by Ana Sparks
“You’ll get your payout,” I told him, scrubbing at his hair. “Don’t worry.”
Everett leapt out of the car, walking around to stand and talk with me on the sidewalk.
“They didn’t give you any trouble?”
“I knocked the guy out,” Everett said, laughing. “He didn’t even see it coming. He seemed preoccupied. Probably knew you were around.”
“They’ll have linked it to me already,” I sighed. “Perhaps best to skip on back to New York.”
“Weren’t you were thinking about staying in L.A. longer?” Everett asked, digging his fingers into his forehead. “It’s a good town, kid, but you’ve got a great gig back in Brooklyn. I wouldn’t give up on it.”
“I know, I know.” After a pause, I came clean. “There was this whole issue with this girl, out here.”
Everett’s eyes grew light. “A chick, you? Really?”
“She was gorgeous. And she played along when I asked her to. I think I might have messed her up a little bit. She certainly doesn’t want me to be in her life, anymore.”
Everett clapped me on the shoulder, trying to joke. “You know, there’s so many fish in that New York City sea. Just gotta head home and find them.”
“Not like her.” I gestured toward his car, shrugging. “Can we run to the bank real quick? I want to deposit this into my dad’s account before…well. Before I leave.”
“Ain’t gonna tell him?” Everett asked.
“Naw. Haven’t seen him.” I sniffed, glancing back toward the salon. My sister was chatting amicably with a client, an older woman who worked at the nearby elementary school.
Everett drove us the six blocks to my bank. As he waited, the engine still running, I entered the bank and deposited a casual million dollars into my dad’s account. I then deposited one million into mine, another into Ruby’s, and the last into Leandra’s. Everett could do what he wanted with his cash.
I smirked, trying to imagine Ruby’s face when she realized what I’d done. She deserved it. She’d risked everything, to help me.
Back at the car, I peeked in at Everett. “You want to hit up my favorite diner?” I asked. “One I grew up at as a kid.”
Everett shrugged, scratching his chin. “I think I want to hit the road. Make a dent in the cash on a plane ticket and get out of here.”
I sighed, gazing out down the road. The streets in L.A. were bleary in the half-light of the sunset, making it difficult to see the ends of them. They were peppered with palm trees. I’d recently read that the palm trees weren’t native to Los Angeles—somebody had brought them in, about a hundred years ago, and now they were rotting in unnatural soil.
“Hey, next time,” Everett said, smacking my shoulder, “I’ll let you have the vault side of things. Damn, if I didn’t get a rush, opening that thing! Seeing all the cash, so organized, like he spends his long, lonely nights in there, counting it!” He whistled.
Everett’s phone began to buzz—the burner phone. I frowned, muttering, “I thought you got rid of that thing already?”
Everett flipped it open, his eyes growing wide. Something felt wrong. I could only hear his end of the conversation. Even so, my blood ran cold.
“Hey. What’s up?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you sure?”
Behind us, I watched as a long black car approached, creeping behind us like a snake in tall grass. As it approached, I sensed the world spinning backwards. I sensed that everything we’d plotted had fallen apart.
The black car stopped beside us, taking up an entire lane and forcing other cars to pass it—honking and blaring as they did. Everett turned off the burner and flung it out the window. “Shit!” he hollered. “Knew I should have left town sooner. Dammit.”
“You go. He doesn’t want anyone but me.”
Everett glanced at the suitcase, still stocked with his cash. I could sense his mind racing, adding it up.
I hopped out of the car and stood, glaring at the black car. Everett’s screeched away from the curb, blasting towards the highway and out of sight. If he was smart, he’d just drive back to New York. The black car’s driver’s side window began to crank down. The moment of truth was imminent. Was I ready to face it?
Chapter Fourteen
Ruby
“How dare you call me that?” I spat to Clark Lambert, still poised on the chair across from him in that dank room. “You’re some sick kind of man if you think you can get away with speaking to women that way.”
Clark smirked, rising up onto his feet. Despite carrying an extra 50 pounds or so, he walked gracefully, placing his hand on my shoulder and squeezing it. I felt the bones pop slightly.
