by A. J. Norris
Her shoulders sagged for a moment, but she recovered quickly. “What’s in your pants is a waste of time.”
“Well, I wouldn’t waste it on you,” I growled.
“Good, because I like more than three—”
A crack of laughter sliced through the room, ending our argument. The Cowboy smiled broadly. “You two are entertainin’. Nora, you’ve changed my mind. Your kind of feistiness is what this team needs. Both of you are on the crew, and since you like each other so much, ya’ll are on surveillance duty together.”
“Thank you, sir,” Nora said. She smiled smugly at me.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
* * *
Melanie
After the assignments were doled out and the meeting ended, I walked out of Flynn’s office. Lincoln grabbed my arm, swung me around, and flattened my back against the wall in the shop area. He pegged me with a stare. His pale blue eyes searched my face. Although, I didn’t know what he was looking for or if he’d find it. I certainly had passed into unfamiliar territory. God knew I was in over my head, and even if I survived this, I’d never be the same. I might lose myself. Maybe I already had. Scratch that—I had lost a part of myself almost four years ago. A part I’d never get back: my soul.
Lincoln groaned under his breath. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“What do you mean? The same as you.”
“This isn’t a game, sweetheart.”
“Stop calling me that.” At least not with such distain. “And you have a real knack for getting in my face. Back off!”
He pointed at me. “No. You need to go back in that office and tell him you’re out.”
“And why would I do that?”
“This shit can get you killed.”
“As if I don’t know that. Why do you care?” I shot back.
“Why don’t you?” He tossed his hands in the air and they came down, smacking his thighs.
“Do me a favor and worry about yourself.” What was Lincoln’s deal? The first time I had laid eyes on him, seven months ago, he barely gave me a glance. Now, this was the second time he was all up in my face. Why did I put my hand down his pants? My face got hot. “Please tell me this misguided attempt to protect me isn’t about my hand in your pants.”
He snorted. “Why do you keep bringing that up? Must’ve made a big impression on you. Or is it that you can’t stop thinking about me?” He wet his lips.
I focused on his mouth. “Yes—nooo. I hate you. You make me sick.”
The man laughed. “Flynn was right. You are feisty.” He grabbed a rolling Rubbermaid trash can that was within reach and put it between us.
“What’s this—?”
“You said I make you sick.”
Trying to hide my amusement, I flattened my lips together to keep from smiling. Except then a giggle escaped my mouth. He smirked.
“Meet me here at noon tomorrow. We have shit to do,” he said, then walked away.
CHAPTER 5
Melanie
I imagined the ways I could make Lincoln’s death look accidental. How do you bleed brake lines? He glared at me all the way across the expanse of Flynn’s Garage, standing with his arms at his sides, and feet planted on the cement floor. For a second, I wished his muscular arms were around me. I swore under my breath.
“You’re late,” he said when I was ten feet away from him.
Glancing at my watch, I said, “You said noon. It’s only three minutes after.”
“Three minutes of time wasting when we could’ve been in the car already.”
I rolled my eyes. “Why are you wasting time talking, then?”
He grunted and headed for the back entrance. I jogged to catch up with him. We were assigned to scope the layout of Jewelry Zen. The place boasted the most cash for your unwanted precious metals, gems, and diamonds. And our intel (from an undisclosed source per Flynn) said they had an average of a quarter mil on hand each morning, plus the jewelry. However, on Saturdays they had double that to cover Sunday. Apparently, this glorified pawn shop made a killing. Well, this was SoCal.
J-Zen was located south of Hermosa Beach in Redondo. This store would be the start of many we’d be hitting over the next year. How fun. Not. Good thing my thieving days only included this job.
I wasn’t looking forward to this or spending time with Lincoln in close proximity. However, I did not have a choice. Oh, who was I kidding, I wanted to spend many nights in close proximity to the man. Graduating college should have been on the agenda, but no, my brother had to up and get himself murdered. He deserved justice.
Lincoln drove a beat-up old truck that reeked like sweat and I don’t know what else, even though he always smelled clean and masculine. “Did you steal this wreck?” Because it had to be the only explanation.
“And what if I did?”
“I’d ask if you scraped off the VIN.”
He peeked at me sideways with a smirk. “I’m borrowing it.”
“Uh-huh. Riiiight. Borrow. Wink, wink.”
Lincoln chuckled. “It’s true. I swear, you have my word.”
“You know, it’s not a good idea to get popped before we do the job.”
His eyebrows raised. “Why don’t you believe me?”
I took a deep breath. “You’re a thief. Why should I believe anything that comes out of your mouth?”
“So, if I told you that I think you’re sexy, you wouldn’t believe me?”
My body flushed with heat. “You do?” I blurted.
I wasn’t sure if it was his shrug or sneer that annoyed me more. And my heart sank into the pit that had become my stomach. God, I loathed that I cared what he thought. “You’re a jerk.” I swatted his arm.
“I’m kidding. Yes, I think you’re hot as fuck.”
“You’re still a jerk.”
We sat in silence for a long time. A long, long time. He licked his lips and brushed a hand through his hair.
“You better not be thinking about my hand in your pants.”
