He’d had businesswomen before – bored wives away on conferences looking for a little fun, or young ones on the prowl in bars after a hard day at the office. But they were different to Loretta. They really were able to keep their feelings out of it.
The road back into town was pretty clear, but the drive still felt like it took forever. She was a confident, competent driver. It was easy to imagine her behind the wheel of that classic car she owned. There was no doubt she’d get it back in mint condition. He didn’t know her very well, but he could tell she’d give him a run for his money when it came to being stubborn – a good quality to have if you’re doing up an old wreck.
She drove through the centre of town and he realised she must be leading him back to her house. He wasn’t sure what to make of that. It gave him hope that she trusted him, but she might have been taking him there because she didn’t want anyone to overhear what he had to say.
He was still cursing himself for second-guessing her when she turned onto a drive and he nearly drove straight past. There was enough room for him to pull in behind her.
“Nice place.” It was cute, with a pink flowering bush climbing around the door and a magnolia in the front garden.
“Thanks.”
Things between them had cooled to that awkward stage where they were both thinking about the hot sex but they couldn’t decide if it had been a good idea. He knew it had been an extremely bad idea. Things would have worked out a lot easier if she looked like most bank managers he’d met.
She opened the door and he followed her in. The interior fit her persona better than the garden – lots of white walls and plain, dark carpets.
They walked through to the back of the house. “Do you want a coffee?”
“Yes please. Milk, two sugars.”
She put on the kettle and got everything ready. He pulled out a chair and sat at the big dark wood table.
“What we did back there at the farm,” she said, her back to him as she made the drinks. “It doesn’t change anything. If I don’t like your story, I’m going to the police.”
He didn’t think she was bluffing. “Fair enough.”
She brought the mugs over and sat down opposite him. “So start at the beginning.”
He held the hot mug of coffee in both his hands. It was a pretty nice day, but his hands and feet were always cold – whatever the weather. “You probably won’t be surprised if I tell you I did some stupid things when I was a kid.”
She raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
“Well, I got in with some seriously nasty people and ended up on a job with some people who got caught.”
“A robbery?”
“Yeah. They didn’t rat me out, but that meant I owed them. Big time.”
“Go on.” She watched him closely, her drink forgotten.
“It was okay for a while. They looked after me. Better than my shitty parents. But once you’re in, you’re in and that’s it.”
“So you wanted to stop?”
He nodded. It had been fun to start off with – danger, women, more money than he knew what to do with, but then he began to imagine himself at fifty, sixty. The only people in the business who’d escaped a violent death or a lengthy stretch in prison and reached that sort of age were the very big fish. He was never going to be one of those guys. “I was lucky. The boss likes me.” He didn’t think it was a good idea to mention Gina was the boss’s daughter. “He said he’d let me buy my way out. If I paid him off, kept my mouth shut and stayed out of everybody’s way they’d let me live my life in peace.”
“How much?”
“Hmm?”
“How much did he want?”
“A shitload of money. It doesn’t matter how much. But my cut from the bank was the first instalment.”
He could see her mind working, calculating the probability that he was still trying to put one over on her.
“How many more robberies are you supposed to do?”
“That’s not important either—”
“You can’t say that.” She sighed and rested her head on her hand. “You’ve as good as told me that you’re planning another bank job. Probably more than one.”
“But you’re not involved—”
“Bullshit! The minute you kissed me in the back of the bank, you involved me in this.” She fought to take hold of herself, breathing deep and slow.
“I’m just telling you the truth.”
“But what am I supposed to do with it? If you get caught this could all blow up in my face.”
“I’d never—”
“Never what?” She stared him in the eye and everything he’d been about to say vanished from his mind. “Never get me arrested? Never put my career at risk?” But they knew he’d already done both of those things.
For the first time in a long time, real acid guilt curdled in his belly. “I still haven’t told you everything.” He looked down at the table, afraid that he wouldn’t be able to say the words if he was looking at her. “They want me to hit your bank again.”
“I knew it.” She pushed away from the table and got up to pace the floor.
“That wasn’t why I came after you. You’ve got to believe me.” He risked looking her way.
She shook her head. “I don’t know what to believe. You’re a professional thief. It doesn’t exactly give you credibility.” She stopped pacing and leaned on the edge of the sink, looking out over her garden.
How could he convince her? He had to tell her the whole truth. “Loretta, these people aren’t big on free will. They’ve told me to empty the safety deposit boxes and I don’t get to say no.”
“So what? I’m supposed to fall madly in love with you and let you in there because I don’t want them to hurt you? Forget it.”
“I’m not asking you to do anything. Except help me think my way through this. I’m trying not to fuck up your life any more than I have already.” If that was true, he wouldn’t have touched her, no matter how much he’d wanted to. He was selfish. She deserved better.
And he still hadn’t told her everything. “You know Gina?”
She gave a bitter laugh. “Yeah, I remember Gina. Don’t tell me – she’s your wife.”
“No. I was seeing her. It was never serious. She’s... She’s Gina Ursino.”
