She sat silently for a long time, looking at the floor.
Snatches of memory from their encounter in the barn interrupted his train of thought. It had been happening all day. He wanted to talk to her about it. But this wasn’t the time. “Say something.”
“What do you want me to say? I shouldn’t give a damn, but I don’t want you to get hurt.”
He gave her room to get her words straight.
“I don’t know what to do, Jordan.” She shook her head.
He hadn’t known her very long, but he could see how torn she was. Watching her triggered his guilt again, churning his guts like he’d eaten three day old takeaway. He tried to beat the nausea down with anger – if it came down to a choice between his life and the belongings of a few rich people, shouldn’t she choose him? “We’re going to hit the bank whether you help or not. I don’t have a choice.”
“But I do?”
“Yes.”
She gave him that look he’d come to dread. It said she was keeping him at arm’s length until she had time to evaluate all the information. Of course, that was the right thing for her to do, but it didn’t make him feel any better. “Give me something useful.”
She shook her head. “No way.”
“If I don’t get Ursino his money, he won’t just kill me, he’ll have to make an example of me.” He couldn’t bring himself to go into any more detail than that.
She looked down at her hands and picked at her fingernails. “If I agreed to help you, what would I have to do?”
He started at the beginning. She absolutely would not have to be there. Her posture softened slightly when he told her that.
“In fact, you should go and visit someone – make sure you have an alibi.”
She nodded. He pictured her going to stay with a sharp-suited ex. Probably an accountant or a management consultant. Pushing the image away, he got back to the matter at hand.
All she had to do was tell him exactly who would be notified when the alarms went off and the easiest way to get into the safety deposit boxes without making it look like an inside job.
She chewed on her bottom lip for a long time, then looked up at him. “The alarm is linked directly to the police and to the security firm.”
He didn’t realise he’d been holding his breath until he let it out. She was going to help. He wanted to jump off the sofa and sweep her out of her chair. But she was sitting so far away with her arms crossed like she wanted to ward him off.
From what she said, it would be safest to spend no longer than two minutes in there. Bill should accept that – there’d be three of them with Danny along for the ride so two minutes would be plenty of time to gather up a nice haul.
“Just take the boxes with you. You won’t have time to do anything while you’re there.”
It was what he’d been thinking, but it didn’t hurt to have her confirm it.
The security arrangements were the easy part. After that it was going to get a lot more complicated. She seemed to accept her role in the plan. Pulling it off would be something else.
“You don’t have to do this. I can still leave town.” Well, he could try anyway.
“No. I’ll do it.”
It was impossible to tell what was going through her head. She was so closed down. Completely different to how she’d been before. He held a clear image of her in his mind’s eye. They were back in that big, empty barn and she was looking at him with dreamy lust in her eyes. He wanted to see that look on her again.
Maybe he would, but not that night.
The optimistic part of him said it would happen, though. After all, she’d agreed to go through with the plan.
“But I want to talk to Ursino first.”
“What? No. You can’t.” Why the hell would she want to?
“Then I’ll call the police and tell them what you’re planning.” She stared him down, her brown eyes hard. “I mean it, Jordan. Non-negotiable.”
Shit. He didn’t like this development one little bit. “Ursino is seriously dangerous. Trust me, you don’t want to get in a room with him.” The less involved she was, the better.
“I see Ursino or I call the police.”
“Why? What are you going to do?”
“That’s my business. Can you arrange it?” The set of her jaw didn’t invite an argument.
It was a crazy idea. But he didn’t have much choice. “I can talk to him. I can’t promise any more than that.”
“That’s plenty.”
His imagination went wild trying to come up with an explanation for her request. What did she think she could achieve?
“You have to go in as normal tomorrow.”
“I know. But I don’t know how normal I’ll seem when I get in there. I’m not used to this sort of thing.” She got to her feet.
He looked at his watch. “I didn’t mean to keep you up so late.” It seemed likely assistant bank managers would have to get up earlier than bank robbers. He got up to leave.
“I appreciate that.” She looked so tired all of a sudden. He took a step towards her and she edged away.
