Risking It All

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Risking It All Page 26

by Stephanie Harte


  ‘Nathan offered himself to the firm on a plate. We couldn’t say no, could we?’ Alfie ran his fingers through his blond hair while giving me a smug grin.

  I let out a slow breath and willed myself to sound steady. ‘I think Jethro will be very proud of you, taking one for the team is a noble act,’ I said through gritted teeth.

  Alfie looked at me as if he had no idea what I was talking about.

  The pulse was pounding in my temple. ‘You used me to get revenge on Nathan’s family.’ I should have realised that was why he was so desperate to sleep with me. I couldn’t believe I’d fallen for it. I turned my face away. I was so angry with myself; I was about to explode with rage.

  ‘You’ve got it all wrong, Gemma; I didn’t sleep with you to get back at Nathan or his family.’ Reaching towards me, Alfie turned me to face him. He stared at me while he ran his tobacco-scented finger across my lips. I could feel his breath on my skin, but I couldn’t bring myself to meet his searching blue eyes. ‘From the moment I saw you, I knew I had to be with you.’

  I didn’t want to hear another word.

  Alfie placed two fingers under my chin and tilted my face towards his, before he swept my long brown hair over my shoulder and planted a kiss on my cheek. I wiped it away with the back of my hand. Then he put his hand behind my neck, pulled my face towards his, and tried to kiss me. I put my hands on his chest to make some distance between us. I didn’t want him to touch me. He made me feel dirty.

  Clearing my throat, I composed myself and prepared to give him a dose of the truth. ‘Find yourself a new plaything. I’ve resigned from the position.’

  Alfie threw back his head and roared with laughter. But when I continued to tear a strip off him, it wiped the smile off his face.

  ‘You’re pathetic, Alfie. Being hit on by you has become an unfortunate part of the daily grind. But I’ve had enough of it, so I’m going to spell this out for you. Stop pestering me for sex. The thought of sleeping with you makes bile rise in my stomach.’

  Alfie stared at me. ‘Have you finished giving me a bollocking now?’

  ‘No, I haven’t. Just because you spend your life intimidating other people, it doesn’t make you a tough guy. I’m not scared of you.’

  I wanted to rip his head off, but it would have been impossible in the confined space I was in, so I’d had to settle for giving him a tongue lashing instead. A vein in Alfie’s neck began pulsating. I probably shouldn’t have said what I did, but at this stage, I didn’t care what happened to me. He was getting pleasure out of making me feel uncomfortable, toying with me like a cat does with a terrified mouse.

  Alfie unbuttoned his suit jacket and settled back in the leather seat. When he lifted his arm to smooth back his blond hair, I got a glimpse of his holster. It reminded me that he had ways of silencing people. Riling him up was a stupid thing to do. I should take a step back and be on my best behaviour.

  80

  Gemma

  Dressed in their uniforms, Nathan, Johno and Tommy left the hotel one by one to avoid raising suspicion. My heart began pounding in my chest as we watched them walk the short distance to the fourteen-storey building and disappear inside. At least their appearance had given Alfie and me something else to focus on after our argument.

  ‘It’s ten past nine,’ Alfie said, checking his limited edition matt black Rolex watch.

  Nathan, Tommy and Johno walked through the metal turnstiles, flashed their police ID at the guards, and breezed through the lobby.

  Following Alfie’s instructions, Nathan insisted that all the guards on duty accompanied them to the basement so that nobody would be patrolling the interior. While Nathan pointed a gun at the four men, Tommy and Johno wrapped duct tape around their hands and legs and placed it across their mouths. Then they cuffed their wrists and ankles to metal structures within the basement. Before blindfolding the men, Johno took their wallets from their pockets and handed them to Nathan.

  ‘We know who you are and we’ll find out where you live if you start blabbing to the cops. If you want to stay safe, keep your mouths shut,’ Nathan said, giving them a warning.

  Immobilising the detectors as they went, Terry led the way to the underground safe, hidden deep within the fabric of the building. The door in front of the vault was left open during business hours, so they wouldn’t need to disable the pair of plates that formed a magnetic field around it. Now just a reinforced steel grate stood between them and the contents.