She stared at him, her eyes wide. “Of the Ursinos?”
He nodded.
She held herself very still, then turned to face him. “Even I know how psycho the Ursino family is.” Walking slowly, she made her way to the chair furthest away from his and sat down. “You’ve got a real death-wish, haven’t you? And I just threw myself smack in the middle of all this. How stupid can I get?” She blew out a breath and went back to looking out of the window. “I can’t let you rob the bank. Not again. I’ll go to the police—”
“You don’t need to do that—”
“Shut up, Jordan. I should have gone to them as soon as I worked it out.”
“So why didn’t you?” It was the only question that mattered. Something had stopped her. It was the last glimmer of hope he had left. If it came down to it, he’d rather get locked up or go on the run than cause any more trouble for her. But there had to be another way.
“Because I’m an idiot.” She faced him, tears brimming in her eyes. “Because I like you. I really wanted you to be on the level.”
And he’d just told her that he most definitely wasn’t. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah.” She looked away. “So am I.”
He put his full coffee mug down and got up from the table. She was still looking out of the window when he left.
***
Jordan was packing the last of his clothes when the doorbell rang. He considered his options, but in the end it came down to pretending he wasn’t there or opening the door. Stashing his bag in the back of the wardrobe, he went for the second one.
With his hand on the door handle, he took a deep breath. He was just having a quiet evening in. Nothing suspicious go
ing on at all.
He opened the door. It was Gina.
She pushed past him and walked to the middle of the sitting room. “You alone?”
“Come on in, why don’t you?”
She took a step towards the bedroom and for a moment he thought she was going to open the door and look for herself. “No bank manager?”
“No.”
“Good.” She launched herself at him and he stumbled backwards as he caught her.
With her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms around his neck, there wasn’t much he could do when she laid a sizzling kiss on his lips. Well, he would have considered it sizzling a couple of days before. Now it was nothing more than inconvenient.
He kissed her back, mindful of the damage a phone call to Daddy would do.
“You okay?” She climbed down off him. She didn’t look happy. There was only so much he could do about that.
“I don’t feel so good.” It was the truth. After he left Loretta’s place he’d felt like he was going to throw up. He’d spent hours trying to think up some ingenious plan to get him away from the Ursinos and safely back in Loretta’s arms. It couldn’t be done. He’d come at it from every angle and there just wasn’t a way. Which was why he’d been packing.
Gina put her hand to his forehead. “You don’t look good either.”
He put on his best sad, ill face. Better to have her thinking he was at death’s door than realise he was avoiding getting close to her.
“Want me to get you anything? Heat you some soup or something?”
Jordan tried to picture her playing nurse maid, sitting next to his bed feeding him soup. It made him smirk and he had to stop. “I’ll be fine. I’m going to have an early night.”
“I could join you.” That familiar gleam came into her eye.
Would it be so bad to give in and go back to her? She knew exactly who he was and she still wanted him. The plan for Loretta’s bank was shot to pieces, but Ursino wouldn’t want to kneecap his daughter’s boyfriend. There’d be other jobs.
It wasn’t as if Loretta had ever been a real option. Maybe he should just take what was on offer. He held Gina close, felt her curves mould to his body. She was sexy, beautiful, good in bed. He kissed her long and deep, breathing her in, stroking the curve of her ass.
The kiss came to its natural conclusion. He looked down at her full lips. She was flushed. Ready for the taking.
But there was something missing. Something that had gone all the way down to the soles of his feet when he’d kissed Loretta. “Sorry, Gina. I’m not up to it tonight.”
She stepped back, irritation and sympathy warring on her face. “You’re not contagious, are you?”
“I don’t know.”
“You should go to the doctors'. Haven’t you got another job this week?”
“I’ll be better by then.”
“I hope so.” She put her hand on his chest. It was only a small gesture, but the intimacy lodged another sliver of guilt inside him. He was going to end up with an ulcer.
She came closer and kissed him on the cheek. “Get yourself to bed. I’ll see you soon.”
As soon as she closed the door, the beginning of an idea came to him. It would only work if Loretta trusted him completely. He wasn’t positive he could pull that off, but he had to try.
He rushed out of the apartment. If he’d taken a moment to think about it, he’d have waited to make sure Gina wouldn’t catch him going out. But if he’d waited, he wouldn’t have seen her get into Bill’s car and give him the kind of welcome Jordan was usually on the receiving end of.
He stood on the doorstep, rooted to the spot in shock. And she’d made such a scene at the restaurant. How long had she been cheating? Before Loretta or after? The first rush of anger wore off and he was able to think clearly again. He slipped back inside before she noticed him.
It was hard to blame her for looking elsewhere – he hadn’t shown her much interest lately. If he didn’t lay it on too thick, he could even use the affair as a way to get rid of her.
But where would that leave him with Ursino?
His head buzzed with this new piece of information. He’d have to alter the plan, but then he hadn’t got it all figured out yet anyway. One thing hadn’t changed – he still needed to talk to Loretta.
