But where do we go from here? I should have thought all this out more when Richard mentioned the kidnapping idea.
I pick up her book and earmark her spot. Putting the book under my arm, I pull her up towards me and, per our usual routine, we ascend the stairs with Marcus trailing behind. Once back into the apartment, I start to my room. Tommy is in the kitchen making himself a pot of coffee.
“You two ready for tonight?”
They both nod in unison, but nobody speaks. Tommy is not a morning person and Marcus, like myself, is ready for bed. “Let’s be ready to go at nightfall.”
“Sure, boss.” Tommy mumbles, and I know we will need our rest. We have a busy night ahead of us.
In less than twenty-four hours, I will know the location of my brothers.
WE ARE BACK in the Beamer. The tint of the windows is so dark that the setting sun does little to illuminate the car. Marcus has been busy watching the building since last weekend and has assured us it is empty on Saturday nights. Claire has told us where all the security cameras are located and where she thinks her laptop might be.
We arrive and park in the back, our lights off and the car hidden. We have backed into the spot for an easy escape, and we sit for almost thirty minutes, watching the sun set. The outside lights flicker on, signaling it’s almost time.
I’m nervous. It doesn’t help that Marcus is raking his cross pendant across its chain over and over again. A thick air has filled the car, and I’m not sure whether the vibe is coming from me or from Marcus. We’ve mastered the art of stealing vehicles, and we usually have no fear, but this is different. We’re breaking into a building, not a car.
“Ready, boys?” I ask, and the air grows heavier. I wonder if Tommy is feeling it.
“Yeah. Let’s do this,” Tommy says, grabbing his crowbar and book bag. They slowly make their way to the back door. Within seconds, Tommy and Marcus are inside the building.
Claire and I sit in the backseat. She’s fidgeting. I grab her hand and bring it to my lips. “Everything’s going to be fine,” I lie.
She gives me a weak smile. “I know. It’s just that being this close to my dad’s building makes me a little…nostalgic.”
Her statement floors me. I have to turn my eyes away. I knew she was missing her family, and this is confirmation. I won’t get to keep her much longer. But I can’t send her back, either.
The plan for Richard to make them disappear is null and void in my mind. There’s no way I could follow through with that, so I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. What do I do with Claire? I don’t have an answer, and I keep hoping one will mysteriously appear.
We watch the building as I continuously glance at my watch. Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes. “How hard is it to find your computer?” I mumble under my breath.
They’ve been in there much longer than anticipated, and I’m becoming worried. Claire doesn’t answer my question. She’s starting to shift in her seat. I loudly exhale and drag my hand over my face. When I reopen my eyes, I see the lights, flashing blue and red off the sides of the building.
“Shit! The cops are here!” My body automatically switches into survival mode. There’s no telling what will happen to me if I’m caught. I climb from the back seat to the front and turn on the ignition.
“Claire! Buckle your seat belt.” I’ve never spoken so firm and harsh, but I’m sure as hell not going to let anything happen to her. This could turn ugly and fast. I buckle my own seat belt and I have the car in drive.
“Where are they?” I ask under my breath. I haven’t turned on the lights, but I know we have seconds ticking before this entire plan blows up in our faces. I know I should just leave, but I can’t leave my men. I can’t leave Tommy and Marcus.
The cop walks slowly to the doorway. Evidently Tommy or Marcus has set off an alarm, and the cop is here to check out the building. He’s taking his time walking to the door. I cringe when I see him open it.
“Shit.” I drag my hand down my face and wait. About ten seconds later, Marcus and Tommy are out the back door and running for the car. Tommy sprints, but Marcus is much slower, his heavy size not designed for outrunning the police. As soon as Tommy reaches the car I turn on the lights and drive up to Marcus.
He barely has his door open when the cop opens up the back door and starts firing shots. Marcus clumsily falls into the car, and I take off. I hear myself screeching out of the parking lot and can’t even think straight until I’m heading towards the interstate.
