The front door opens as I exit the car, and a uniformed butler awaits. I grab the nylon bags, both filled to bursting with diamonds, and stroll confidently up the massive stone steps.
“Good evening, Monsieur,” the butler says. It’s telling he doesn’t know my name. It means I am not an important guest to Mercier. “If you’ll follow me, Monsieur Mercier is waiting for you in his office.”
The same guard from the party waits by the door to the basement. He stares blankly, opening the door and motioning me down. He does not follow, and neither does the butler.
I have no clue if a bullet is waiting for me as soon as I enter Mercier’s office, but I have to think his sense of caution is going to want a rundown of how the job played out so he can make sure there are no other key witnesses he needs to worry about. Still, my hand slips into my pocket to briefly curl around the metal trigger I’d slipped in there.
Mercier’s office doors are open. I walk in to find him behind his desk, reviewing some papers. He smiles broadly when I enter, rising from his chair and spreading his arms. “Aaaahhh…. The heroes have arrived.”
But then he frowns, looking behind me expectantly. “And where is Sin?”
“On her way to London,” I answer curtly. “We’ve decided to part ways.”
“I expected she would come here with you to get her payout,” he replies, his tone icy. He’s displeased over the fact we’re not making it easy for him to take us out.
I shrug carelessly. “I assume she’ll get up with you for her cut sooner rather than later. You’re good for it, right?”
“Of course, I am,” he snaps, then motions for the bags.
I let them slide off my shoulders onto his desk. He opens the first one and paws through the sparklers, giving me a brief glance before doing the same to the second.
“And you removed all the GPS chips?” he inquires, pulling out a large diamond-and-sapphire necklace to inspect.
“As instructed,” I confirm. “Left the pile behind as you told me to.”
Mercier casts me a doubtful look before reaching into his desk drawer and pulling out a black box. As I suspected, he’s not taking any chances.
He flips a switch, waves it slowly over the bags, and watches it with the eyes of a hawk. I hold my breath, praying Bebe’s as good as everyone claims. If she did her job right, the minute Mercier employed his jammer, hers activated the GPS in a protected, secretive fashion so it’s now emitting a signal for the police to find. It’s doubtful the robbery’s been discovered yet. The guards should still be out for a few hours, and the building doesn’t open any time soon. Still, as long as Mercier feels secure, he’s probably going to do nothing more than play with all his new diamonds today since he won’t feel any need to flee.
But I do need to get out of here.
“And my payment?” I ask. His eyes snap to mine. “I’ll take cash or a handful of diamonds. Your choice.”
His smile turns cold, chilling me. I’m not surprised in the slightest when he reaches into his desk drawer and pulls out a gun, which he raises to point straight at me.
I don’t waste time. Don’t wait for him to make some lame-ass apologies for why he has to do this.
I merely peel open my jacket so he can clearly see the vest below.
Mercier’s eyes flare, then bulge in their sockets as he gapes at the C4 strapped to my chest. Smoothly pulling the trigger from my pocket, I hold it up for him to see. I have to admit, Cage did a damn fine job of creating the vest for Cruce to bring to me. I owe them both several drinks at some point.
“I anticipated you’d do something like this,” I say blandly. “Never did trust you.”
Mercier growls, but he lowers the gun.
“Smart man,” I commend. “Because if you kill me and I drop this trigger, I’m packing enough explosives to level this chateau. I figured if I’m going to die tonight, I’m taking you with me.”
He snarls, seemingly at a loss for words.
“Now… come here,” I order, waving my trigger hand.
Mercier reluctantly comes around the desk, his eyes pinned to my chest. The C4 is genuine and legitimately wired block to block. I couldn’t afford for the vest to not look authentic. It is not, however, connected to the trigger. I don’t want to inadvertently blow us up… I value my life too much.
As Mercier approaches me, I shrug out of the jacket, keeping the trigger firmly in my hand. Carefully, I hold it out to Mercier. “Put it on.”
