by A. L Long
Focusing his attention on me, he placed the glass he was cleaning with the others and replied, “Yeah. You just missed him. He and another guy left about ten minutes ago.”
Thumping my fingers against the bar, I urged, “What did he look like?”
“He was kind of scrawny looking. He also looked like he might have been coming down from something. Seemed to be really nervous. I did overhear them saying something about paintings and protection. I think Ryan might have been headed to the security company that he works for, but that is only a guess,” the bartender informed me.
After thanking him for the information, I headed back to the car where Nick was waiting for me. As I got in, he looked at me and said, “Well?”
“He thinks Ryan went to the shop. He left with some guy,” I replied.
Pulling an illegal U-turn, I headed in the opposite direction towards the Jagged Edge shop. Even though I wasn’t able to reach Ryan on his cell, at least I had a pretty good idea where he went. I just didn’t know about this guy and what Ryan was doing with him. Accelerating my speed, I saw Nick out of the corner of my eye, debating on whether or not he should comment on my driving. If he hadn’t known that I was in a hurry, he probably would have. I was driving like a madwoman instead of a woman on a mission.
Pulling up to the shop, I took in a sigh of relief when I saw Ryan’s Charger parked next to Peter’s Camaro. Rushing through the door, I headed to Peter’s office only to be stopped by Ash’s voice. “They’re in the back room with Chavez.”
Nodding my head in appreciation, I knew Ash knew why I was there. Maybe now I could finally get the answers as to what was truly going on. With Nick on my heels, we proceeded down the hallway to the back room. When we got to the door, I wasn’t sure if I should knock or just go in. Technically, it was only a storage area, even though Mike Chavez made it into his own little office. Hesitating for just a moment, I turned the knob and pushed the door open. Ryan, Mike, Cop, and Peter were gathered around the computer along with a pencil-thin man who look as though he hadn’t eaten for a while. The guys were so deeply engaged in what they were doing that they didn’t notice that we had entered the room.
Nick and I began walking towards them when Peter finally looked over to us. When he tapped Ryan on the shoulder to get his attention, Ryan smiled at me, which was totally unexpected. I thought for sure that he would be angry with me for showing up, but instead he just kissed me on the forehead and brought my body close to his.
“Nick,” he said as if to greet him.
“Ryan,” Nick responded in a deep voice to show his masculinity.
I don’t know what was worse, the way they greeted each other or the fact that they were trying to show each other who was the alpha. Breaking the hard stare they had on each other, I cleared my throat and asked, “Why did you leave like that? I was worried.”
“I know, I shouldn’t have left like that. I should have called you back to let you know I was okay, but after I left I got a call from Aaron, and I wasn’t sure what I would be facing,” Ryan confessed.
“You should have told me where you were going then,” I replied.
“You would have come with me, and I couldn’t risk you getting hurt.” Ryan’s eyes said it all as he held me close
After we finished our little disagreement, I followed Ryan to where the other guys were standing. I knew everyone except the lanky-looking guy standing next to Cop, who I assumed was the Aaron guy he was referring to. Making the effort, Ryan introduced us. “Charlie, this is Aaron Brooks. Aaron, this is my girlfriend Charlie Winters and her brother Nick.”
“Wait a minute, I know you,” the skinny guy known as Aaron observed as his beady little eyes focused on Nick.
It wasn’t the fact that Aaron knew Nick, but that Ryan had called me his girlfriend that had me speechless. Just the thought of him saying “my girlfriend” made my heart jump for joy. When I finally came down from my high, it hit me that this guy knew Nick. Looking over to Aaron, I blurted, “From where?”
“From the alley. You were the one who saw my brother slit Jason’s throat. Now he’s dead, just like Jason.”
The more I listened to them, the more I realized that this Morris Gallo was a ruthless killer and he was creating a bloodbath with the men by whom he felt threatened. It turned out that Aaron was also on the run from him. Not because he double-crossed him, but because he was a loose end, and based on what he said about Gallo, Gallo had every reason to be threatened. From the way it sounded, Gallo’s operation had taken over a decade to create. He would enlist men who were at their lowest to come work for him and then make them feel special, worth something. Each of them would go through intensive training on how to negotiate with potential buyers. They were even required to see how the other half of his operation worked, by watching his hired artists go to work on creating flawless paintings that to the human eye looked authentic.
According to Aaron, what happened to Josh during his exchange was a misfortune. The art buyer knew the minute Josh walked away with his $250,000.00, he was sold a fake. Josh should have never taken off the way he did. He should have lied, like they were told to do, and pretend he didn’t know. When Josh contacted Aaron for advice, he should have taken it, and given the money to Gallo. Those men would have never chased him and Gallo would have dealt with the buyer. Now, because of this one mistake, it would be only a matter of time before Nick or even Aaron were next. One thing we knew for sure, Gallo needed to be stopped.