He grinned. “And what if I was?”
“It’s a good thing you enjoyed it so much, ’cause that’s as close as you’ll ever get to being with me.”
“I’m glad you cleared that up because the blush on your face and the way you’re playing with your hair like you’re nervous was confusing me.”
“I’m not play—” Oh. I dropped the lock of hair I was twirling around my finger. “You’re completely insane.”
“I can’t help it if you want me.”
“You’re seriously deluded. Just stop talking.”
The man laughed. I needed to quit letting him get under my skin. The trouble was, he had already set up camp there. And clearly knew how to push me to the brink of insanity.
“You make me want to pull my hair out.”
Lincoln parked his borrowed stinky truck right out front of J-Zen. He cut the engine. “When we get in there, ask to see their engagement rings or something while I check out their security measures.”
“I have an idea: Why don’t you look at rings and I’ll do the checking?”
“Pfft. Can’t you do what you’re told? I don’t need you getting in the way.”
I made a face and mocked him inside my head. He was going to screw this up. The self-centered moron couldn’t be trusted.
We got out of the jalopy at the same time and locked eyes.
Annnnd...we both bolted for the pawn shop.
I reached the entrance first as I was closest to the door. Yanking on the door handle got me nowhere. What the—were they even open? There was a ton of people inside. Maybe you had to be buzzed—
Lincoln sighed heavily. “You’re such a girl.” When he pulled the heavy glass door open, I brushed by him, making sure my shoulder touched his chest. He sucked in a breath. “You better behave,” he said.
Excuse me? “I’m sorry. Were you talking to me?”
“Who else would I be talking to?”
“I don’t know. There’s a wh
ole store full of people.” And the place was busy, especially for a weekday. Didn’t anyone have jobs anymore? “It’s packed,” I said, but he’d already moved away from me.
* * *
Lincoln
The interior of J-Zen looked like any typical jewelry store with two L-shaped glass display cases on either side, with a square-shaped one in the center of the store. Two salespeople worked the center and three on each of the side cases. A large sign on the wall at the back of the store read: CASH FOR 24k GOLD, also in smaller print something about other metals and the types of gems they bought. I didn’t take the time to read all of it. The armed security guard on my right nodded at me.
On my initial sweep, I counted four security cameras. No doubt there had to be one by the cash register; however, I couldn’t see through the crowd of people. Nora had edged herself between two women at the L-shaped counter near the register, carving out a space for her fine behind. What am I saying? I had no business even thinking carnal thoughts of her. Nora was off limits. But was she? My thoughts were my own. Internal Affairs wasn’t going to come down on me for admiring her sweet, heart-shaped ass.
I tapped her on the shoulder.
She turned and grabbed my hand. “There you are, sweetheart.” Pulling me forward, she asked the woman next to her to make room for me. By the smirk on her face, I knew Nora enjoyed sweethearting me like I did her. “Look, they have all these matching engagement sets.” The salesman reached under the glass and pulled out a blue velvet-lined tray of rings. “Which ones do you like?” Nora asked.
I gritted my teeth. I dunno. “Whatever you like.”
Nora beamed. “Really?”
The woman on our left said, “Aw.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. Hard. Ow. My hands curled into fists down at my sides. Fake shopping for rings brought up a painful memory, which I hadn’t anticipated. Three and a half years ago, my girlfriend and I had been doing this exact thing. A day later, on her way to work, she got T-boned and died of her injuries. A young woman hit her after passing out behind the wheel from carbon monoxide poisoning. Her shitty old car had a leak in the exhaust system. I refused to learn her name. I couldn’t deal. I’d also been told that she didn’t remember the accident. So, what was the point to this knowledge?
Nora picked up a set of black tungsten rings. The woman’s ring was thinner with an inset eternity band of black diamonds. They were not half bad. “What do you think?” The rings made a clinking sound as she placed them in my palm.
My chest tightened. Why had I suggested she look at engagement rings? I could have said anything else: necklaces, bracelets, watches, anything gold or with diamonds. Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. I rubbed the back of my neck, tugged at the collar of my T-shirt. Cold sweat beaded on my forehead and stung my back.
The bridge of Nora’s nose crinkled. What’s wrong? she mouthed.
“Let’s come back when it’s less crowded.”
“Your fiancée seems very fond of the rings. Let me place a hold on these and you can come back next week. If not, no harm.” The man shrugged.
“Thanks,” I said. At least I thought so. Setting the rings down on the counter, I grabbed Nora’s hand and rushed toward the exit with her trailing behind me.
Once outside, she yanked her hand free of my grip. “Are you all right?”
No. “I’m fine. It’s...nothing. I’m good.”
She gaped at me with her mouth hung open. “Uh, are you sure? You looked like you were about to flip out in there.”
“Too many people to get a good scope of the place. We’ll come back tomorrow when it’s less busy.”
“O-kay, I agree. But I don’t believe you’re fine. Are you claustrophobic?”
“Uh-uh. Get in the truck.”
CHAPTER 6
Melanie
Okay, I felt less like killing Lincoln now. It never occurred to me that he had a vulnerable side. Something had freaked him out. What, though, if he wasn’t claustrophobic? Agoraphobic? No, that was fear of going outside.