If looks could kill, I’d be dead. The man glares, his eyes promising retribution at some point, but he takes the jacket and puts it on ever so slowly.
I have to sell this to him—my sincere desire not to kill him, but not to die myself.
“Sin and I just want to be left alone, Julian.” I move over to a bag and grab a handful of diamonds, dropping them into the side pocket of the black utility pants I’m wearing. “I’m sorry it has come to this, but I promise… once I’m out of here, we are disappearing. You have nothing to worry about from us. You stay quiet. We stay quiet. Live and let live and all that.”
He doesn’t respond. I can tell he’ll never give up searching for us simply for the fact I’ve humiliated him. I’ve gotten the drop on the supposed kingpin, and it has shamed him.
“Move,” I order, gesturing toward his office doors.
He walks gingerly, clearly afraid of the explosives that are now on his chest. When we reach the top of the stairs, he calmly orders his guard, “Stand down. Whatever you do, don’t harm him. He’s got the trigger for the explosives on me.”
The guard’s eyes widen. He takes three steps back, clearly not wanting to be anywhere near Mercier right now.
“Out the front door,” I say, waving Mercier that way.
I follow him out of his chateau. When he hesitates at the bottom of the porch, I give him a tiny push in the back toward my car. His entire body clenches up tight, clearly expecting the C4 to explode, and I have to bite my cheek to stop from laughing.
He stops near the driver’s door, and I open it. Turning to look him in the eye, I say, “You will leave Sin and me in peace. I get wind you’re coming after us, then I’ll be coming after you. You understand?”
Mercier locks his jaw tight, but he eventually nods.
“You have my word that I’ll deactivate this trigger once I’m down the road a bit.”
“How am I supposed to trust that?” he snarls.
Smiling, I shrug. “I guess you don’t. But you have no choice but to comply.”
We engage in a staring contest before I wink and drop into the driver’s seat, closing the door on him. I start the car and pull out, carefully watching him in the rearview mirror as I drive away. He stands perfectly still, fully believing he’s in mortal danger.
As the chateau recedes from my vision, I pull the burner phone out and dial the police. When the line connects, I say, “Yes… I’d like to report a robbery.”
CHAPTER 26
Saint
Leaving the outskirts of Paris, I head north to Brussels. I don’t bother calling Cruce to tell him I’m on my way. It’s always better to keep communications to a minimum, particularly when trying to fly under the radar.
I utilize my time, daring to dream of the future. I’d reported the robbery over an hour ago, so I have to assume the police are crawling all over Mercier’s estate right about now—assuming Bebe’s technology worked. I have no clue what the man will do once he’s arrested. I don’t imagine he’ll spill my name. He’ll do what all criminals do, which is demand legal counsel. It’s the same no matter what country the trouble is in. It will take a while to get him booked, processed, and for a lawyer to talk to him. Mercier’s not going to be interested in cutting a deal. He’ll use his vast wealth and legal resources to get himself out of this mess. I figure he’ll only give Sin and me up as a last resort.
Regardless, it’s best if I get the hell out of Europe. The details have already been worked out. I’ve been traveling under alias identities s
ince I left the States, including my brief trip back to Pittsburgh. I’ll be flying out under a separate one, including some fancy facial prosthetics to fool cameras. The folks at Jameson got Sin a new identity, too.
I can’t risk bringing in her dad right now. If—for any reason—Sin and I are on law enforcement’s radar, her dad needs to stay in London and play it cool. We’ll get him over to us soon, though.
And here is where I want to dream about the future. Sin and me in Pittsburgh, where I can continue my new career at Jameson and Sin can do whatever the hell she wants. School, work, or be a stay-at-home woman. The sky’s the limit for her.
We’ll need to figure out where to live. The apartment I’d been staying in at Jameson headquarters is fine for a single man, but I’m thinking a house on the outskirts of the city. With a few acres of land for privacy.
A big house. With room to grow should we pursue the dreams we used to talk about… having a family.