“You know these words are just ones we Brits toss around. They scare the Americans. But I’d thought, with your upbringing, you’d have the balls to get over it. Balls. That’s what the Americans always say, don’t they?” He scoffed.
“You’ve lived amongst them longer than I have,” I said, feeling brash. “This is the world you chose.”
“And you?” Clark asked.
“As you saw, I was on my way to the airport,” I said as matter-of-factly as I could. “I wanted to get out of here, but you dragged me back in.”
“Now, now, I can’t let you leave without my money.”
He leaned forward, pushing his face so close to mine that I thought they might touch. I shivered.
“This is your last chance, baby. Tell me where Billy is. Tell me where he’s hiding out. If you don’t, then I’ll kill you both. You first, of course, because I have you here. And that’ll bring him running back quickly, don’t you think? The way he looked at you. Or was that just Mike looking at Claire and some truly impressive acting?” He chuckled.
I wanted to kick him in his teeth and watch them scatter to the ground.
“Well, in any case, I pretty much know for a fact you’ve fucked each other. But will that make Billy come find you quickly enough? Will that make him rush across town to save you? I don’t know. I just don’t know. But I’ll tell you right now, I have my men out scouting for him. They know people who know people, if you get my drift. And if Billy’s involved in what I think he is, then he’s no better than the clowns they have here in the City of Fucking Angels. Everything’s interconnected, don’t you see? Your boy can’t screw me over without me doing him one bigger. That’s how this world works.”
A phone in one of the goon’s pockets began to vibrate loudly. My neck twitched, wanting to turn my head to look back at him.
He answered the phone loudly. “What?” A pause. “Yeah, I see.” Another pause. “Well, bring him here as soon as you can. The boss wants to talk to him, ASAP. And make sure you tell him we have something that belongs to him.”
A horrible grin curved across Clark’s face and my heart dropped into the acid of my stomach. I tried to gasp for breath.
“That was him,” the goon said. “Billy Jay Johnston’s been caught. They’re on their way.”
Clark smacked his hands together and rubbed them, looking like a man about to enjoy his dinner. “I can’t imagine a better group of people to have all together. This is better than my birthday.”
I felt like screaming. I tossed my head back with a mixture of joy and anger. If Billy had been apprehended, that meant he wouldn’t be on the outside, trying to fight to get me back. At the same time, he would be here. With me, in this horrible room.
Even if this was the end of my life, I wouldn’t have to die alone.
Clark danced around the room, maddeningly, over the next ten or so minutes, cackling about how his “plan had worked so well.”
“Americans like Billy Jay Johnston can never get past me,” he said, nearly choking on his laughter. “American men are, by default, just a bit stupider. Even you can agree with that, can’t you, my love?” He prodded me with his elbow, forcing me to nod. I sat, sullen, my eyes downcast.
I heard Billy straining from outside the door. He was kicking, shouting, “You can�
��t get away with this!”
I turned toward the door, waiting. One of the goons yanked it open, revealing another, larger goon on the other side, his arms wrapped around Billy. The moment Billy saw me, a quick smile flashed across his face. Tears stung my eyes in response. Perhaps he felt the same. Even if this was the end, we were together.
I couldn’t deny my feelings for him. I nearly leapt up from my seat, wanting to wrap my arms around him. Clark saw me move and pushed me back onto the chair with a mighty shove. He cackled, watching me collapse. The goon brought Billy forward, placing him in the chair beside mine. Billy’s eyes flashed toward me. For a brief second, I thought I caught him winking.
Why would he wink at a time like this?
The goons came forward and tied us to the chairs with rope, linking my wrists together tightly. My back arched at the pain. I glared at Clark like a scared animal, but Clark only had eyes for Billy. As Billy was tied, Clark clicked his tongue and eyed him with a strange mix of fatherly pride and malice.