“Mind telling me what your deal was back there?”
“None of your business,” he grumbled.
“So, something did freak you out, then.”
“Drop it.”
“How about I tell Flynn about your little episode? See what he—” thinks about you being on the crew now.
“Drop. It. Please.”
“What is it? I need to know I can trust that you won’t flake out on the job.”
He took a deep breath. “Nora, it doesn’t concern you.”
I pivoted toward him so I could see more of his face. “Like hell it doesn’t. And you were worried that I wouldn’t behave myself.”
“It won’t compromise the job. Everyone has shit they have to deal with, including me. As I’m sure you have things in your past you’d rather not talk about, right?”
My stomach bottomed out. He wasn’t wrong. “It was the engagement rings.” I said this more to myself then him.
He eased away from the curb and merged into traffic. Eventually, he drove us onto the freeway.
“I take your silence to mean I’m right. About the rings.”
“You can extrapolate all you want, but please leave me out of your conclusions.”
As we sped along the 405, I wondered about his past, trying for once not to think about mine. He turned off the highway at the wrong exit. “I thought we were going back to the garage.”
“We have to meet a guy at the Hilton at LAX.”
My heart pounded. How shady had that sounded? “What guy?”
“The Cowboy wants us to pick up a package for him.”
“Cowboy? Oh, Flynn.” I giggled as my nerves spasmed.
Lincoln exited the freeway too soon for the airport.
What is this now?
“We have to pick up Rico first.” He meandered through a neighborhood I wasn’t familiar with and stopped in front of a small white house. “You’ll have to move over.” I scooched closer to him on the bench seat to make room for Rico. He honked and the other man came out of the house.
Rico was the kind of guy that looked as if he might smell of BO. He didn’t, but the cigarette stench was enough to gag a horse. And horses couldn’t gag. His hair was dark and unkempt. A perpetual five o’clock shadow on his jaw. Although I wondered if he was the one who shot Josh, I told myself from the beginning not to dwell on the unknown. Any of the crew was my suspect, except for Lincoln. He was too new to the Syndicate.
Rico settled into the seat, cigarette smell wafting over. I covered my mouth and nose by pulling up my shirt. And here I thought the truck reeked. It damn near smelled like roses compared to this man. I tried waving the odor away. Was he an actual dragon that breathed burning tobacco, tar, and nicotine instead of fire? “How many packs an hour do you smoke?” I asked.
Lincoln chuckled.
Rico waved dismissively.
“Am I wrong? He stinks.”
“Yeah, man, crack a window.”
Rico and I had done this dance before, so he basically ignored me. He rested his hands on his thighs and, for the first time, I noticed his gnarly, scarred knuckles. Clearly, he’d been in a few fights.
After rolling the window down, the tobacco dragon dug his smokes and lighter out of his blue button-down shirt with a Flynn’s Garage patch sewn on one pocket and his name embroidered on the other. He put a cigarette between his lips. “Mind if I light up?”
“Yes,” I said.
“I wasn’t asking you.”
“Sorry, I have to agree with her on this one. I tell you what, we can wait if you wanna have a smoke before we go up to the room.”
“S’all good. I can respect another man’s wheels.”
“Any idea what’s in the package we’re picking up?” I asked, hoping it was a puppy or something else cute and non-life threatening.
“Not our place to ask questions,” Rico said. “Just keep your eyes peeled and your mouth shut.”
Awesome, this
was getting better by the minute.
* * *
Lincoln pulled into the parking garage next to the Hilton, stopping at the gate for a ticket. When he leaned to the side was the point at which I could no longer deny being scared. A gun holstered at the small of his back peeked out beneath his leather jacket.
He proceeded into the covered lot and wound his way around to the exit and parked on the ground level. After we got out of the truck, the sound of the doors slamming bounced off the concrete walls. I jolted and a hand went to my heart.
Rico lit up a cigarette and stared at me shrewdly while he rested his backside against a silver Mercedes parked on the other side of an empty space next to the truck. Was the man carrying, too?
Lincoln came and stood next to me. “Is the gun necessary?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Probably not, but better to be caught with it than without.”
“So, you really have no idea what’s in this package?”
“Nope. Don’t care.”
“Do you think it’s drugs?”
Rico chuckled low. “This one sure likes to run her mouth,” he said, exhaling smoke. He spoke as if he had asked a question instead of making a statement. As a result, he sounded unsure of himself most of the time. I’d read somewhere this was called up-talk.
Lincoln shook his head. “No. I don’t think it’s drugs.”
Tobacco dragon dragged on his cigarette, the tip glowing brighter orange. “Answers can get you killed. Do yourself a favor and quit asking questions.”
“Maybe I should have a gun,” I muttered.
“Why, so you can shoot us accidentally?” Rico said.
“What if things go bad?” I asked.
Lincoln gave me a funny look. “What exactly do you think is going to happen?”
“We’re picking up a mysterious package and hopefully leaving without any problems.”
“Exactly. Don’t make a big thing out of it, all right? They’re expecting us.”
Hearing that we were expected calmed my nerves a little.