Thoughts of a full-bodied heroine… The Heist, by Adriana Kraft

Looking for a sizzling romantic suspense?

The Heist, by Adriana Kraft

BLURB

A heist? A murder? It’s villain’s choice.

A special-order art theft? Tedious, but seamless – until small town museum director Kara Daniels calls in the experts. Furious her favorite trio of priceless impressionist paintings has been stolen from its traveling exhibit on her watch, Kara is determined to save not only the paintings, but her future in the art world. She’ll stop at nothing to entrap the thief.

Ted Springs knows the underbelly of the criminal world a little closer than he might like—but he’s turned it to good advantage, first as a police officer, and now as detective for the Upper Midwest Arts Council. His job? To guarantee the security of the valuable paintings in the Council’s traveling exhibits.

Heat sizzles when Ted and Kara collide—can they work together, before it’s too late?

EXCERPT

Set up ~ the museum has just been broken into for the first time, but nothing’s been stolen. Kara is meeting with her curator, Sasha, as they prepare for the detective being sent by the Arts Council.

Kara turned back to Sasha. “You’ve triple and quadruple checked the exhibit areas? Nothing is missing or damaged?”

Sasha nodded. “That’s right. Irving and David have checked everything over and over, too. You walked through the entire building yourself. Nothing is missing. Nothing is damaged. That’s what’s crazy about this. Why would anyone go to the bother of disabling our computers and alarm system and steal nothing?” She paused. “And the creepy thing is we know they were in the building. The two soda cans on the floor in the vanPatten room didn’t just walk in on their own.”

Chuckling, Kara agreed, “No, I do believe they were carried in. Maybe someone wanted us to know just how vulnerable this place is.” She scowled. “But who, and why? I thought we were supposed to have a fairly sophisticated computer system.”

“Not sophisticated enough,” Sasha huffed. “Maybe it was some computer geeks at the college trying to show off.”

“Maybe. I hope Ted Springs will be able to shed some light on those questions. Doesn’t look like the cops are going to do much. No theft, no damage. They have more significant crimes to deal with.” Kara checked her watch. “It’s been a long day. Why don’t you head out when you’re ready? I’ll walk around through the place with David while we close up. Thank god it’s a Monday and we didn’t have to be open to the public. I’ll check with you in the morning after I get back from the airport with Springs.”

Sasha smirked. “At least I don’t have to be his chauffeur-slash-babysitter. See you.”

Kara smiled watching her curator saunter out of the office. Monday was their dress-down day, and Sasha was clad in overly tight work jeans and a tank top. For someone who wanted to maintain her privacy, Sasha seldom hesitated to dress provocatively.

Sasha could get by with tight jeans, or slinky outfits, or minis, with her petite frame. Heaving a sigh, Kara tried to keep her envy in check. Petite was hardly a word anyone would use to describe her. Full bodied, perhaps. Voluptuous, if one was trying to be kind. At least she had the strength to help David and Irving unload shipping crates. Some of those weighed three hundred pounds or more, depending on the size of the painting and its frame, requiring dollies and the greatest of care. Sasha usually stood by recording and documenting crate numbers and contents.

Maybe it was their age difference. At twenty-six, Sasha could get by with most any fashion. Seven years older, Kara had fewer options. She shook her head, trying to refocus. It wasn’t age that made the difference—it was the difference in skirt and sweater size. Kara exhaled, letting go of fruitless comparisons.