~****~
I knew that it was going to be a long night as the guys tried to devise a plan to get Gallo once and for all. While they were putting their ideas together to come up with the best plan, I decided to go to the kitchen and make some coffee and let them hash it out. As I headed to the kitchen, I began to think about the Jagged Edge team and the close connection they had to one another. Even though Nick and I were close, there was something extra special about the men of Jagged Edge. It was like they got each other. They knew exactly what each other was thinking. Maybe that was why they were considered the best and hired for every dangerous job. And maybe it didn’t have so much to do with security, but their experience while serving. Just this thought made me wonder if the security company was just a front for what they really did. Some of the things that Ryan had shared with me about the missions he went on seemed very dangerous. Somehow, though, they managed to always come out on top, earning the reputation they had now. So, losing Josh wasn’t just hard on Ryan, but just as hard on the rest of the guys as well. They were all brothers, not by blood, but by trust.
Leaning against the counter watching the brewed coffee fill the pot, I must have been focused on the flow of coffee rather than hearing Ryan enter. The minute his arms wrapped around mine, my focus shifted to the closeness and comfort of his body pressed to mine. Turning to face him, I pushed up on my toes and pressed my lips to his. His tongue traced the fullness of my lips before it gently dipped inside. The touch of his mouth on mine made my nerves sing with joy. All I wanted was for him to take me, release all the stress that we both built up over the past weeks.
Thinking that we were alone, I heard the clearing of a deep voice, which broke our display of affection for one another. Still on my toes, I looked over Ryan’s shoulders to find Ash standing in the doorway. He had a smile from ear to ear, which told me that he had caught us red-handed. Focusing my thoughts back on the coffee pot, I grabbed a stack of Styrofoam cups, cream and sugar, and placed them on a serving tray along with the pot of coffee. Making my exit, I left Ash and Ryan alone in the kitchen. It seemed to me they had a lot to talk about and it was better if I wasn’t there.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Ryan
I would have much rather continued pressing my lips to Charlie’s soft lips than hear what Ash had to say. It didn’t surprise me that Aaron didn’t want to be involved in the plan, fearing that he would end up a dead man just like his brother and mine. I think this was my cue to try and talk him into changing his min
d. Catching up with Charlie, I took the tray as the three of us headed back to the back room with Charlie leading the way. As we walked to the back, I had no idea what I was going to say to convince Aaron to help us out. He really didn’t need to do much except tell Gallo that he had a friend that was interested in making some money, namely me. Gallo had no idea who I was, so it wouldn’t be a problem of being recognized.
We were all beginning to get on each others nerves and it was evident. We were unable to come to any type of agreement on how we were going to make Gallo believe that I was more than capable of working for him. It wasn’t going anywhere until Nick suggested that I prove to Gallo just how qualified I was by stealing a priceless painting. He had this crazy idea that we break into one of the ritzy homes that commissioned his landscaping services. There was one house in particular that he suggested where he knew there was artwork, and it was original. He knew of it only because the wife of one of his clients had taken a liking to him and invited him in for tea, only she wanted to give him more than tea. When she mentioned that not even the millions her husband spent on a Warhol could give her want she wanted, Nick was pretty certain she wanted him to fill that void.
It actually wasn’t a bad idea. The plan was for me to pose as an employee and lift the painting while Nick kept her occupied. With her husband out of the country for six months on some big construction project for a shopping center, it would be days before she realized the painting was taken, especially since it was kept in a room that she hardly went into.
The first thing we needed to do was to set up a meeting with Gallo and hope that he agreed to hire me. All I had to do was convince him he needed me, and the best way to do that was to come off as an expert as well as a cocky bastard.
~****~
I never thought that I would be spending my days working with Nick on landscaping shit and spending my nights learning about art. The only thing that made it tolerable was the fact that Charlie was with me every step of the way. I would never be able to get enough of her. As distracting as she was, it was well worth it to see her gorgeous body. Watching her dig into the dirt was the sexiest thing I had ever seen, and knowing that we would be taking a shower together later made my dick stand at attention. One thing I had to give Nick credit for, he really knew his job well and also seemed to enjoy what he was doing.
Finishing the final touches on the rock garden that the owner requested be changed because there were too many shrubs vs. flowers, we headed up the street to the house that held all the answers. Today Evelyn Becker would be gone for her weekly spa treatment, which would give me the chance to scope out the grounds and get familiar with the interior. She trusted Nick enough to let him know where the spare key to the back door was hidden. Even though I only had a couple of hours inside the house, it still gave me plenty of time to find out where the painting was so I could get a good picture of it to show to Gallo. If he knew that it would soon be his in exchange for my loyalty to the job, I was certain he wouldn’t refuse to hire me.
As I entered the house, I put on a pair of work gloves just in case I accidentally touched something. The last thing I needed was to have my fingerprints in the house. Taking in my surroundings, I turned to the doorway on my left, just as Nick instructed, and walked over to it. Turning the handle, I pushed the door open to see that it was a library. I wanted to get what I needed and get out of the house as quick as possible. As I looked around, the only thing I could see were bookshelves stacked to the ceiling with books. There was another door on the other side of the room, which Nick indicated would lead to the art room where the painting would be.
