by Katie Reus
“So what, you’re going to kill me?”
He laughed, all angry and bitter. “Oh, no. But your boyfriend is dead by now.” He gave her the most pleased, Cheshire cat grin. She wanted to smack the smug look right off his face. “And as soon as this job is over, Neely is giving me his blackmail on you. You’re mine now, bitch. Any job I want you for, you’re in. If I want you to suck my dick, you’ll do it. You. Are. Mine.”
If Savage hadn’t been moving up behind Heath right now, panic and nausea would have taken over. God…she didn’t even want to think about Savage being hurt. Or worse. “Why would you hurt him?” she asked, ignoring everything else he’d said.
“Blame yourself. You never should have brought someone in for this job. I had it all planned out and you decided to bring some asshole with you. Him dying was a foregone conclusion.”
Savage struck fast, wrapping his forearm around Heath’s neck even as he grabbed Heath’s arm.
Olivia ducked as she heard Heath cry out—at the same time she heard the snap of a bone breaking. She dove for the gun as it tumbled to the carpeted floor but it didn’t matter. Savage had Heath on the floor, facedown and unconscious. And…her ex had soiled himself, if the scent tingeing the air was any indication.
“I should kill him.” Savage didn’t move from over Heath’s body, his knee in the middle of her ex’s spine. Savage’s gaze clashed with hers. The glittering downtown lights of Miami played off his dark expression, making him look deadlier than normal. She could definitely believe he’d done wrong things in his life. And she didn’t want to be the cause of any of them.
Right now, she realized he was serious about killing Heath. Stepping toward him, she handed him the gun. “Please don’t. He’s not worth it. And he has nothing on me. You heard him. Kyle has the blackmail on me.”
“He brought you into this. You should be home with your daughter right now.” Savage tucked the handgun into the back of his pants and ripped a keyboard off the desk. It was old school, with an actual cord. He ripped it free and used it to bind Heath’s hands behind his back.
If he was binding him, then Savage must not mean to kill him. But she needed to be sure. “He did drag me into this. But I don’t want his blood on your hands. Let’s just leave him.” She moved toward Savage, placed a hand on his chest. Even if deep down she wouldn’t lose any sleep over Heath dying, she still didn’t want Savage involved in the man’s death. His chest rose and fell erratically under her hand, the beat of his heart steady. “Please leave him be. I care a lot more about you than I do him.” True words. So true, and it hurt because she knew Savage wasn’t available for the kind of relationship she needed. “Please, Zac.” When she said his first name it seemed to snap something to life inside him.
He nodded once and stepped away from Heath’s broken, bound body. “We have to get out of here.” Picking up the duffel, he glanced in the safe, then slung the duffel over his shoulder and zipped it up. “But we can’t go out through the parking garage or the front. Neely tried to have me killed.”
“Is he dead?”
“Neely? No. But the guy he wanted to kill me is. Russian accent,” he said, moving to the office door, slightly limping.
She wanted to ask him about it but knew they didn’t have time. Olivia picked up her bag of tools and gear and hurried after Savage, leaving her ex where he lay. “Heath said he owed some Russians. Not sure who he meant though.”
“I’m going to figure it out,” Gage said into their ears and she nearly jumped.
“Jeez. I forgot you were there. You caught everything Heath said?” she asked.
“Yep. Now that you’ve taken what he needs to pay off whoever he owes, I don’t think you need to worry about him being a problem anymore.”
Her stomach twisted at Gage’s words. She might not care for her ex, and okay, he’d been planning to use her, but… She shook off the thoughts of whatever would happen to him. Her only concern was getting out of here with Savage alive. And making sure she didn’t end up behind bars for the rest of her life.
“Shut the hell up, Gage,” Savage murmured, taking her hand in his. “She doesn’t need to hear that. And we need to get to the roof,” he said to her.
She nodded as they raced down the hallway. Her heartbeat was an erratic tattoo against her chest, pulsing in her ears so loudly she couldn’t hear anything else. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw no one. It still didn’t give her any relief.