  As it was a Saturday, all the cameras housed within the fourteen-floor building were monitored by just one man. Terry pressed the nearby buzzer and stared at the screen. The guard in the control room recognised him, and remotely unlocked the vault. Terry, Nathan, Johno and Tommy stepped inside.

  The vault was fitted with cameras, motion, heat, and light sensors and surrounded by thick concrete walls. Tommy pushed back a panel in the ceiling and located the wires for the detectors. He installed a sensor bypass so they could move around without triggering the alarms and covered the cameras with black plastic bags.

  ‘We’ll have to move quickly before the guard realises there’s a problem with the security cameras. But be careful, if we set off one of the alarms, steel shutters will drop down to protect the entrance to the vault, and we’ll be trapped inside,’ Tommy said.

  ‘Grab as much as you can,’ Johno said, popping the lock on a safety deposit box.

  ‘Don’t forget the paperwork. You’ll need it if you want to be able to sell the diamonds legitimately.’ Terry grinned.

  Fifteen minutes had passed since they entered the safe and they’d already managed to fill their rucksacks with cash, gold bars, loose diamonds, jewellery and other valuables. They’d need to spend hours in the vault to be able to empty all the boxes stored within it, and time was something they didn’t have.

  ‘Let’s get out of here,’ Tommy said, having checked the time on his watch.

  Once outside the vault, Terry paced ahead, dialling Alfie’s mobile as he went. ‘Start the car,’ was all he said before hanging up.

  When Terry stepped into the foyer, he immediately noticed two police officers coming through the turnstile. Looking over his shoulder at the others, he put out his hand, gesturing for them to stop. ‘Drop the bags and stay here. Make sure you’re out of sight. I’ll see what’s going on.’

  Terry walked towards the officers. ‘Good morning, gentlemen, can I assist you with something?’

  ‘We’re responding to a call from the surveillance room,’ one of the officers replied. ‘We need to check the intruder alarm in the vault. It appears to have been triggered.’

  ‘Don’t worry I’ll get the in-house security team to deal with that,’ Terry said, thinking on his feet.

  ‘The operator has already tried to contact them. When he got no response, it made him suspicious. That’s why he called us.’

  ‘It does seem a bit strange that nobody replied, but there aren’t many guards on duty on a Saturday. I’m sure everything is fine, they’re probably just having a break.’ Terry smiled.

  ‘Can you show us where the vault is located?’

  ‘Certainly.’

  Terry turned around and led the officers across the foyer. When Nathan, Johno and Tommy saw them coming towards where they were hiding, the tension in the stairwell became palpable. Terry stopped next to the half-glass door and called the lift. As soon as they stepped inside, the three men picked up their rucksacks and calmly exited through the main entrance, walking across to where the Audi was parked.

  ‘What was all that about?’ Alfie asked.

  ‘The surveillance operator thought there might be an intruder. He wants the police to check the vault,’ Nathan said.

  *

  ‘It must have been another false alarm. This happens all the time.’ Terry’s face broke into its untrustworthy smile as he ran his hand over the closed door of the vault. ‘The detectors are so sensitive to movement. Last time they were triggered an insect was responsible.’
/>   *

  Alfie sat behind the wheel smirking before he pulled the car out into the traffic. ‘Security’s so tight around the Diamond District anyone would think they’re scared of being robbed.’ Alfie started laughing as we drove past the guards patrolling the narrow streets surrounding the centre.

  As usual, we were reacting completely differently to the same situation. He was grinning like the cat that got the cream, whereas I sat next to him in the front seat, gripping the sides of the leather chair so tightly my knuckles had turned white. I held my breath and stared straight ahead until we were well away from the area.

  ‘So how did it go?’ Alfie asked, looking at Tommy in the rear-view mirror.

  ‘Really well, no hitches at all, but I can’t wait to get this lot off,’ Tommy replied, making exaggerated movements with the lower half of his face.

  How could Tommy say the job had no hitches? They’d almost been caught red-handed. But the bigger the risk, the bigger the thrill they seemed to get from it.