“Tell me, Billy,” he said, leaning forward. He stroked at Billy’s curly hair, and then yanked it. Billy was quiet, without alarm. “Tell me just how you managed to best me at my own game, even if it was just for a few days? A man like you? I’ve been running these scams for decades. Decades, Billy Jay! And you just march in and steal not one, not two, but five million dollars from my vault. Like you’ve been watching too many heist movies.”
Clark’s eyes glittered evilly. “And your accomplice. I caught him on camera, but he was wearing a mask. I’ve sent an inquiry out east. Who do you hang out with? Who are your people? But they haven’t answered fast enough.” He reached forward, gripping Billy’s wrist. “I might have to be content with just having you. My prize. And letting your accomplice go free.”
Billy’s eyebrows rose. “Why not let Ruby here go, as well?” he asked. “She didn’t know anything about the plan. I picked her up at a casting agency. Can you believe she never made it in this town? She fooled you, better than I’ve ever seen.”
With a flourish, Clark drew a pocketknife from his side. He flashed the blade forward, making it glint directly in front of Billy’s eyes. I gasped, growing panicked. “Billy! Just give him whatever he wants. Please!”
“That’s right, Billy. Listen to the Lady Claire Harrington.”
Billy’s grin grew even wider. He actually leaned toward the knife, like a complete idiot. I felt my tongue freeze in my mouth. Clark’s knife glistened, drawing closer to his face, cutting the hairs of his stubble. I felt the rasp of each hair as the knife moved across Billy’s chin.
“Billy, tell me where that money is. Give me the money back. And I’ll let your little bird go,” Clark said, his voice growing raspy.
“Or what? I want you to tell me exactly what you’d do to me,” Billy said, almost laughing.
Clark reached forward, undoing one of Billy’s hands from behind the chair. He brought the hand forward, draping it across a side table. He flattened Billy’s hand on the tabletop, his palm flat, the fingers splayed wide. I remembered, with a lurch, the way those hands had held onto me, holding me down as he fucked me. My tongue quivered as I hunted for the words to say anything to convince Clark not to do this.
“I’ll take one finger, every ten minutes, until you tell me,” Clark hissed.
“Wow. Very medieval of you,” Billy said. “A finger every ten minutes. Tell me, Clark, have you ever actually taken a finger from anyone before?” He leaned forward. “Have you ever actually killed a man yourself, Clark?”
Clark looked miffed. He eyed the goons behind Billy, hunting for support. “Of course I have,” he said.
But the words felt off, like a lie. Billy was fearless. He’d seen action in Afghanistan. He had dived into New York’s underground. And when he’d learned that Clark Lambert was taking advantage of his father, he had risked his life to make it right.
You couldn’t help but admire the blind bravery.
“Ha. Okay, then. Prove it to me,” Billy scoffed. “Take a finger. Come on. I dare you. The biggest one. The one I’d miss the most. I want you to tear into the skin, break the bone, and wave the finger around like a fucking flag.”
Clark hesitated once more. After searching the eyes of his goons, and grimacing, he began to trace the knife around the ridge of the finger and hand. The movements were so delicate, however, he barely drew blood.
“That’s nice. Like a massage,” Billy said, teasing him. “Really. You know how to take care of a man.”
Clark’s nostrils flared. He reared back, pointing at Billy with the knife. He spoke to the goons, his voice loud. “If you don’t take care of him right now…” He trailed off.
I prepared to hear the blast of a gun. I prepared for a real attack, one administered by men who were trained to kill, to maim, and to destroy. But as my eyes squeezed shut, I heard the goons begin to laugh. Their laughter began in the belly and then grew, becoming loud and excited. Everything felt like it was out of control, spinning away from me. If these were my last minutes on earth, then they were the weirdest of my life.
“What are you laughing at?” Clark yelled. “Dammit, I told you to take care of him. And we’re wasting time.”
“Take care how?” one of the goons said, stepping forward. He placed a hand on Billy’s shoulder, while the other undid his other hand. “You want us to paint his fingernails or something?”
Billy jumped up from the chair, freed, and placed his arm around the goon’s shoulder. The other had begun to undo my bonds as well. He whispered into my ear, saying, “It’ll all be over soon. Just hang tight.”
