by Katie Reus
Passing anything, whether information or something else, on an undercover job was dangerous. But sometimes there was no other choice.
As they reached the revolving doors, he let go of Olivia’s hand and acted as if he was adjusting his hat. When he did, he slid the earbud in place, knowing it would be deep enough that no one could see it. They’d talked about wearing them when meeting Neely but Olivia hadn’t been sure how detailed the search would be. It hadn’t been worth the risk.
There was a slight burst of static before Gage said, “I know you can’t talk, but Leighton says you’ve got the earbud. And…I see you walking out of the hotel. Good news—I hacked into the feed coming from the penthouse and I’ve narrowed down where the IP address originated from. Not sure if it has anything to do with Martina, but the three of us are geared up and heading over to the address now. I know you can’t respond, but if you can give me a hint where you’re going, I’ll still be listening.”
Zac didn’t look around, just took Olivia’s hand again as Neely gave a card to the valet. He briefly touched his hat, hoping Gage saw the signal that yes, he’d heard him. Less than a minute later they were sitting in the back seat of a white Escalade with dark tinted windows.
“So give us more about this jewelry store,” Zac said to Neely. “Why are we robbing Tatiana’s and what does the exit layout look like?” All normal things Zac would want to know. Gage should be able to get enough info from that to look the place up.
“You’re robbing them because I say so.” Neely’s voice was pure frost.
Total bullshit. Zac guessed it had to do with the type of safe. Neely probably wanted to see if Olivia could break into it under pressure—because it was likely the type of safe that held whatever the real job was all about. Or it was close enough to the other type of safe.
“Fine. But we need more before we go in there. How many employees, specific security system and more importantly, exits.”
“It’s Sunday, so just two employees, a father and daughter. The security system will only be armed on the actual locked cases. Everything else will be shut down. Except the two back exit doors. Those will be armed as well. And of course the safe. There’s a keypad for the office door where the safe is. The code is 6-7-9-5-4-3,” he said, looking at Olivia in the rearview mirror. “Once you’re past the door, all you have to do is bypass the safe. Clean it out. That purse you’re carrying will be big enough even with the drill.”
Olivia had taken an oversized black Burberry purse as part of her ensemble, so whatever they were stealing was likely jewels and cash. Maybe both. Zac didn’t much care what they were stealing, only that they got away clean. And he’d make sure Redemption Harbor Consulting took care of the owners if for some reason their insurance didn’t cover their losses.
“What about physical security?” Zac continued, wanting to cover as many important details as possible.
“None on Sundays. Times are tight, especially for high-end extras most people can’t afford. There’s minimal security during the week and none on Sundays since it’s their slowest day.”
Hmm. Neely knew enough about the store’s security that he would’ve had to case it for a while. Unless he was lying, but Zac didn’t think so. It wouldn’t make sense to get Zac and Olivia arrested when he’d gone to a lot of trouble to bring Olivia into this. Which meant Neely had probably been in Miami at least for a few weeks. Whatever their end-game job was, Neely had been planning this whole thing for a while. Zac was glad Gage was listening because he could start looking into the CCTVs near the jeweler and seeing what he could find about Neely’s movements. “The Kaira 2000 is state of the art. Not exactly cheap.”
Neely nodded. “They got it so they could keep their insurance premiums low. And as far as exits, you two figure it out.”
Very interesting that Neely knew all this.
“I’m running info on the store now,” Gage said in his ear. “Got the building schematics. Best place to exit is one of the back two doors. The place is right on the water and close to a marina. You’ll set off the alarm, but you’ll be able to disappear easily enough if the cops aren’t called right away.”
“If something doesn’t look right, we’re leaving,” Zac said, wanting to make sure that was clear. If this was some sort of setup—which he doubted—they were gone.
Neely didn’t respond, but Maxwell, who’d been quiet, grunted in agreement.
“We’re at the house that IP originated from,” Gage said. “Not sure who’s there but we’re going to check it out. It’s a residential neighborhood, seems quiet, has a few for sale signs, including the two houses on either side. Gonna go dark for however long it takes to recon this place. Need to have an open comm line with the guys.”
Zac wanted to give him an affirmative response but couldn’t risk it. If by chance Martina was in that house, this whole thing would be over for Olivia. She could go back to her life and her daughter and Martina would be safe. He understood why Gage was going dark too. If he, Brooks and Leighton had to storm the house, they’d have to use earpieces to stay connected if they infiltrated from different points.
He shut that thought off, not worried about his guys. They were all pros. And right now he had to have his head in this. Because they’d just arrived at the jewelry store.
“I’ll drop you two off here,” Neely said. “Then I’ll drop Maxwell off a block away.”
“What kind of distraction should I create?” Maxwell asked.
“Try to get the female employee’s attention, focus completely on her, bordering on harassment, as you ask her to show you watches or whatever. Tell her you want something to go with your boots. It won’t matter if they’re short-staffed. Her father will come over to intervene or take over for her. Since you took away our phones,” he said to Neely, “you’re going to order six pizzas from the nearest place and have them delivered to Tatiana’s. Tell them it’s for a last-minute employee birthday party and that you’ll be paying in cash.” Not the most elegant distraction, but any distraction was good at this point. And an annoyed delivery guy was a classic.