I ease on to I-85 before I see the blue lights behind us. Nobody has spoken a word since they got in the car, and I watch as all three heads turn around.
“He’s following us.” I state the obvious as my brain thinks of all the different ways we can lose him. One thing I’ve learned from my years on the street: never, never think you can out drive a cop. I learned that from OJ Simpson. It never works.
I take the next exit when I see the lights gaining on us. “Start looking for alleyways,” I tell Tommy, who is in the passenger seat.
“He’s already called for backup. It won’t be long before there are several of them.” Tommy says, again stating the obvious as I make a sharp turn off the exit. As soon as I’m off, I am stopped by a red light. I bang my hand on the steering wheel and ease the car all the way to the right. I feel the beads of sweat forming on my forehead and realize my hands are sticking to the steering wheel. I take a right turn on red and keep driving. The cop is now on the exit ramp, and I’m not sure how much longer we have.
“There’s an alley,” Tommy points, and I take a quick turn as soon as we’re beside its darkness. I throw the car in neutral, turning off my lights, and coast in behind another car that’s parked. We slightly tap the car in front of us and wait in silence. I see the police car pass, its red and blue lights lighting up the alley for a second. Thirty seconds later, we see three more cop cars drive by, their lights flashing as well.
“Marcus, we need to switch cars. Help me jump this car off in front of us.” Marcus grunts and both of us climb out of the Beamer. I walk to this other car and realize it’s a piece of shit Honda Civic. I can’t believe we are going to leave our Beamer for this. Marcus opens the car. There’s no car alarm, which doesn’t surprise me. This car has to be from the early nineties.
Marcus has the car running in fifteen seconds flat, and we transfer everything over to the Honda. We lock the Beamer and Tommy says he will come back for it later. I sit in the back with Claire who is shaking. I pull her into my lap and wrap her in my arms. She buries her face into my neck. She smells like vanilla, and I have never before realized how much I love that smell.
We hear sirens in the distance as we ease out of the alley, heading in the opposite direction. Claire’s shaking has calmed as I rub her back and kiss the top of her head.
We don’t speak for a while as Claire starts to relax, and I’m finally beginning to believe we will all make it home in one piece. The POS Honda chugs along, and my only fear is that this car might give out on us before we reach the warehouse.
“What took you so long in there?” I ask, breaking the silence which has become uncomfortable. The guys up front are fidgeting. I wonder why.
“I’m pretty sure his building has a silent alarm,” Tommy says. I feel the unease increase again in the car, and I wonder about the cause. Maybe they’re upset with me for putting them through this. After all, we were almost caught. Maybe I’m becoming too careless with my men.
“Hey this thing wasn’t a total bust,” I start, trying to raise their spirits. “We got the computer, and no one was arrested. We did lose a Beamer, but Tommy can go tomorrow and get that back for us.”
The guys say nothing, and now I know they’re angry. I’m not used to this feeling. “Guys, sorry I put you through this, okay? It means a lot that you would do this for me. Thank you.” There, I said my thanks and that is all I’m doing. I might have softened up a little since I’ve met Claire, but not that much.
They guys exchange glances at each other. “What’s going on, guys?”
Claire looks up from my chest and looks at the guys, too.
“I’m sorry, boss, but this mission wasn’t a success.”
“What?” My body becomes harder and colder. I can feel the anger growing inside of me. “What do you mean it wasn’t successful?” Now I see the looks the guys are giving each other and realize it’s not anger but fear. I have been misinterpreting their silence this entire time. They are scared, and I want to know why.
Tommy looks guilty as he turns off on our exit. “I’m sorry, Brandon.” He uses my real name instead of “boss,” and I know this isn’t good.
“This mission wasn’t successful,” he says miserably. “We never found her computer.”