The movement was very subtle. And very wounding. “I’ll be in touch.” He went to the door. Leaving like that – with her so distant – felt like a mistake, but he had too much other stuff to deal with.
If he got through the rest of the week without being shot or arrested he’d sit Loretta down for a serious talk. Not that she was likely to want anything to do with him after he’d emptied the safety deposit room.
She walked him to the front door. Her face was blank – not angry, not sad, not anything. He hoped she could handle this. She gave every impression of being a tough cookie, but appearances could be deceptive.
“I’m going to talk to Danny – the third guy on the job. I’ll give you an update tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
He wanted to ask her if she was alright. Of course she wasn’t. Who would be, in her position? He walked down the drive to the car and got in. By the time he looked up at the door, she’d gone.
CHAPTER 13
“Miss Johnson. This is an unexpected pleasure.”
Loretta slipped into Sean’s office with a sinking feeling in her stomach. He’d never felt the need to be formal before. “Hi Sean.”
“What can I do for you?” He barely glanced up from his monitor. This was not a good start.
“I wanted to take you up on your invitation.”
Now he did look up. He studied her as if she was a potentially dangerous new species that had wondered in from the wild. “Invitation?”
She summoned up all the courage she had and came out with it. “The fundraiser this Saturday.”
He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the side. “You want to come to the fundraiser?”
“Yes.”
“With me?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think I’m that stupid? I’d come over there and check you for recording equipment, but you’d probably say I was trying to grope you.” He turned his attention back to the computer. It was more or less the reaction she’d been expecting.
She ignored her instincts and walked around his desk. With her parents out of the country, there really wasn’t anyone else available to give her the alibi she needed. “Look, Sean. I’m sorry about what I said the other day.”
He snorted.
“I thought the ball would be a good way to bury the hatchet.”
Sean looked up at her with that shrewd quality she always associated with weasels. “Let me get this right. You’re apologising to me and you want to come on a date with me?”
“Not a date.” God no. Not for any reason or under any circumstances. “Just two friends spending the evening together.”
“Friends?”
At least he didn’t snort that time. He hadn’t said no either. “We work together, Sean. We should be friends.”
“Okay. Let’s say I agree to this non-date. What happens if I have too much to drink and say som
ething I shouldn’t?”
She’d asked herself the same question. “I can handle a few inappropriate comments.”
“Does that mean you’ll be bringing your tape recorder?”
She raised her eyes to the ceiling. “Forget it.” She’d just have to go through her sparse address book one more time. It was almost her lunch hour anyway. She went to the door.
“Loretta, wait.”
She stopped.
“Give me your address and I’ll pick you up at seven.”
Don’t look too happy. She turned and nodded. “Great.” Now she could get on with stage two. She knew what she wanted to say to Ursino. If he was okay with it, she’d have to talk Jordan into a change of plan.
No. Forget that. He’d do what she said or the whole thing was off.
***
Loretta walked out of the bank, turned the corner and stopped. After everything that had happened in the past week, she’d thought nothing could surprise her any more. She was certainly wrong about that.
Jordan had told her there would be a car waiting to pick her up. What he hadn’t mentioned was that it would be a classic black Mercedes saloon.
Before she got within three feet, the driver jumped out and opened the door. A pair of legs in a dark blue suit was just visible in the back seat. No, not blue. She climbed into the car and saw that the suit was actually dark purple.
“Miss Johnson.”
“Mr Ursino.” She shook the hand he offered, doing her best to match the firmness of his grip.
“You have some information for me.”
She nodded. “And a request.” Reaching into her bag, she brought out her winnings from the poker game. “I want to help pay off Jordan’s debt.” She held out the money.
Ursino took it, flicked through the notes and held them up between them. “This won’t cover very much.”
Her heart sank. It was the answer she’d been dreading. “I can get more.” If Jordan got her into some more games she could make that much again. Maybe double that much.
He took her hand and pressed the cash back into it. “Miss Johnson, let me tell you a story.”
She hadn’t come to this meeting to listen to stories, but when Vittorio Ursino spoke, you listened.
“Once, there was a young man with a rather loose interpretation of right and wrong. Like most young men, he thought he was invincible. Even after he tasted a little trouble, he thought he was clever enough to live a charmed life.”