It took seven solid minutes to get to the roof and when they burst out into the night air, she sucked in a breath. They were almost home free. Almost.
First they had to scale down a thirty-story building.
Savage shut the door behind them and shoved a piece of rebar against the door and handle. It wouldn’t hold forever if someone tried to follow them, but it was better than nothing. “Give me your eyes,” Savage said to Gage. “What side is the best for you guys?”
“West side of the building. Out of the range of any CCTVs.”
Savage looked at Olivia. “Is that best for us?”
She nodded. They might have on masks but she’d just as well avoid any cameras. “East or west works well.”
“We’ll move in now,” Gage said over the comm. “Provide cover if necessary.”
“Cover?” Olivia asked as she unzipped her bag and pulled out her climbing harness. She tossed the extra to Savage.
He snagged it in midair. “In case there are men on the ground with weapons.”
Oh, right. Of course. She was just worried about the threats inside. But there could definitely be more threats outside. “I’m not cut out for this kind of life.” No matter what she’d thought at one time.
“You’re holding up like a champ.” Savage stepped into his harness—which was snug—as she did the same. Hers fit well enough but she adjusted it, tightening it so it was perfect.
It sure didn’t feel like she was holding up, but she didn’t comment. Instead she focused on setting up her rappel anchor as he did the same. “You’ve done this before,” she said, holding out her rope for his help.
He didn’t even question what she needed, making it clear he knew the drill for rappelling or climbing. He took the rope from her and stepped on it to create slack so she could clip herself in.
He paused as he handed her his own rope and she did the same for him. “I’ve fast-roped out of an Osprey before.”
She blinked but didn’t stop what she was doing. A clock was ticking down in her mind and it felt as if Neely and his men could barge through the door at any moment. Adrenaline punched through her at lightning speeds but she managed to keep her breathing and voice steady, even if it felt as if she could crawl out of her skin. “That’s impressive.” And sexy. She could actually see him doing it. Her hands were somehow steady as she created two bights with her rope.
Savage just grunted a non-response, moving as quickly as she.
Her palms might be damp in her gloves, but her fingers were nimble and steady. She could do this. She had to. Normally she liked to quadruple-check everything, but tonight she was going to have to deal with simply double-checking.
“What are you humming?” Gage’s voice cut through her concentration.
“What?” she asked, pulling the brake strands up. She might have rappelled off buildings before but this was different. There were actual men with guns in the building who wanted to kill them. And there could be people waiting for them on the ground.
“It’s catchy,” he continued.
Sweet Lord, he wanted to talk about this? “It’s a silly song from a kids’ show. And humming calms me.” Years ago when she’d done heists she’d almost always been alone during her portion of the job.
“So…you’re basically humming your own theme music right before you two jump off the side of a building?”
“Dude, shut the fuck up,” Savage snarled as he did the same to his rope.
“I’m googling the song later,” Gage said, seemingly unfazed by Savage.
&n
bsp; And Olivia felt absurd laughter bubble up as she double-checked that her carabiner was locked. “Gage has issues, doesn’t he?” she muttered.
“Like you wouldn’t believe.” Savage gave a tug on his own—then did the same on hers. “You ready for this?”
She checked his carabiner, pulling hard. “Let’s get out of here.”
He gave her a small smile. “When we do, I’m taking you on a real date.”
Oh no. Now was not the time for this. “Savage—”
“It’s Zac.”
Ignoring his words completely, she perched on the edge of the building next to him, and set her brake strands in a locked-off position. “Are you okay? I saw you limping.”
“I’m good.” He held his rope like a pro.
Okay, then. That was good enough for her. A soft wind rolled over them, the air crisp, tinged with the salt of the ocean. She breathed in deeply as she bent her legs at a ninety-degree angle. With her other hand, she started feeding the rope through the belay device—when the roof door slammed open.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Bullets whizzed past her as Savage shouted something, pulling his own gun free. He returned fire. “Go now! I’m right behind you.”
