by Amelia Shea
He regrouped and entered in her father’s name. The basic information came up, but when he filtered through, the name Anne Sutton popped up. Deceased. There was minimal data, no source of her death, only a date. He did the math in his head. She was only twelve when she lost her mom. He leaned forward on his elbows. He didn’t know this girl, not really but his chest ached slightly. Too young to lose her mom. A girl that age needed a mom more than ever and Kenzie had lost hers.
“Heading out,” Stone shouted as he passed Bogs’ door.
“Hey man, gimme a second.” Bogs waited for him to appear in his doorway which he did. He’d been thinking of a subtle way to bring it up. He had the feeling anything he said or did pertaining to Kenzie would raise suspicion and no doubt, torturous ribbing from his brothers.
“Whatcha need?”
“Was thinking I’d take the lead tonight.” Bogs leaned back in his seat watching his brother. Stone stepped into his office and leaned against the frame.
“Oh yeah?”
Bogs needed to play it off as no big deal. “Yeah, I think it’s about time. Seems like it should be easy enough.”
Stone nodded. “What if something goes wrong?”
“Well, she knows me better than you at this point. If something trips up, I gotta better chance at her coming with me than you do.” It was a fair statement.
Stone smirked. “Sure about that?”
Bogs shrugged. “Don’t know. Maybe. Just got a feeling.”
Stone laughed. “Gut feeling or dick feeling?”
Bogs glared at him and extended his middle finger. “I’m serious.”
“So am I. You been on this girl for the past week. Think I don’t know you were there this morning?”
Bogs felt heat ripple over his face. He rarely blushed, as in almost never. Not much embarrassed him, but this girl was changing the game for him. He found himself doing a lot of things he wouldn’t for any other girl. Mainly, stalking her apartment.
Stone’s smile spread across his scarred face. “Yeah, man, I saw your truck when I did a drive-by. So, whatcha got going with the hot little friend?”
Stone’s teasing was about to backfire. Bogs cocked his brow and smirked. “Hmm….so you admit she’s hot, huh? Does Sadie know?”
Stone smile faded and took on his usual scowl. “Shit stirrer.”
Bogs burst out laughing. There was no doubt Stone was completely devoted and in love with his wife, but the man was a man, and Kenzie was sexy as hell. For him not to notice would be unrealistic.
“Look, if her fuck-me eyes were any indication, she’d tag you the minute you walk in. We don’t need her off her game. I think it’s just better I take the lead this time.”
Stone was right. About everything. It was pretty hard to miss the way she was looking at him. This morning confirmed the attraction he was feeling was mutual. Normally, it would work in his favor, except for in this situation. If that threw her off, it could put her in danger. With the guys all blind to what their plan was, it was best to keep things as safe as possible for Kenzie.
“We done? I gotta go.”
“Yeah, we’re done.”
“I need you to get the Reeser job done today.”
“Got it. See ya later.”
Stone left the office.
He closed the file, saving the information. He’d dig deeper when he had more time.
Chapter Four
“This doesn’t feel right.” Kenzie’s voice hitched while she searched her surroundings. They were on a dark street in a section of town she didn’t frequent even during daylight hours. Gut instinct was real, and it was currently screaming at her. Abort mission! The idea was insanely unrealistic. They weren’t high-tech thieves. They were two morons in over their head.
“Of course it doesn’t feel right. We are about to steal from hardened criminals, and if caught, we’ll probably die.” Her teasing tone was lost on Kenzie. Nothing about this was funny.
Kenzie grabbed her arm. “Is this your way of easing my concern? God, you suck at this.”
Taylor burst out laughing. How she could find any humor in the situation was beyond Kenzie’s comprehension. Kenzie had always been the more serious of the two.
“Relax.” She wrapped her arm around Kenzie’s shoulder and continued to walk down the dimly lit side street. “It’s all going to play out just the way I want, trust me. Just do exactly what I said, and in less than an hour we’ll be walking out with the cash.”