Neely nodded once. “I’ve also got another distraction planned for you.”
Okay, that information would have been helpful earlier. “What is it?”
“You’ll know it when you see it. You need to crack that safe. That’s your main concern.”
Even though he hated to, Zac knew he had to depend on Neely now. He also hated that Gage had gone dark. But that was part of the job.
Hell, on jobs he’d taken before joining Redemption Harbor Consulting, he’d been on his own more often than not.
He took Olivia’s hand as they slid from the SUV and was glad when she linked her fingers through his. He could sense her stress at the whole situation, but she definitely had her game face on. Again, he found he liked her even more. Yeah, he was attracted to her, but this woman had a steel spine. Hard not to respect that.
It was time to do this.
* * *
“Why’d you keep his gun?” Olivia asked as they casually strolled down the sidewalk. Neely had dropped them off a few shops down and so far they’d passed a bridal shop, a café, and a children’s clothing boutique among other places that lined the shopping strip.
“Has my fingerprints on it.”
“Oh.” Of course. She noticed that Savage had subtly wiped his prints from the burner phone he’d given to Neely. And now he had on gloves. The cool weather was a good excuse to wear them.
“More importantly, it has his,” he continued. “We’re going to run them and see if Gage gets a hit. Maybe Neely is connected to other crimes under an alias, or has a warrant out for his arrest. Who knows.”
“You won’t really use the gun here, right?” she asked as they neared the jewelry store, her stomach tied up in knots. There were some lines she would never cross, no matter what.
“No.”
She let out a subtle breath of relief. She hadn’t thought he would, but didn’t want to make any
assumptions. While she might be attracted to him, she didn’t know him. Not really. Even if she did trust him to have her back, there was still a lot they needed to learn about each other.
Her heart rate increased as they reached the glass-paneled front doors of the store. Gold, swirled script with the store’s name was on the glass and underneath it proclaimed they were a family-owned shop that offered fine jewelry, watches, wedding pieces and custom designs.
Savage held the door open for her but kept his hand at the small of her back. She was grateful for his solid presence. Doing this in the middle of the day was insane but maybe that would work for them. The store owners wouldn’t be expecting something like this in broad daylight. And she was really glad she’d kept up to date with safecracking through her current job. That was the only thing she was confident about—that she could actually open the safe. It just depended on how much time she had.
It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the interior lighting. The place wasn’t as big as she’d assumed it would be, but it had a spacious feel. One giant chandelier hung over the middle display case, shining down on what she guessed was the bridal jewelry. That would likely be their best sellers so it made sense to showcase engagement and wedding rings. Two smaller chandeliers were on either side, illuminating other glittery pieces. The green marble floors were polished to perfection.
She took all this in within seconds, wanting to have every detail possible. A well-dressed woman in her thirties stood behind the middle display case, talking quietly to a couple holding hands as they looked at three different rings. An older man was at another display talking to a man in his forties, showing him a watch. The woman gave them a friendly greeting, welcoming them and telling them she’d be with them in a few moments before returning to her customers.
“Door to the back is behind the man,” Savage murmured as he directed her to a display with necklaces.
“I see it.” What they didn’t know, however, was if there was someone in the back. They were depending on information from Kyle, someone she definitely didn’t trust. Their goal was simple: get behind that door undetected, find the safe, crack it and empty the contents. Or at least take what they could. She hated everything about this job—that it was in the middle of the day, that they hadn’t been able to do any recon and that there were people in the shop. Including the owners. She felt terrible about this, but not bad enough to stop. Not when Martina’s life depended on it.
“We’ve recently started seeing each other and I’m looking to find you something that shows how much I appreciate you,” he murmured for her ears only.
She nodded as he pointed at a sparkly eternity necklace. “White gold, about fifteen carats worth of diamonds, good clarity. At least forty grand, probably forty-five,” she murmured. “You must appreciate me a lot.”
In response he pulled her to him, leaned down so that his mouth was near her wig-covered ear. “I see Maxwell approaching the front door, as well as another couple.” As he pulled back, the bell overhead jingled.
She turned to see Maxwell striding inside, attitude rolling off him. She wondered if that was part of his cover or if he was pissed to be part of this whole thing. In his new “costume,” he looked so different than the polished, elegant man from just half an hour before. He didn’t glance at them, just swaggered over to a display case on the right side of the room, far enough away from them that she couldn’t see what he was looking at. The woman who owned the shop greeted him as well, her tone just as polite as before.
“Can I get some help over here?” he demanded, not bothering to look up. His voice was overly loud in the elegant shop, booming over the smooth voice of Frank Sinatra singing over the well-hidden speakers. And there was a nasally quality to it. He was playing his role well.