  Alfie’s mobile rang. ‘Hello,’ he said, steering the car with one hand. ‘That’s great news, Terry. We’ll see you in a couple of days.’ Alfie put the phone down. ‘Those dopey bastards examined the area around the vault and decided that it was secure. Terry said he was shitting himself, but he didn’t need to worry. They left without going inside.’

  *

  Alfie joined the dual carriageway and headed out of Antwerp. We were going back to Boulogne where Knuckles and Frankie were waiting for us on the yacht. Alfie had only been driving for a couple of miles when he pulled off the road and turned onto a dirt track that led into a wooded area.

  ‘Why are we stopping?’ I asked when he slowed the car down, wondering if Nathan and I were about to become victims of a gangland execution.

  ‘They need to get changed, and this place isn’t visible from the road. I left some bin liners on the parcel shelf, put the prosthetics, wigs and uniforms in one, and we’ll burn it. We can’t afford to leave any evidence behind,’ Alfie said.

  A thought flashed through my head as I watched them removing the elaborate disguises. ‘Wouldn’t it have been easier to break in at night?’

  ‘The guys would never have been able to get in. The building’s too secure after dark. It was easier just to walk straight through the front door!’ Alfie smiled.

  ‘All the props are in here,’ Tommy said, holding up the bin liner.

  ‘Get rid of it,’ Alfie replied, slipping his hands into the pockets of his suit trousers.

  Tommy lit a match and threw it onto the bag. We stood in silence, watching the acrid smoke and flames rise until there was no trace of the bin liner’s contents. Only ash and scorched undergrowth were left behind.

  *

  ‘Gemma, see if you can tune the radio into an English-speaking station,’ Alfie said, keeping his eyes on the road.

  I leant forward and started scanning through the channels, stopping when I got to Radio X.

  ‘The specialist police force, the Diamond Squad, has called for a nationwide alert following the heist at the Antwerp Diamond Centre earlier today,’ the presenter announced.

  ‘Turn the volume up,’ Alfie said, looking over at me.

  ‘The commissioner in charge of investigating the case said a team of three had executed the robbery. A man and two women, dressed in police uniforms, brazenly entered the building in broad daylight. They emptied the contents of a large number of safety deposit boxes and calmly left the building one hundred million dollars richer,’ the presenter continued.

  ‘Did you hear that? You guys got away with one hundred million dollars. What a result,’ Alfie said before leaning forward and turning the volume up some more.

  ‘The investigating team have been left with more than a lingering suspicion that this was an inside job, given that the robbers got past the radar of twenty-four-hour surveillance, and sixty video cameras that constantly monitor Antwerp’s Diamond District,’ the presenter said.

  ‘Terry’s covered his tracks well if all they have is a lingering suspicion that it was an inside job.’ Alfie smiled with pride like he was a father watching his son score the winning goal at a football match. ‘Notice how they haven’t mentioned that two of their officers were called to check the vault for intruders. If they hadn’t sent Inspector Clouseau and his equally incompetent buddy along they might have caught the people responsible.’ Alfie laughed.

  ‘The commissioner said the elite force would do everything possible to recover the stolen items, but when thieves do a job of this nature, everything is meticulously planned to leave no clues behind. This was not the work of amateurs. The people we are looking for are armed and dangerous career criminals. Interpol have been alerted, as the hunt for the suspects continues.’

  ‘Armed and dangerous career criminals,’ Alfie said, and a huge grin spread across his face. ‘I like that. I might have it printed on some business cards.’

  Tommy leant forward in his seat. ‘Do you want me to give Knuckles an update?’

  ‘Yes, tell him to get some champagne on ice, we should be in Boulogne around two o’clock.’

  *

  Knuckles and Frankie were waiting on the deck of the Lady Nora when we approached from the harbour car park.

  ‘It’s good to see you,’ Knuckles said. Grabbing Alfie’s hand, he leant towards him, and they exchanged a shoulder-bump greeting.

  ‘It’s good to see you too, mate,’ Alfie said, slapping him firmly on his broad back.