Kenzie drew a breath and stopped again.
“Why can’t we just call that guy? Trent? I’ll talk to him and see if there’s something we can do to help find Drew.” She didn’t expect Taylor to go along with her suggestion, but she had to try. Desperation made her relentless. Her friend had been adamant that going to the bonds guy was not an option. Kenzie wasn’t giving up just yet.
“Kenzie,” she whined and walked ahead of her. “No. I’m not calling that asshole. I’m doing this.”
Kenzie stood in the middle of the sidewalk staring at Taylor’s back as she moved further away. She had time to back out. Taylor would understand. She could just turn tail and catch a cab back to her place, leaving her car for Taylor. This wasn’t her problem!
“Shit,” she grumbled and quickly hustled toward Taylor. It may not be her problem, but it was her best friend’s, and that made it hers. She was thankful for her sneakers. Taylor had laughed when she came out of the bedroom wearing jeans, sweatshirt, a ball cap, and sneakers.
“Wait,” she said before Taylor stopped and glanced over her shoulder. A smirk resonated on her face.
“You’re so damn predictable.”
And Kenzie was. She may have given herself all the reasons why she shouldn’t go through with this, but in the end, she wouldn’t let her best friend go at this alone.
“Just for the record, and I’m saying this now…” She held up a finger. “One, this is the most idiotic plan you have ever gotten us into.” She ignored Taylor’s pout and continued on with her rant, holding up a second finger. “Two, my dad is going to be pissed at you, and probably never invite you for Christmas again if we get caught. And, three, you’re going to look like shit in an orange jumpsuit. It’s not your color.” Kenzie took a deep breath and sighed. “There, I’ve said my piece.”
Taylor’s lips were tightened in a straight line holding back.
Kenzie pointed her finger in her face. “Don’t you dare laugh.” She started walking and heard the faint giggle from behind. Clutching her arms to her chest, a chill coursed over her. She scanned the street. If there was a seedy section of town, they were in the thick of it. Houston had its unsavory sections, and she usually steered clear. Until tonight. They continued down the street. A few people milled around, but no one paid much attention to them. All the more eerie.
“Down this way.”
Kenzie halted and leaned past Taylor. The dark alley might as well have had bats swooping and the Grim Reaper dressed in his cloak.
“You’re kidding, right? A dark alley.” Kenzie looked around wishing there was a way to get her friend to back out of this plan.
“Relax. It’s the metal door at the end of the building.”
“Metal door? Could this be any more cliché for a bad idea? What’s next, a fat old guy in a van asking us if we want some fucking candy?” Kenzie spread her hands out in frustration. “This is nuts, Taylor. We’re probably going to die, or worse, get sold into sex slavery, be chained up, and left to piss in a bucket in the corner. Or what if they stab us with dull kitchen knives? Slit our throats?” She pointed at Taylor. “You’ve come up with some risky plans in the past, but this one tops the rest.” Kenzie knew she was being harsh, but her nerves had just hit an all-time high. She clapped her hands dramatically. “Well done.”
Taylor stared back at her and raised her eyebrows. “You finished?”
Her rant did nothing. Her hands and arms fell to her sides, her shoulders deflating in the process. It was over. Her last-ditch effort. Don
e. With or without her, Taylor would go through with the worst scheme ever planned.
“Yeah,” she muttered.
She followed her down the alley, the scent of stale piss burning her nostrils. They stood in front of the door, staring at it. It gave her a hitch in her heartbeat. Maybe Taylor was having second thoughts. The moment was fleeting as she leaned forward and knocked.
She stepped back from the door, and they stood shoulder to shoulder. “What, no secret knock?”
Taylor rolled her eyes. “You watch too much TV.”
Kenzie closed her eyes and silently prayed. God was always listening, right? Please, Lord, save me from my own stupidity. She mouthed “Amen.”
Taylor snorted. “You’re praying? Seriously? Asking God for forgiveness?”
