The Wedding Steal (Book Three): The Wedding Steal, #3

By Layla Valentine and Holly Rayner

"He kidnapped me on the eve of my cousin's wedding,
And now he's the only one who can protect me…"

HER:

I've been to a few bad parties, but this is the first one that ended in me getting kidnapped!
My hot-as-hell captor tells me he used to be a SEAL, that he'll make sure no-one hurts me…
Would you trust a guy who just abducted you, ripped body and soulful green eyes aside?
He came here to steal the bride,
But he got me, the bridesmaid, instead.
And now we're both on the run.

HIM:

I served my country, but now I'm working for the mob.
And instead of saving women, I'm being hired to kidnap them.
It doesn't feel good, but in my line of work there's only one way out.
I just didn't expect to fall for the girl I'm being paid to steal.
I'm gonna make this my last job, and damn the consequences.
If they want her, they've got to get through me first…

This is the third book in the The Wedding Steal series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Layla Valentine
• Release date: Mar 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201107826

Book preview

THE WEDDING STEAL

Book Three

LAYLA VALENTINE

HOLLY RAYNER

Copyright © 2022 by Layla Valentine

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

CONTENTS

1. Rachel

2. Rachel

3. Colton

4. Colton

5. Rachel

Epilogue

CHAPTER 1

RACHEL

Iwanted to listen to what Colton told me to do. I wanted to hide and protect myself, but I couldn’t. Not while he was facing a group of men on his own. How could I cower in fear, knowing he was back in the diner fighting for both of our lives?

As soon as I left the bathroom, I took a left and then ducked into the supply closet next door, hoping Colton wouldn’t see me go in. The smell of lemon cleaning agents immediately made my head spin, so I waited until I heard the bathroom door open and close again before I cracked the door slightly for the tiniest bit of fresh air. The crack in the door also allowed me to hear what was going on in the diner.

Part of me kept expecting to hear gunshots ring out or screams to erupt, but it all sounded perfectly normal for a few minutes. It was all so quiet that a small part of me began to wonder whether Colton had been lying to me. Had he shooed me out of the restaurant because he was conferring with the enforcers? Was this still some elaborate trap that I didn’t yet understand?

I could make out the distant sound of silverware banging around in the kitchen and the soft rock coming out of the fuzzy jukebox speakers. And I could even hear the shouts of the toddler and his parents sitting at the table behind ours.

I was planning how to go about warning them without drawing attention to myself when I heard the first sign of trouble. There was a loud crash and then silence. No more silverware, no more music, no more idle chitchat. Just silence. Followed closely by another crash. Then, screams.

As soon as the first scream erupted, I slipped through the door and flattened myself against the wall, inching down the hallway towards the main part of the restaurant. I could see the group of teenage girls cowering beneath their booth. One of them, a girl with a bright blue streak in her blond hair, made eye contact with me and waved her hand, gesturing for me to run. I pressed my finger to my lips in an effort to keep her from drawing any attention to me. If I was going to be useful at all, it had to be a surprise, because if anyone saw me coming, they’d be able to overpower me in a second. Surprise was my secret weapon.

I reached the end of the hallway and hid behind a cart of dirty dishes, peeking around the corner just enough to see Colton standing in the middle of the restaurant with two overturned tables around him, facing off with two men dressed all in black. Two other men were on the floor. One of them was unconscious with a bloody cut down his forehead, but the other was rolling on the floor, beginning to rouse.

Had Colton fought off the two men by himself? He didn’t have his gun out, and none of the other men had their weapons out, which seemed like a good sign. As soon as there was a gun involved, things would get ugly, fast. Perhaps Colton felt the same way and that’s why he’d opted for hand-to-hand combat.

Colton held his hands out in front of him and tried talking to the men. "Just let me talk to Tony. He doesn’t understand what’s going on. Hell, I don’t even think you understand what’s going on."

We take orders, the bigger of the two remaining men growled. Unlike some people.

I take orders when they’re right. When they make sense, Colton said.

The smaller man held out a knife, the blade pointed at Colton’s chest. They were standing ten feet apart, but the sight still sent my heart racing.

Where’s the girl? the man asked.

I don’t have her, Colton said. I’ve told you.

The bigger man kicked over a chair next to him, and it flew into the glass-front dessert display case, sending shards of glass into all of the pies and cakes. We saw you with her. We know she’s here. The man spun in a circle and shouted with a hand held to his mouth. Hey, Jenna. Come out, come out, wherever you are.

It was strange to know he was talking to me, even though he wasn’t really talking to me. If Tony’s goons found me, they wouldn’t care about the name on my driver’s license or my debit card. They would only care about carrying out their orders.

The man turned back to Colton. If you don’t tell me where she is in ten seconds, I’ll kill you and find her myself.

The couple with the toddler were hiding behind the counter. The man had his arms wrapped around his wife and son, and for the first time all morning, the boy was being quiet.

You have the wrong girl, Colton repeated. Tony is lying to you about why he wants her.

He didn’t tell us why he wants her, the larger man said. He only told us he wants her.

Colton’s beautiful face wrinkled in confusion and disbelief. "And