After waiting a few more minutes, he stepped outside again. Danny’s Subaru was parked round the corner. He considered phoning first, but decided to drive straight over to Loretta’s.
“Mr Bernardino.”
Jordan knew that voice all too well. He turned around.
Vittorio Ursino was standing in the street, tapping the head of his cane against his open palm. “I think we need to have a talk.”
CHAPTER 12
Loretta couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so low. But she knew what to do about it. She went out to the garage and set to work tinkering with Edna. Keeping busy was the best way to handle things for the time being. She just wasn’t up to thinking about Jordan and the bank and men who wouldn’t take no for an answer.
She got the new fuel gauge out and wiped everything down ready to fix it in place. Then more thoughts of Jordan jumped into her head and she nearly dropped it. “Bloody idiot!” she shouted at herself. She put the gauge down before she did some real damage. It would take weeks to get hold of another one of those.
She was on edge again and she didn’t trust herself to do much more than tidy up and cover Edna over with the tarpaulin. Now what?
She wasn’t hungry, but she had to eat something. Shower first.
As she got undressed, she could smell Jordan on her skin. Memories of his body, his touch, his lips all came flooding back and kindled heat between her legs. In spite of everything, she still wanted him.
But that was her hormones talking. She had to stay in control and do what was right. Jordan was a criminal. He’d told her as much himself.
What chance had he stood though? Anybody could have ended up in that situation. Drawn into the wrong crowd and in too deep to walk away.
She just hoped that wasn’t what was happening to her now.
After her shower, she heated a bowl of soup in the microwave and sat at the kitchen table with it. But she kept thinking of Jordan sitting across from her and pouring his heart out. In the end, she had to go and sit in the living room.
She switched the television on, but she couldn’t concentrate on any of the programmes she turned to. Her mind kept wandering back to Gina. She was so different to her – it was bizarre to think Jordan could be interested in both of them.
Perhaps he wasn’t. Perhaps he was still lying through his teeth and he had no interest in her beyond her connections at the bank.
She remembered the way he’d kissed her. Even that first time in the safety deposit room had carried some meaning. It simply didn’t fit with a scenario where he was playing her.
Dating the boss’s daughter. That was never a good idea. But it didn’t sound like it had been Jordan’s brain doing the thinking. Her mind just wouldn’t leave Gina alone, no matter how much she tried not to think about her.
When she’d finished her soup, she stopped for a moment and followed the direction her brain wanted to go in. Couldn’t Gina talk to her father about the situation? No. She’d hardly want to plead Jordan’s case when he’d left her for another woman.
But if she really cared about him... Would she be happy to see him dead because he didn’t want her any more? It had to be worth talking to her at least.
She pictured the scene in her head. She went over it several different ways, but she couldn’t imagine an outcome that didn’t involve Gina kneeing him in the crotch. Everything she’d read about the woman online after Jordan left confirmed her first impression – volatile, crazy bitch. Not surprising coming from that family.
But she didn’t know Gina. Maybe she was projecting her own feelings onto her. There was no way to guess what she’d do without actually talking to her.
She pulle
d out her phone, glad she’d made Jordan give her his number. He answered on the third ring.
“Loretta, I’m on my way over.” He slowed down and checked the road for cops. It would be just his luck to get pulled over for using his phone while he was driving.
“I’ve had an idea.”
“Me too. We’ll talk when I get there.”
It only took another ten minutes to get to her door. He pulled onto her drive and strode up to the front door. She must have heard him arrive because she opened the door almost instantly.
“You need to talk to Gina. She might get her Dad to back off.”
“That’s not going to happen.” He followed her through to the sitting room and flopped down on the sofa. “She’s sleeping with one of the other guys in the crew.”
“Oh.” She took a seat in an armchair.
“But I’ve already spoken to Ursino.”
She worried at her bottom lip with her teeth, looking at him with wide eyes. “What did he say?”
“That he wants his money. How I get it doesn’t particularly bother him.”
“So it doesn’t have to be the bank?”
He sat forward, feeling like shit. “I don’t have another way to get hold of that sort of cash. If you don’t help me, I’ll have to try it without you.” With all the surprises she kept throwing his way, he didn’t know how to play her any more. But he had to get Ursino his money.
“Then rob another bank. It doesn’t have to be mine.”
If only it were that simple. “Bill’s in charge of this one. He’s not going to agree to another target.” If he as much as hinted that he wanted to change things, Bill would just dig his heels in. “I’m so sorry about all of this, Loretta. It’s going to happen. Be glad everything’s insured.” But he knew that wouldn’t give her any comfort. She’d already explained how she felt.
“You could run.” She looked him in the eye, her expression serious.
He shook his head. “He’d find me. And then it would be ten times worse.” Ursino had been known to get his hands dirty when it came to traitors. The last guy he’d gone after personally had been found diced up small enough to go into a cooking pot. Rumour had it that he’d still been alive when Ursino had started chopping. As deterrents went, it would be hard to come up with a more effective one.
Black Girls and Bad Boys: Stealing Loretta Page 8