Kenzie cocked her neck. “Actually, I was asking Him to let the men inside be dumber than us. That’s the only way this will work in our favor.”
Taylor chuckled, staring at the door. “You are making this worse than it really is. Nothing bad is gonna happen. We’ll go in, talk to Dante, when he leaves, I’ll grab the cash, and we scram. What could go wrong?”
Her confidence wasn’t soothing.
“Everything,” Kenzie mumbled and flinched when the lock shifted on the door.
The door opened, and the bouncer jerked his head for them to pass through. She was expecting some code word, or to have to give a secret clue. Something, anything. For all this man knew, they were undercover vice or FBI. Obviously, he didn’t take his job seriously.
She leaned closer to Taylor and whispered, “How the hell does he know we aren’t police or something?”
Taylor glared over her shoulder and mouthed, “Shut up.”
They followed the bouncer down another hall. A flickering green light flashed, and he slid a card through the lock and opened it in front of them. Taylor walked through. She could hear the voices of people beyond the music pounding in the background. Kenzie was almost through the door when the bouncer moved next to her towering over her. She glanced up at his hard face.
“You know how I know you’re not a cop?”
“Uh…” Was it a rhetorical question? Should she even answer? This was not someone who passed through her everyday life. This man was like the boogeyman, nothing inviting or soft about him. He seemed to be waiting for her to respond.
“How?”
He leaned closer, his arm grazing hers. “You’re still breathing.”
What the fuck? She watched him lean back, the corner of his eyes crinkling. She darted forward crashing into Taylor’s back. She couldn’t be sure who grabbed whose hand first but suddenly, Taylor was pulling her through a crowd of people. She kept her eyes set on the bouncer, who watched her intently until they were lost in the sea of people.
Her heartbeat spiked. They were never going to pull this off.
“You made it.” A deep sinister growl came from behind them, and Kenzie turned to see a tall man in a suit. It struck her as odd that the place was crawling with degenerates in jeans and t-shirts, and this man looked like he was going to a business meeting, or for a date with a high-class call girl.
“I told you I would stop by.”
Kenzie refrained from rolling her eyes at the sultry tone Taylor was giving him. She was too busy scanning their immediate area. If she could have dreamt up a nightmare, this would be it. The sight, the smell, the entire vibe of the large room with people—all dangerous and illegal. The music in the background made it hard for her to hear what Taylor was saying to the man.
Dante. Even the name was something out of a gangster movie, where people die. Taylor had given her a brief description of him. He was the would-be victim from their mini-heist—tall and muscular, scary. He was the poster boy for “do not fuck with me or my money.” And they were going to do just that.
She licked her lips trying to dredge up any kind of moisture. Her dry mouth was making it impossible to swallow. It was a nervous reaction. It didn’t happen often, but when she got really nervous, her mouth would go dry, her tongue would swell, and a large lump would form in her throat. She inhaled, as deep a breath as her lungs would allow, through her nose.
The loud voices in the crowded room seemed to quiet briefly, and suddenly she was moving in a mosh of people. Panic set in. She gripped the back of Taylor’s shirt. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. It was meant to calm her. It didn’t.
They, along with everyone in the room, all fifty of them, moved forward, reminding her of a herd. The lights gleamed in from the door and as she passed through, she squinted from the harsh fluorescent light hanging over the warehouse.
The room was gigantic, and empty, with the exception of seating stands surrounding a large cage centered in the room. She had seen it before. It was what MMA fighters used. She wasn’t a fan, but her dad and brother were. She had seen enough fights to last her a lifetime. She never understood the appeal. Getting paid to get the shit kicked out of you?
She raised up on her toes to see past the men milling by. She crinkled her eyebrows. The mat on the cage was stained with darkish brown spots.
“Is that blood?”
Her question went unanswered as her hand was clasped and they walked to the far end of the room. A tight squeeze was the only interaction she had with Taylor. The plan, she just had to remember the plan.
