Eppsie’s granddaughter! She huffed a laugh, leaning against the wall to catch her breath before charging ahead. Freed of her burden, her fifth floor neighbor was quite spry.

Sophie put her back into it and tugged the shopping cart behind her. I thought she was dating the Lemmons’ grandson.

Oh, she was. Mrs. Bruno paused at the fourth floor to let Sophie catch up. But he’s going off to college in California next year and told her they should date other people to experiment.

Laughter burst the sick bubble of exhaustion souring Sophie’s stomach. Seriously?

Seriously. So my grandson called me and said he’d asked her out and she said yes. He didn’t want to give her a chance to change her mind or for her stupid boyfriend to wise up. Mrs. Bruno’s eyes twinkled cheerfully. My grandson is smart, like his grandfather. You don’t hesitate when a lady says yes. You hesitate, you lose.

Well, I hope it works out for them. They’d reached Mrs. Bruno’s floor, and Sophie tugged the cart over to her door. Do you need some help putting groceries up?

No dear. You need to go upstairs, shower, freshen up, and take yourself out to Tony’s. Or you can head over to Popa’s by NYU to catch one of those professors.

Sophie did not roll her eyes or snort. Mrs. Bruno meant well. She had been trying to fix Sophie up with a nice young man for eighteen months, ever since Sophie moved into the walk-up. Mrs. Bruno had lived here for forty years and often boasted 608 was the lucky number. She’d found a match for ten occupants. She planned to make Sophie number eleven.

No, I’m good. If your grandson has a date the next time you have to shop, call me. I love shopping with you.

I’ll be baking on Sunday.

Mrs. Bruno’s version of thank you always involved fresh blueberry muffins and cranberry scones. Sophie gained five pounds after every favor. Fortunately, the muffins were worth every pound.

Great! Have a good night, Mrs. Bruno. Sophie leaned one foot onto the stairs heading up to the sixth floor but waited until Mrs. Bruno closed and locked her door. When the third dead bolt slid into place with a snikt, she relaxed the false cheer in her smile.

Exhaustion crept up her limbs as she continued her climb to her floor. The image of Royce Hinkley’s face swam into her exhausted vision. The cops said he wasn’t dead. They hadn’t found any evidence of his death. She couldn’t have imagined the gunshot. Her passion was the past, not cops and robbers or gun battles at the O.K. Corral.

Sophie slid her key into the locks and undid them one at a time. Tears burned her eyes and a sob stuck in her throat. She hadn’t liked Dr. Hinkley, but no one deserved to be shot.

Was he shot?

The last lock gave and Sophie leaned on the door and opened it. Her bag weighed heavy on her shoulder, and all she could think about was a shower or a bath and a good night’s sleep. Then back to the museum to her archive and to making sense from chaos. Dr. Hinkley could come back from his sabbatical, and it would turn out to just be too many episodes of her favorite crime shows infecting her with their gestalt.

She pushed inside, purse sliding down her arm and dropping on the floor. Hitting the lights with one hand, she shut the door with the other and snapped the locks into place, one at a time. It took her a moment to focus, to see the man sprawling on her sofa, his ankles crossed one over the other.

Dark hair tumbled over a ruggedly good-looking face of chiseled features under a growth of stubble. His eyes were soft amber, like fine liquor, and his lips were full and even as they spread into a smile.

Sophie gaped.

"Bonjour, chérie." The lilting French rolling off his tongue sounded as sexy as it was unexpected.

She opened her mouth and screamed, scrambling for the door locks, but, just as she wrenched open the door, he leaned past her and pushed it closed.

I’m sorry, Professor Kingston, I didn’t mean to startle you. The heat of his body burned into her as he pressed her against the door.

Sophie stared at him. The shooter from the museum’s French washed over her. But this man was taller.

Much taller.

What are you doing in my apartment?

I need your help.

Breaking into my apartment is a bizarre way to ask for help. How do I sound so very calm? Her heart beat against her ribs like a hummingbird desperate for escape.

"Oui. Tall, Dark, and French had the grace to look abashed. My apologies. I waited at the museum for a few hours, and then outside your apartment building. I admit, I got a little tired. I came inside to see if you’d gone out of town, but, fortunately, here you are."

Sophie’s mouth fell open farther. Her heart stuttered over his grin but quickened at the sense of outrage.

Are you going to let me go?

Are you still going to scream?

I’m thinking about it.

"Well, then, I shall hold you here until you have considered the options. Oui?"

My options? Sophie’s eyebrows climbed. Was this man for real? Outrage smothered fear. My options? You broke into my apartment. You’re holding me against my will. You just confessed to stalking me. And you want me to consider my options? Are you out of your mind?

The bastard grinned. Grinned! A broad, toothy, flashing grin that sent shivers up her spine. Her stomach flipped over. He brushed so close the scent of his aftershave tickled her nostrils. She fought the urge to take a deeper inhale, to taste the flavor of the man on her tongue.

"I’ve been accused of worse, chérie. Fortunately for you, I am not insane. But I do need your help, and I do need to talk to you without you screaming for help and putting us through a long night of uncomfortable questions."

"I suppose