  ‘Welcome back.’ Frankie shook Alfie by the hand. ‘Do you want me to phone La Plage and ask them to reserve a table for you?’

  ‘No, we’ll eat on board tonight. We need to keep a low profile while the cops are sniffing around.’

  ‘How did it go?’ Knuckles asked.

  Alfie gestured towards the stairwell. He was reluctant to go into details while they were on deck.

  ‘The champagne is on ice as requested. Do you want me to pour it?’ Knuckles asked.

  ‘What do you think?’ Alfie replied, arching his eyebrows as he made his way below deck.

  ‘Did everything go smoothly?’ Knuckles handed Alfie a glass.

  ‘Yeah, it was one of those dream jobs, payback for the months we’d spent planning it.’ Alfie held his champagne flute in the air. ‘You guys should be proud of yourselves. Cheers,’ he continued, clinking glasses with each of us in turn.

  81

  Gemma

  The argument I’d had earlier with Alfie was playing on my mind. Up until now, I’d thought Nathan had just been unlucky when he’d got involved with a gangster. Admittedly, borrowing money from Alfie was a stupid thing to do. But Nathan couldn’t have foreseen the spiralling debt that would follow and the stress it would cause. That was part of the plan. Alfie wanted revenge, so he was never going to allow us to clear the debt.

  The Watsons had been biding their time until the opportunity to retaliate presented itself. Jethro and Alfie were both gunning for Rosa, but they had different reasons for wanting to get even with her. Exploiting her son and daughter-in-law was the perfect way to pay her back. She was powerless to stop them.

  Although Alfie had denied it, I was more certain than ever that he’d used me as a form of twisted revenge. Alfie still felt incredibly bitter about the fact that Jethro was in love with Rosa. He adored his mum and hated the way she’d been treated. It made perfect sense that the long-held grudge he had with Nathan’s family drove him to sleep with me.

  I’d been a complete idiot, and now Alfie was having the last laugh. I’d allowed him to manipulate me into doing something that had jeopardised my marriage. I had broken Nathan’s trust after I’d spent so long building it up. It would take time to repair the damage I’d caused, and there was no guarantee we’d be able to get through this. Only time would tell if we were strong enough to make it.

  When I met Nathan, we couldn’t keep our hands off each other. The first throes of passion lasted a long time. I never thought the honeymoon period woul
d come to an end, but over time, our desire gradually cooled as we fell into the rut of day-to-day living. I wasn’t concerned about it though. That happened when couples had been together for a long time. Instead, we became so finely tuned that we could predict each other’s actions and words. That made me feel safe and secure and reassured me that we were extremely compatible.

  Right at the beginning of our relationship, I felt Nathan and I were destined to be together. Why had I risked throwing my marriage away? I couldn’t answer that. I wasn’t sure I’d ever fully understand the reasons I’d allowed my head to be turned. I wasn’t usually gullible enough to fall for a smooth talker like Alfie. I used to be able to spot a man like him a mile off and give them a wide berth. I had an extremely low tolerance for a man spouting bullshit. I must have been losing my touch at detecting a silver tongue to have fallen prey so easily. I’d embarrassed myself. I wasn’t a seventeen-year-old girl, I was a thirty-year-old woman. Why had I been so blinkered? What the hell was the matter with me?

  If Nathan and I were going to save our marriage, we needed to get as far away from Alfie as possible. He was toxic. Tempting as it was to try and get even with him, nothing good would come of it. But I also wasn’t going to stand by and let him come between us. If I did that, he’d have won, and Alfie didn’t like to lose.

  82

  Gemma

  Under cover of darkness, Knuckles and Frankie went to unload the boot of the Audi. They brought the bags on board the yacht, and with a glass of Jack Daniel’s in his hand, Alfie took a seat at the head of the table and began examining the contents. He lifted a gold bar out of the rucksack and kissed it. Then he scattered the rest of the items across the shiny surface. Rough and polished diamonds, precious stones, watches, necklaces and other jewellery were strewn everywhere. His smile grew wide at the sight of it all.

 

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