“What the fuck are you doing?” Clark asked, taking more steps toward the back of the room. His knife was still held up, glinting in the light. But the knife looked hilariously small, now, as the goons approached him. “Tie him back up! Jesus. You know your role.”
“We do,” one of the goons said. “We know our roles pretty damn well. Since we took on these gigs last week, we’ve been mighty loyal to you. Pretty impressively loyal, wouldn’t you say?”
Last week? I thought. My eyes turned to Billy, who was smirking.
“These guys are my buddies from way, way back,” Billy said. “We met up in Afghanistan, of all places. Now that we’re out of the service, we do business together. Look at these ‘chaps,’ as you’d call them. The mightiest men I’ve met in my life. I’m sure you didn’t think twice about hiring them, did you, Clarkie?”
Clark sputtered. Billy had covered all of his angles. He’d had me, on the front end. He’d had fake “henchmen” on the back end. And someone coming up through the side, stealing from the vault.
It was an impressive heist. He had imagined every possible angle. Like a chess master, he had bested Clark with incredible foresight.
“Fuck you,” Clark whispered. His eyes grew red and watery. His grip on the knife released, and the weapon bounced on the ground. He backed up, and was pressed against the wall. The four of us approached him, like hungry hyenas.
“Come, now,” Clark continued. “We’re all crooks here, aren’t we?”
“Not Ruby,” Billy said. “Ruby’s completely innocent in all of this. Doesn’t know who were are, what we do. Nothing. She’ll be the one turning you in. Won’t you, Ruby?”
Unsure of how else to respond, I found myself nodding. Clark dropped to his knees, pressing his hands together. He was begging, and it was pathetic. “Please, Ruby. I’ll go back to England. I’ll leave Los Angeles forever. I won’t bother you, Billy, or anyone ever again. And—and I’ll give you money. I have another account. Several! Of course I do!” His chin went skyward. His eyes were pools of desperate misery. “Please, Ruby. Don’t do this.”
But I had already reached for the phone on his desk. Before I knew it, I had dialed the police. I could already hear their sirens screeching outside by the time I hung up the phone.
“Let’s go,” I said. I gripped Clark’s upper arm, as Billy took his other side. He nodded at me firmly, falling
into step beside me.
At first, we had to drag Clark. His feet glided along the sad carpet, before finding a rhythm with ours. Now that he knew that nobody was on his side, he was resigned to his fate.
We marched through the grim back hallway of the casino and found ourselves in the midst of mass hysterics. The gamblers in the main room were scrambling for their chips as the police entered. They were frightened, with nothing to live for but their addictions.
“They’re going to take all the money I earned today,” one of them shouted. “That’s my money. Those bastards!”
“We have to make a run for it!”
But the police didn’t have eyes for them. Instead, they bolted past and came directly towards Clark, Billy, and I. Their guns weren’t drawn, but their demeanor was sharp-edged and dark, not to be crossed. Clark whimpered between us.
We pushed him towards the approaching men and Billy and I watched as the officers handcuffed Clark and led him down the hall. Clark didn’t look back at us. He marched steadily forward, almost grateful to be away from us. As they led him toward the front doors, Billy wrapped an arm around my shoulders and held me close. I shuddered into him, turning my head into his chest.
When the doors closed, several officers remained, telling the gamblers to head home. “Nobody’s in trouble. But this is a crime scene, now.”
The officers informed me that I would eventually have to make a statement. I nodded, my lips quivering too much for speech. I heard Billy say, “She’ll be cooperative. But not today.”
I turned to one of the goons beside Billy, and gripped his wrist. “You are a better actor than me,” I laughed, blinking back tears. “When the taxi driver dropped me off here…”
“I couldn’t believe Clark had nabbed you guys,” the man said. “When I saw you coming out of that taxi, I knew we’d need to protect you however we could. Dammit, I wish all that could have been avoided. Although, I saw Billy was having a good time teasing Clark.” He clicked his tongue.