Barrett Gail - Heart of a Thief

His effect on her had been instant, shocking.

But as she stood before him now, feeling his resentment, his rage, doubt slithered through her, and a sick, queasy sensation wormed into her gut. Why the outrage? If hed been guilty, then why was he so angry at her, especially after all these years?

Could she have been wrong?

Dear Reader,

Ive always wanted to set a book in Spain, a land steeped in contrastspoetry and passion, flamenco music and bagpipes, Roman bridges and Celtic ruins. And when I discovered Luke Moreno prowling through a medieval palace, I knew Id found the perfect hero for my book. Lukes as complex as the land he lives in, an honorable man with a shady past, a man who has spent his life fighting stereotypes and injusticeonly to find himself framed for a theft.

Lukes emotions burn hot, and so do the sparks between him and his ex-lover Sofia Mikhelson, the woman he believes is setting him up. I had a great time following their breakneck trek through Spain as they hunted down the missing necklace and uncovered a tangled web of danger far more sinister than theyd dreamed.

I hope you enjoy Lukes journey, book one of THE CRUSADERS miniseries.

Happy reading!

Gail Barrett

Heart of a Thief Gail Barrett

GAIL BARRETT

To my husband, John, for listening.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

ACKNOWLEDGMENT:

When the full moon bleeds and the lonely dog cries

And the stars trail dust in the night

A leader will rise from the scattered hordes

And the People will regain their might.

Indian poem, circa 1000 A.D.

Chapter 1

Too bad she was just as corrupt.

He watched, riveted, as she approached the glass display case cordoned off with velvet ropes. She played the elegant guest role to perfection, bending close to admire the primeval amber, the meticulously hammered gold. As if shed never seen the ancient necklace before. As if she hadnt come here to steal it. As if she werent setting him up to take the blameagain.

Damn her conniving soul.

Who let her in here? he demanded, still not pulling his eyes from the screen.

Who? Lukes partner in his security business, Antonio Flores, leaned across the crowded console toward the monitor.

La americana. Sofia Mikhelson.

His partner raised one stocky arm, reached for the laptop nearby and tapped the keyboard to scroll down the names. Mikhelson. Sofia. Shes on the list. Part of the antiquities crowd.

She wasnt on the list last night.

We added a new batch this morning. Antonio leaned back in his chair and lifted his hands, palms out. You know how its been. Weve had experts calling from all over the world. Its been a nightmare trying to vet them all.

Luke grunted. He couldnt argue that. It wasnt often a thousand-year-old necklace surfaced in a Spanish bank vaultespecially this necklace. The Gypsys Revenge, coveted for centuries, shrouded in legends, haunted by an ancient cursea curse that condemned any non-Gypsy who touched it to die. An artifact so elusive, so priceless, so powerful that few experts even believed it existed until now.

But the necklace was real, all right, and sitting in that casea dazzling gold collar inscribed with ancient symbols, inlaid with multi-hued amber, adorned with miniature bells. And its discovery had ignited a firestorm of controversyformer Nazi war loot, Swiss banking connectionsan international scandal ready to explode. Now every antiquities expert on the planet had converged on the palace outside of Madrid demanding a close-up look.

But this woman hadnt come here to admire the necklace. His gaze hardened on the lush curves sheathed in the black satin gown, the gleam of her naked back, that slow, smoldering smile that still incinerated his nerves like lightning scorching parched earth.

No, she hadnt come here to view the necklace. Sofia Mikhelson was as deceptive as the forgeries she made. Exquisite, enthralling, alluringbut fake.

Anger whipped through his gut.

The ceremonys about to start, he told Antonio, the raw heat making his voice clipped. Im going to check out the crowd. Keep your eye on that necklace.

A tense buzz rising in his ears at the thought of Sofia, he stalked from the brightly lit office and headed down the carpeted hallway past dark, massive portraits of centuries worth of Spanish nobility as cameras winked from silk-lined walls.

It had taken him five years to salvage his reputation. Five years battling suspicions and accusations, fighting the arrogance of power, the tyranny of wealth.

And now he had everything riding on this ceremonyhis career as a security expert, his honor, his pride. This was his one chance to finally redeem himself, to prove himself to the world.

The muscles along his jaw bunched while resentment seared in his chest. Hed played the fool once with that woman. It had ended with his illusions shattered and his reputation destroyed. No way would he do it again.

No matter what she had planned.