She didn’t want to leave him but he had the weapon and knew how to use it. As sound exploded all around them she started moving down at a fast clip, using her feet to push off the thick windows. Though she wanted to keep all her focus on her rope she looked back up. She had to know he was okay.
Ten stories above her, Savage started descending fast.
“Faster!” he shouted.
Heart racing, she did as he ordered, going as fast as she could without losing control. Savage zoomed down until he was next to her, moving faster than she’d ever seen anyone rappel. He moved past her but she didn’t look, needing to keep all her attention on her own rope.
Ten floors to go. Five. Three.
Almost there. So close to freedom she could almost taste it. Her legs and arms burned with the exertion.
Her rope slackened. She started falling. Oh, God, they’d cut her rope!
She went into a free fall and everything flashed in front of her—
The day Valencia was born, the day she’d learned her daughter was Deaf, her daughter’s first steps, Martina holding her and wiping her tears away in high school after her first boyfriend broke up with her, the first time she and Zac kissed.
A scream caught in her throat—until a strong hand grabbed her upper arm midair. Crying out at the abruptness, she grunted as her back slammed into the window. Her arm screamed in pain but she scrambled onto Savage’s back.
“I got you. Just hold on.” He continued rappelling down at warp speed even though she’d knocked him off-balance and added a hundred-plus pounds to him.
As the grass zoomed up at them, Savage’s own rope slackened five feet above the ground. They’d cut his rope too. She hit the grass with an oomph but Savage was on his feet like a cat and pulling her to her own.
Fingers now trembling, she unhooked her carabiner as he did the same. If they hadn’t been so fast, if those men had cut their ropes sooner, she and Savage would be dead. Or close to it. An icy clamminess washed over her and she shuddered.
When the side door opened she froze, her hand on her harness. “Can we catch a break?” she muttered as Neely stepped outside, pistol in hand.
Aimed right at them.
Savage raised his own gun, fired—click.
Chapter 19
—You really don’t want to be my enemy.—
Thirty minutes earlier
Skye stood in front of their captive, hands on her hips. He still had a cover over his head and was definitely awake now. Though he hadn’t moved much.
According to the research Gage had done, the man known as Alonso was really named Darius Moore. They weren’t sure of anything else—who his team was or if he even had one. But Skye was guessing he did. All they knew was that he was DEA. Undercover. And it wasn’t because of Gage’s hacking skills they’d found out. It was from a contact he had.
Using ASL, she started talking to Colt. You ready?
He nodded.
She turned to the man even though he couldn’t see her. They needed to get the hell out of here. Once they left this safe house, they’d never be coming back. They’d already sanitized the place but just in case Moore figured out where he’d been staying, they weren’t giving him any clues as to who they were. “We’re about to go for a drive,” she said quietly.
The man shifted slightly at her voice, probably because it was the first thing anyone had said to him directly.
“And you’re not going to give us trouble, Mr. Moore. Yeah, we know who you are. And if you play things right, you’re going to get credit for bringing down Kyle Neely and his crew.”
The man stiffened slightly but still didn’t respond.
“You’re outmanned and outgunned. So when one of my boys here releases your restraints, if you attempt to fight him, I will tase you. Then I’ll put a sock in your mouth and hogtie you. So you play nice and you’ll be treated with respect. Got it?”
“Yeah.” His voice was raspy, but he nodded under the hood.
“All right, then.” She looked at her “boy” then.
Colt just gave her a half-smile and cut the zip ties securing Moore to the chair. “Hands behind your back,” he said as Alonso stood.
The man paused but did as ordered. Colt quickly bound him again. “Now walk forward. We’re getting into a van and taking you to the site of Neely’s heist.”
“Who are you guys?”
Neither of them answered as they led him to the van in the garage. Once he was in the back, Colt hooked him up so he wouldn’t get knocked around. She wondered what the DEA wanted with Neely but maybe it had something to do with whoever he was selling…whatever they stole. Didn’t much matter at this point.