She murmured something to the original couple before hurrying around to where Maxwell was. The other couple split up, the woman going to look at necklaces while the man went for a rack of watches in a locked glass case.
“This one’s nice,” Olivia said absently as they slowly made their way down the line of displays, closer and closer to the door they needed to get through. It was cracked open slightly, she realized as they shifted positions.
“I want to see diamonds on you,” Savage’s voice wasn’t loud, but he wasn’t murmuring now. They were in full-on role-playing mode for this. She giggled and leaned up to nip at his chin. It felt weird to be so intimate with him in such a forced setting.
But she couldn’t deny the attraction that simmered beneath the surface.
Out of the corner of her eye she watched as the male owner rang up the other customer who’d been looking at a watch. And she and Savage were a few steps closer to their destination. Adrenaline surged through her even as she tried to tame it. It had been years since she’d done anything like this. And the jobs she’d pulled had been at night, after hours with no one around except security. And she hadn’t been a mom then. God, she felt as if her heart might jump from her chest right now. There was no rush to this, only a sick feeling. Because if they got caught, she’d go to jail and lose her daughter. She swallowed back bile at the thought.
“We got this,” Savage said, pulling her closer.
“I know—”
“This is garbage,” Maxwell said, his voice rising.
Olivia watched as the father hurriedly finished what he was doing. She and Savage were two steps closer now.
The bell above the front door jingled again and a man carrying a stack of pizza boxes strode in, looking around as if he wasn’t sure this was the right place. At least Kyle had come through for them.
Savage tightened his grip on her as they moved farther down. They were steps from the little half door they’d need to get through to be behind the cases.
“I’m here with a delivery for Luis? For a birthday party.”
“Young man, I’m Luis, but I guarantee you I did not order any pizzas. This is absolutely ridiculous.” The man stepped out from behind the door, nodded once at her and Savage before hurrying past them.
“Well, someone’s gonna pay for these pizzas.”
“It certainly won’t be us. I’ll ask you to kindly leave,” the owner said.
“Not yet,” Savage murmured to her. “The opening will come, but not yet. When it does, don’t look back. Stride through those doors like you belong.”
“I will.” And if anyone saw them, they’d just leave. Sure, they wouldn’t get what they’d come for, but Kyle would have to understand. Or she prayed he would. No, she couldn’t think about that now. She had to focus on the next step. Then the next. Not about anything else. Or she’d never be able to do this. As the moment hopefully approached, she subtly pulled her gloves from her pocket and slid them on.
“Are you kidding me? Are you saying I’m not worth a more expensive engagement ring?” The female half of the couple who had been here when they’d arrived was looking at her significant other, her hands on her hips.
Either this was Kyle’s other distraction, or they’d just had really good luck.
“This isn’t what I’m looking for.” Maxwell’s voice carried again, his back stiff, his posture hostile. “I want something with more bling.”
“Almost,” Savage murmured.
He was right. The female customer raised her voice again as the man with her raised his palms in a “calm down” gesture. Maxwell was bickering with the shop owner. And the father was still talking to the pizza delivery guy while keeping an eye on his daughter. No one was looking their way.
When a loud boom sounded from outside the store, like a car backfiring, all heads swiveled in that direction. Without waiting for Savage to tell her, she knew this was it.
Heart racing, she pushed the half door open and strode toward the door to the back, reaching it in three long strides. She and Savage were inside the hallway in seconds. If anyone had noticed what they’d done, they’d find out soon enough.
The hallway only stretched out in one direction so she hurried
to the right and stopped at the second door on the left, since it was the only one with a keypad. Punching in the code Kyle had given them, she breathed a sigh of relief when the door swung open.
“Are you okay without me?” Savage asked as they stepped in.
“Yeah, I got this.” The huge safe was in one corner. No way for something of that magnitude to be hidden.
“I’m going to find the security room and take the feeds.”
“Okay.” Moving into action she shut and locked the door behind him and hurried toward the safe. Her hands were surprisingly steady as she pulled out the drill and stethoscope. The drill was a last choice but she’d decided to take it with her just in case there were any surprises.
Though she hadn’t told Kyle, she’d cracked this type of safe before in her regular job in under five minutes. Now she needed to do it in three. There was only so much time before one of the owners realized they’d never left out the front door. It all just depended on how long the distractions lasted.
She put the stethoscope on and tugged off one glove. She would wipe her prints off when she was done, but she needed a bare hand to do this part. It was difficult to explain to people how she did what she did. It was all about touch and sound. The pattern of clicks was distinctive.
Pressing her bare hand against the cold metal of the door, she listened and felt as she started turning the dial. Very much aware of the invisible clock ticking away, she closed her eyes. When she heard the first click she opened her eyes, made a note of the number. Seconds seemed to tick by forever until she heard and felt the second one. On and on until she heard the fifth and final click.
Now her hand trembled as she twisted the dial with the numbers she had, lining up the interior notches with the contact points until…click. Twisting the thick handle, she pulled open the door.
And froze at the sound of the office door handle twisting open behind her.