WE PULL INTO the warehouse, heat pounding in my ears. If I hadn’t been holding Claire when Tommy gave me the bad news, I would have broken the window. Holding her kept me calm, yet I felt her tense when my arms tightened around her body. I swallowed several times, trying to rein in my temper, and closed my eyes. I wouldn’t lose myself with her in my arms.
Now back in the warehouse, I pull myself from the car and storm straight to the sheet-rock wall. I slam my fist into the wall, screaming at the top of my lungs. My voice echoes through the silent warehouse, and I still haven’t released my anger.
I put my hands to my head and yell again at the top of my lungs, throwing whatever I find in my way. Once I have my shit somewhat back together and have thrown everything within my reach, I look back at Tommy, Marcus and Claire.
They are standing motionless by the car. Tommy and Marcus stand with their heads down. They look more disappointed than concerned or frightened. Claire, on the other hand, has terror sketched on her face. I instantly soften.
I walk over and stand right in front of her. She looks me straight in the eyes, and I look down at the ground. I stick my hands in my pockets and try to speak calmly. “I allowed myself to hope. That’s why I’m so angry.”
I want her to understand this isn’t her fault and that I would never blame her. I inhale and exhale a deep breath.
I feel her arms around me, embracing me. At first I don’t know how to respond, but as her body molds to mine, I wrap my arms around her, too. I smell her hair and realize that this is the closest I have allowed myself to be with her except for the mornings when I carry her to bed.
We stand in that moment as my body relaxes into hers. When she pulls away, I realize Marcus and Tommy have left us alone in the warehouse. “This isn’t your fault, and I don’t want you thinking that. I’m sorry for my temper. I just thought…” I can hardly finish the sentence as the pain hits my body. I really will never see my brothers.
That was my only shot. There’s no telling where her computer is now, and I can’t conduct a massive search around the world to locate it. I learned a long time ago never to hope, and I did the unthinkable. I allowed the feeling of hope to enter my system.
“Look at me,” she commands, and I look into her blue eyes. They remind me of the sky on a clear day. She takes her hand and cups my face as I lean into her soft fingers. I am sad and overcome with grief, but with her fingers touching my face, I temporarily forget the pain.
“We will find your brothers,” she whispers.
I shake my head no.
“I will have to wait and hope they come find me when they turn eighteen. Hopefully, I won’t be too much of a disappointment to them,” I add, and my voice breaks on the last word. Shit, I’m going to start crying right here in front of a woman. I am losing my pride and dignity one step at a time.
“My computer isn’t the only way to find them. Give me some time, and I will do what I can.” Her fingers are caressing my face. I barely keep myself from crying. Her soothing touch makes me forget all the bad and wrong in my life.
I grab her closer to me and kiss her on the forehead. I pull her into a deep embrace and feel her body touching mine. I long to kiss her on the lips, but I know I don’t deserve her. This will be as far as I go with Claire, but I’m okay with this knowledge. At least I was able to embrace her, smell her, and spend time with her. When this is all over, I can always say I finally met someone who changed my life for the better.
THE NEXT WEEK is a whirlwind as I attempt to push my brothers from my mind. I was so close to the information, only to have reality, once again, snatch my dreams away.
Claire, on the other hand, has made finding my brothers her fulltime job. It’s Friday evening and she sits on the couch, holding my laptop, hard at work. She hasn’t even looked up from the computer all night, the concentration evident on her face.
She’s been like this all week, and although I have no idea what she’s doing, I let her have access to whatever she wants. But I don’t allow hope to reenter my bloodstream. This time, I will be indifferent. I can’t figure out why Claire would even help someone like me. I kidnapped her! But she sits and continues to ponder into the computer like we’ve always been friends.
She’s fighting sleep, and holding back yawns, as we work into the early mornings. I call the other warehouse to check on Simon, and all seems well. When we are finally wrapping up for the night, I glance over at Claire. She has the laptop on the floor and she’s asleep on the couch. She looks like an angel sleeping there. If she does end up helping me find my brothers, I will be forever indebted to her.