Colt palmed the keys and Skye held out a hand. “Rock, paper, scissors for who drives?”
Snorting, her husband just tossed her the keys. Once in the vehicle, she slid her earpiece in and Colt did the same.
“We’re on the way,” Colt said.
“Good. Looks like we might have an issue,” Gage said.
She tore out of the driveway, cringing a little as Moore grunted from the back. Colt turned around to watch him, Taser drawn, and she kept an eye on him in the rearview mirror as Gage relayed everything that was going on.
It took too damn long for them to get downtown. Even if she’d wanted to drive like a bat out of hell, getting pulled over by the cops for a violation with a federal agent tied up in the back of the van wasn’t something she could talk her way out of.
Instead of parking directly across from the target site, she parked two blocks away. It would give them enough time for what they had planned. Once in Park she and Colt pulled their ski masks on. She’d already put contacts in and she intentionally pulled out some of the blonde hairs of her wig so that they were visible. Then she shoved up one of her sleeves so her temporary tattoo was showing. He would remember a brown-eyed woman with blonde hair and a tribal tat wrapping around her wrist.
Then she climbed into the back as Colt got out of the passenger seat and headed to the back doors.
She ripped the man’s head cover off. He blinked, his dark eyes full of rage. That was to be expected. “I know you have questions. Unfortunately for you, you’re not going to get any answers.” When she reached into her back pocket he tensed. She tossed a burner cell phone onto the metal floor of the van. “This is yours. As soon as you free yourself, you’re going to call in backup for the heist that just occurred at the Prisock building. We’re currently two blocks away—east of it. And you will single-handedly take credit for bringing down Kyle Neely and his guys. I don’t know if he’s your real target or not and I don’t care. The only thing I care about—you’re going to leave out any mention of Savage and the woman with him.”
His jaw tightened.
“Did you already
report them to your team?” On undercover jobs often the person undercover couldn’t communicate for long stretches of time. It was too dangerous.
“The only thing I asked my boss to do was put in a call to the locals not to investigate the jewelry store robbery. No details why though. It was too risky.”
She continued, her voice low and controlled. “Good. You’ll tell your boss and your team that there were two people originally involved in this job but they backed out of it. You don’t have shit on them, including their names. And the woman was white with blonde hair. Average height, average weight, average everything. You know nothing about them and you never saw them commit a crime.”
“Fine.”
“This is how things are going to work. You got it?”
He nodded. “Why are you doing this?”
Instead of answering, she leaned closer and dropped her voice. “You’re alive because of Savage. If it wasn’t for him, you’d be gator food right now. So if you betray him or mention him or the woman in any capacity to your team, you’re my enemy. And if you’re my enemy…” Grabbing him by the neck, she squeezed tight and slammed him against the wall of the van. “You’ll end up losing every shred of evidence in this case. Because we’re taking everything of importance from this heist. For now. Unless you play ball.”
“How so?” he rasped out.
“You’re going to tell your team there was some unknown player on this job who got away with the flash drives—which isn’t technically a lie. The only thing Neely will have when you find him is a shitload of cash.”
He seemed to be surprised by the flash drives mention but nodded.
“Once I know you can be trusted, you’ll get an anonymous tip where to find all the evidence. Neely’s ‘partner’ will be in the wind but that’s okay. You’ll still be an instant hero.”
“How will you know I can be trusted?”
She nodded once at the phone. “When Neely tries to give up the man and woman with his little blackmail video—and I know that he will because he’ll do anything to save his own ass—you’re going to text me the location of the evidence. Your team will go to get it and nothing will be there. Proving Neely to be a big liar. That there was no one named Savage and no woman involved. So when he tries to give your team the name and information of this woman, you’ll be able to give your version of events with no problem.” Skye knew Neely would give up Olivia’s real name and information but if the DEA couldn’t get proof against her—and Moore actually played ball—they’d be okay.