When I enter the city of Brussels, I creep along the streets, searching for my turn. I’d memorized the directions, not currently having a smartphone to Google them. The burner phone I have is like an old-school flip phone and only for actual conversations. There are no fancy apps to tell me how to get where I need to go.
I’d destroyed the smartphone I’d bought when I came to Paris, which I’d registered under one of my aliases and used locally with my new heist comrades. But it’s of no use to me anymore. While most of the information on it was benign, I took pains before we left for The Diamond Warehouse to destroy any trace of my actual existence here in Europe. The burner phone will meet a quick but complete death as soon as I’m ready to board the plane out of here.
While I was in Pittsburgh, Cruce and I had made the plans to take Sin out of the equation after the heist. The dude was a good friend to do all of this for me, even spending some time trying to talk me out of it. He made a good devil’s advocate, but I was set on my course. I wasn’t going to let Sin get anywhere near Julian Mercier once we left that warehouse.
We’d even picked out the hotel where I’m set to meet them. It’s in a seedier part of Brussels, chosen purely for the fact it doesn’t have any interior or exterior security cameras. We’re doing everything we can to avoid photos of us.
I abandon the Peugeot several blocks from the hotel after having wiped it down, despite the fact I’m still wearing gloves. I tossed the few things I’d still had on me in a small river I crossed on the road… the unconnected bomb trigger, the reverse jammer, and the pocket full of diamonds. Hated to do that, but I hadn’t wanted anything connected to me. Besides, the insurance consortium shouldn’t mind the loss considering what they’d be recovering after they raided Mercier’s estate.
The sun is starting to rise as I walk to the hotel, now trying to quell my nerves over seeing Sin. She is going to be beyond pissed.
Hell, she might even attack me.
I’ll let her have her moment, though, because I’ll deserve some of it.
But then I’m going to kiss the fuck out of her and demand she get over it, because we have a life to start.
There’s no one behind the clerk’s desk when I enter, so I move quickly to the single elevator, taking it to the third floor. Cruce has been here for three days, and he’d already made the final arrangements for our transportation out of here.
My heart is slamming inside my chest by the time I reach the room door. When I sharply rap my knuckles against it, I hear movement inside, then a grim-looking Cruce opens the door.
Apprehension takes hold and I push past him, searching the room and finding it empty. There’s no sign of Sin. A quick glance into the bathroom shows she isn’t there. I spin on Cruce, demanding, “Where is she?”
“She took off as soon as we got here,” he replies tiredly.
“Jesus, Cruce,” I growl in irritation. “What is it with you and losing women?”
If I weren’t so furious right now, I would laugh. Cruce had once lost Kynan’s fiancée, Joslyn, to a madman who’d been stalking her. Granted, Joslyn had very cleverly duped Cruce. His own woman, Barrett, had then gotten kidnapped right out from underneath him. I’ll concede there were extenuating circumstances—such as the flash-bang grenades used to disable him—but still.
And now, once again, he’s managed to lose another woman? Had he just let Sin walk out?
“Dude, that’s low,” Cruce mutters.
“Where did she go?” I shout.
He shrugs. “She’s pissed, Saint. From the moment she woke up in the car, she cursed your name up one side and down another.”
“Is she coming back?” I ask, desperately hoping she’s simply walking around Brussels to cool down.
He hesitates before answering, scrubbing his hand through his hair. But then he shakes his head. “No, she’s not. Said it was unforgivable for you to take her out like that without giving her a choice in the matter.”
I can’t suppress my eye roll. “Does she understand how hypocritical it is for her to be mad at me for doing the same damn thing to her that she did to me… which she begged me to forgive her for? Surely she gets why I did it.”
“Oh, she does,” he replies, moving to the bed and sitting on the edge. “When she wasn’t cursing you, we talked about it. She takes the opposite approach on that issue, thinking that because you know how bad it hurts to have someone not trust you enough, you shouldn’t have ever even considered doing it to her.”