They followed Dante through another door and up a flight of stairs. A man in a collared, black, tight-fitting shirt stood on the landing. The hallway wasn’t loud, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. They were shuffled into what look like an old office that was decorated as if money were no object. Leather couches covered every square inch of the room, a bar in the corner. There were only about twenty people, mostly men, and a few women. Taylor led her across the room and nudged her to sit.
“Is it your first fight, girls?”
Kenzie jerked her head. A blonde with a plunging neckline to her dress smiled back at her. Her cleavage on display was hard not to look at, even for a heterosexual woman like Kenzie. It took effort not to look down. The woman giggled.
“I’m Callie.” She winked and pointed to her breasts. “They’re fake.”
That’s your introduction? Kenzie’s eyes widened, and she glanced down at the not-so-subtle set. No shit, lady. People aren’t usually born with basketball-sized breasts. How was she even supposed to respond to that? “I’m Kenzie, and mine aren’t.” Taylor leaned over her lap, smiling at the woman.
“I’m Liz, this is Meg, and they’re fabulous.” Fake names, really?
The woman’s smile spread across her face. Taylor had a way of telling people what they wanted to hear, which was obvious from the girl next to them.
Taylor tapped her knee and whispered, “I’ll be right back.”
Kenzie lunged for her hand forcing Taylor to twist back into her.
“You are not leaving me. That’s not part of the plan,” she whispered through gritted teeth.
“Relax. When opportunity strikes, you take it.” A sly smile formed around her lips. “This is gonna be easier than I thought. Just stay here, I’ll be back in a minute.”
She pulled her hand out of Kenzie’s grasp and made her way to the bar tucked in the corner.
“Who you here with?”
Kenzie jerked her head to the woman next to her, losing sight of Taylor. “I’m sorry.”
Callie glanced around the room, and her gaze landed back on Kenzie. “Who are you here with? My man’s fighting tonight,” she said proudly.
“Oh, um, I’m not with anyone.”
Callie stared at her. She tilted her head as if confused. “Then how’d you get up here?”
It was Kenzie’s turn to be confused. “What do you mean?”
“Well, they don’t just let anyone come up here. Usually only wives or girlfriends of the fighters. Sometimes, the organizers bring women.”
“Oh, um, Dante invited my friend, I’m just tagging along.”
“How long they been together?�
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“They’re not together, together. She doesn’t really know him that well.”
“Well, he knows her.” Callie giggled and sipped her drink.
Kenzie flinched. “What do you mean?”
“They don’t just let anyone up here. This is VIP. Trust me, if you’re up here, they know you, everything about you.” She leaned closer, and Kenzie immediately followed. “My man says they have cameras in the front, some kind of high-tech photo image scan. They do a check before you’re allowed into the holding room. It’s crazy, right?” She giggled. “From one scan of your face, they can pull up everything on you, who you are, where you live.”
She could feel the blood draining from her face, her flesh breaking out into a prickled chill. Cameras. Her body temperature plummeted, and she knew the feeling. This was what happened right before she puked.
They knew who they were, where they lived. If Taylor followed through with this, they’d know exactly who took the money, and precisely where to find them. She licked her lips, batting down the chunks rising from her stomach. They had to get outta here. Her eyes darted to the bar. Three men stood around it but no sign of Taylor.
A cool hand rested on her hand. “You all right?”
“Yeah, just looking for my friend.” The room wasn’t huge but more people had come in since they arrived. If she wanted to get out, she’d be skirting her way to the exit.
“There she is.”
She turned back to Callie who was looking down at the room below through the glass. Kenzie stood and peered down through the masses of people. It was easy to spot her as there weren’t many women. Taylor stood close to the back wall talking with a guy she’d never seen. The lump in her throat got larger constricting her breathing. Why would Taylor leave her up here? The only exit was on the main floor. She was trapped, and her best friend had abandoned her. What the hell?
“I’m gonna go check on her, make sure she’s good.”
Callie smiled, oblivious to what was going on in Kenzie’s head. “Okay, I’ll save your seats.”