Wandering in that direction, I stopped my movement because something caught my eye that was sitting on the antique desk. On the edge of the desk was a picture of an attractive woman and a man with salt and pepper hair holding up a glass of wine in front of a sign that said Gallo Winery. This had to be a coincidence. Could the man in the picture be Morris Gallo? It would make sense that he would be using a winery for the front to his criminal activities. About the time I was going to take a picture of the happy couple, Nick entered the room.
“Ryan, what the fuck? Evelyn is going to be home any minute,” he cursed.
Holding the picture up, I asked, “Do you know who this couple is?”
Waiting until he came my way, I held the picture up so he could inspect it. Taking it from my hand, he looked at the picture and said, “Well, that is Evelyn and I assume that the guy next to her is her husband,” Nick surmised.
“Doesn’t it seem odd that they would be standing in front of a sign that says ‘Gallo Winery?’” I questioned.
Scratching his head, he focused on the picture. It was then that he removed the backing and said, “If they are like every other person I know, I bet there’s a description of who is in the picture on the back.” As he flipped the picture over, his facial expression changed, indicating that there was in fact something written on the back of the picture. “Marty and Evelyn Becker, 2015, 10th Wedding Anniversary, Gallo Winery,” he read. “It could be just a coincidence, Hyatt. It may not even be the same Gallo.”
“Maybe so, but I think it is worth looking into,” I responded.
Placing the picture back on the desk, I walked over to the other door and pushed it open. I had never seen so many pieces of art in my life. It looked more like a museum than an art room. There were paintings on every wall with recessed lighting above each one. In the middle of the room there were glass cases placed on tall pedestals that were protecting either vases or sculptured statues. As I looked around, something about this room just didn’t sit right with me. Thinking to myself, I questioned. “If a person has this much priceless art, why wouldn’t it be kept in a more secure area?” As easy as it was for Nick and I to enter the room, someone else could do the same thing. There had to be some sort of surveillance in this room.
Scanning the room, I happened to notice the small bubble-like fixtures disguised as hanging hooks above each painting. If a person who had no knowledge of surveillance came in the room, they would never have suspected that these were cameras. Pointing them out to Nick, I swiped the screen on my phone and contacted Peter to let him know we had a problem. Since we were standing just inside the doorway, I was pretty sure our mugs weren’t captured on the cameras, which was good for us. The best thing for us was to get the hell out of this room and back outside. After taking a few pictures of the room, we were outside pretending to have been working the entire time.
~****~
The end of the day couldn’t have come any sooner. After talking to Pete about what I had found, he agreed that it was too much of a coincidence that the Becker’s would be at Gallo Winery. Chavez was able to get the information we needed about the connection the Beckers had to the winery. At first it was thought that they just happened to be spending their anniversary there, but then it came out that Evelyn Becker, aka Evelyn Gallo, was actually the sister of Morris Gallo. This information was going to put a dent in our plan to steal the Warhol painting. Even though they were related, it could prove to be an advantage for us. We just needed to put a back-up plan in place in case something went wrong, but it would have to wait. I was too exhausted to think of an alternate plan.
On the drive home, all I could think about was holding the woman who was sitting beside me in my arms and never letting go. The day must have been hard on Charlie as well, because as I looked over to her, she was relaxing back in the seat with her eyes closed. It was just past one o’clock in the morning, and a lot later than I had planned to leave the shop. The flip side of the whole evening was that we finally came up with a plan to beat Gallo at his own game and how it would go down. After Aaron made the call, I would be meeting Gallo at a place of his choosing. Peter thought this would be the best way to gain his trust. If he was in control of the meeting place, it would only prove that I trusted him. Once we were face to face, I would set the scene by offering him a proposition he wouldn’t be able to refuse. I would offer up my lo
yalty to him by suggesting I steal the priceless Warhol painting hanging in the Becker home. If Gallo agreed to the proposal, which we were pretty confident he would since he was a greedy bastard, then all I had to do was get the painting and deliver it to him. Chavez had already hacked the system, and was able to get control of the cameras in the house. I would have two minutes to get inside the house, steal the painting, and get out before he would have to turn the cameras back on. The last thing he wanted was to arouse suspicion at the security company that monitored the activity of the cameras.
Everything would go down in two days. Mr. Becker would still be out of town and Nick would be free to give Evelyn Becker the attention that she craved. She really wasn’t bad looking for an older woman. If anything, Nick should be glad that this woman, older or otherwise, showed that much interest in him. He was a kind of a dickhead and probably scared women off with his ‘fuck you’ attitude.
Putting the car in park, we finally reached my apartment garage. Rounding the back of the car, I opened Charlie’s door and placed my arms underneath her body in order to carry her out of the car and up to the apartment. She felt so warm in my arms as her head made its place between the crook of my neck and my shoulder. Just like a small child, her little whimpers sounded, and I could feel the vibration of her breath against my skin. Adjusting her slightly in my arms, I managed to push the up button to the elevator.