“Fucking women,” I mutter. It’s not fair, but I don’t know what else to say. Unsurprisingly, she has a point. I’d known Sin was not only going to be pissed, but she’d also feel betrayed on a deeper level. A lot of her anger probably stemmed from the fact she had no clue if I even came out of my meeting with Mercier alive. I hadn’t contacted Cruce or Sin, intent on keeping our footprints to a minimum. For all Sin knows, I’m dead and Mercier is gloating with millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds.
I get it.
But damn it… she could have at least hung around and told me this shit to my face. She could have yelled. Could have even hit me.
Anything other than leave me.
“Did she say where she was going?” I ask, my mind starting to spin as I try to figure out an alternate plan. “London to her dad?”
Cruce shakes his head again. “She wouldn’t tell me, even though I practically begged. Specifically said she didn’t want you coming after her. But she did take the new identification we’d had made for her, so she should be able to travel under the radar at least.”
That’s actually good news. I’m not only frustrated over possibly losing Sin, but I’m also worried about her safety. Part of the final plan was to get Sin and me out of Europe undetected. If Mercier rats us out at some point, we need plausible deniability. The best way to manage that is to have nothing traceable that’s able to prove we were even here.
“I’ll head to London. She has to be there.”
“Like hell, you will,” Cruce exclaims, popping off the bed. “We’ve developed a strong alibi for you, and your ass is getting on the private jet that Kynan jumped through a lot of hoops to procure. You cannot be gallivanting all over Europe right now.”
“But—”
“But nothing,” he growls, stalking over to a roll-on suitcase he has packed in the corner. “We’re leaving now. That was the plan for when you got here… straight to the airport, then we’re out of here.”
“I can’t leave her behind,” I say, hating the vulnerability in my voice.
“You’re not,” he replies flatly. “She left you. It’s done, Saint. Now let’s go.”
Cruce tosses the suitcase on the bed, then opens it. He pulls out a smaller black bag, unzips the side, and reveals some flesh-colored pieces of silicon to change the shapes of our noses. Next, he digs out two wigs.
Our disguises will match the passports we’ll use to exit Brussels. He passes me the supplies. “Put your stuff on. We need to go.”
I take the materials, then stomp toward the bathroom.<
br />
“I gave Sin her disguise,” he says without me having to ask. “If she wants to head to Pittsburgh, she knows to use it and the passport associated with it. She’ll be fine, okay?”
“Yeah… fine,” I mutter.
But it’s not okay.
It appears my future with Sin was nothing more than a pipe dream.
CHAPTER 27
Sin
My anger at Saint is mostly what’s driving me to do this, but it’s not the only thing. There’s the minor matter of alleviating my conscience if I’m going to move forward with my life. Had Saint trusted me enough, I would have been able to walk away from everything, including what I’m getting ready to do now.
But things hadn’t worked out with Saint, had they? He took matters into his own hands, and he’d chosen to betray the trust we had started to build back up. He’d done the same exact thing to me that I had to him. What pisses me off the most is that he knows how much it hurts.
He’d known how badly I would be hurt, yet he’d done it anyway.
So yeah, I now sit crouched in the trees surrounding Julian Mercier’s estate, carefully watching the house. It’s nearing four. As far as I can tell, everything is completely deserted and has been so for a handful of hours.
It wasn’t like that when I first arrived. I left Brussels in a rental vehicle, then drove straight back to Seine-et-Marne, parking three miles away from Mercier’s chateau and hiking in as close as I could get without revealing myself.
The police were already here when I arrived.
Dozens of vehicles. Multiple French law enforcement agencies and some international ones as well.
If Saint had known I’d come back here, he would have cheerfully killed me even though he has no right to be offended at anything I do now. The risk I’m taking by hiding in the trees to watch what’s going on is immense. It would not have been unheard of for the enforcement agencies to search the entire grounds. If they’d looked, I could have easily been found, which would have raised a lot of awkward questions.
Code Name: Heist Page 17