IT’S SUNDAY MIDMORNING and I’m glad my weekend is over. We are taking two days off from the car ring, and as I wake up from the long night, I notice Claire is already awake. She’s back on the computer, with her back propped against the wall.
“Morning,” she tells me and smiles, although I can see circles under her eyes.
“Claire, baby, please get some rest,” I say as I wrap my arms around her and lay my head on her arm. Ever since our hug in the warehouse, I have allowed myself to become slightly more affectionate. I know this will only kill me when she has to leave, but at this point I don’t care. I need her touch. No, I crave her touch. “I know you’re only doing this because you feel guilty, but please put the computer down and rest.”
She looks at me with her big blue eyes, her blonde hair spilling down her shoulders, and I see the sincerity written across her face. Her cheek is almost completely healed and her face back to its original perfect state.
“I need to go to the law library on campus.” Her statement comes from left field and I lift my head.
“Why? You know how dangerous it is for us to be out in public.”
Also, what if she runs? What if she tries to take off? I’m suddenly very nervous about losing her.
“I know, but don’t you have some sort of disguise? I could wear a wig. All I know is that what I need is in the law library. If I can get there, I can find this information. I need access to microfilm.”
I stare into her eyes for a while, and I see the honesty. She’s always been honest with me.
Still, I have to ask. “What if you try to run?” My voice sounds desperate and there’s a plea attached to my tone. I should be embarrassed, but I’m not. This has shown me how I would feel if I lost her.
She sighs and looks away towards the window. She doesn’t speak for a while, making the atmosphere tense. “You have my word that I won’t try to run. At least not this time.” She stops and looks me straight in the eyes. “But I really want to go home, Brandon.” A tear runs down her cheek and I feel, once again, like shit. I’m such a selfish person.
“I said I would make all this up to you, didn’t I?” I remind her of my lame attempt for a promise and she nods her head yes. She wipes her eyes and looks back out the window. I’m such a coward because I really have no idea how I will make this up to her. I can’t return her to her family. I sit in bed, my back to her, and run my hand down my face. I’m not sure if I can let her go. I’m a selfish prick, and in that moment, I seriously hate myself. I should just do the right thing, return her and risk having my entire car theft system ratted out, but I’m too selfi
sh. I can’t let go of this. What would become of me?
“Okay, I’ll get you to the library today.” I speak to the wall. “I really appreciate you doing this,” I add, my voice softer. “If you can find them, you don’t know what that will mean to me.” I don’t even glance behind me as I get off the bed and head to the shower. I turn the water on the hottest setting and stand, letting it scorch my back. My face is pressed onto the wall and I feel the all too familiar feeling of self-hatred.
I’ve always despised my life, always wished for something better, but now I hate everything about me. I will end up hurting this innocent girl and that rips my heart in half.
I have to think of a plan to return her to her father without giving up my way of earning a living.
I don’t know how much more time I have. I feel the seconds with her are ticking away, and at any moment, she’s going to slip through my fingers.
WE HAVE CLAIRE in a brown wig and a baseball cap. She’s wearing some of my clothes, which hang off her like a bag. She’s completely unrecognizable. Sally did an excellent job with her disguise. We drive to the library in a car with the windows tinted so thick that the sun barely shines through. I take a deep breath and look around. Students walk freely around the library and our car. “I don’t know if I like this.”
“Why not?” Her voice is innocent. I know she won’t run, but deep down inside, I have a feeling she will. Why on earth would she return to this car? I have a crazy feeling that I’m going to lose her today, and I want to wrap her in my arms and beg her to never leave me. I have never begged any for anything before, but I seriously would beg Claire if that’s what it took.
“Just be careful, okay?” I look over at her and grab her hand. I bring the palm of her hand to my lips and kiss it. I exhale, knowing this might be the last time I see her. If she runs, I won’t chase her. I’ll let her go. She deserves that much.
The Thief Redeemer Page 11