“Jordan.”
He neither agreed nor disagreed. He simply carried on. “This young man had a lot of charm and a quick brain, but his taste in women left much to be desired. He married young – against his parents’ wishes. They had a daughter, but things were already falling apart and his wife soon left them both.”
“I had no idea.”
“Growing up without a mother is part of the reason Gina’s so flighty.”
“Gina?”
He looked her in the eye, waiting for the penny to drop.
“Oh.”
“I know my daughter, Miss Johnson. But girls don’t listen to their fathers when they tell them not to date someone. I held my tongue. Waited for it to burn itself out. Then Jordan met you and things got messy.” His gaze sharpened.
Loretta’s heart clenched in her chest. That wasn’t a look she wanted to see again.
“I don’t like mess, Miss Johnson. People get hurt.”
She tried to swallow but her throat was too dry.
“And now she’s making a fool of herself with another of my employees. An employee who’s shown himself to be a liability.”
So he did know. Jordan hadn’t been sure.
“I want this finished. If that means letting go of Jordan Bernardino, I’ll do it gladly.”
She couldn’t believe it. It was too easy. “Thank you. Thank you, Mr Ursino.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I’m going to tell you exactly what I want you to do and you’re going to do it.”
She nodded. What choice did she have?
CHAPTER 14
Jordan’s nerves never started to jangle until a couple of hours before a job. That was usually when he turned to his current woman for a little distraction. Unfortunately, that wasn’t on the cards the night of the second raid on Loretta’s bank.
In the end he killed the time with a run down by the canal. He pushed himself hard, trying to empty his mind. It didn’t work. His body was screaming in protest when he got back to his flat, but his head was still full of Gina, Bill, Ursino and Loretta. Always Loretta.
He left early and reached Danny’s garage a good half hour before they were due to meet Bill. There wasn’t all that much to do, but he was damned if he was going to let Bill get too comfortable.
Plus Danny was the closest thing he had to a friend in the business. If the night didn’t work out, he wouldn’t see him again. Even if they were lucky enough to get out with the loot, they’d probably only have one more job together. And if that went well, Jordan would be leaving town for good.
Bill turned up ten minutes early. He eyed the beers they’d nearly finished and raised an eyebrow. “This a private party?”
“Help yourself.” Danny pointed to the fridge in the corner and Bill got himself a beer. He cracked it open and perched himself on the edge of the counter. “You ladies ready?”
“Let’s go.” There was no point hanging around trading insults. They shouldered their bags and walked out into the night.
***
Trust Sean to put his finger on the doorbell and hold it there. Loretta ran to let him in before he broke the damn thing. “You’re early.” She went back inside to find her shoes.
“You look good.”
“Thanks.” Her wardrobe wasn’t overflowing with evening wear so she’d had to do some last-minute shopping. The ankle-length sky-blue dress she’d found was the only thing she’d tried on that she didn’t hate. “Take a seat.” She pointed through the sitting room door.
“Nice place,” he called after her.
The idea of having a fine glass of Shiraz to settle her nerves before he arrived had been very tempting, but she’d decided against it. She dashed upstairs to grab her silver sling-backs and brought them down to the living room. “Do you want a drink?”
“No. I’m driving.”
“I only meant a tea or coffee.”
“No, I’m fine.”
Considering how low her dress was cut, he was doing an impressive job of looking her in the eye. It gave her hope the evening might not be a complete disaster. “I’m nearly ready.” Would Jordan and the others be getting ready for the bank yet? She hadn’t asked what time they were going in. The less she knew, the better.
“That’s okay. I still can’t quite believe you agreed to this.”
She was with him on that one. “Ready?”
He stood up, looking as uncomfortable as she’d ever seen him. God help her, she began to feel sorry for him. Picking up her bag, she went over and took his arm. “Will there be dancing at this thing?”
“I don’t know. Probably. Why?”
They walked out to his car. She couldn’t help thinking of Jordan’s ‘borrowed’ Subaru. “No reason.” Up until then, she’d planned to spend the evening staying the right side of sober and trying not to seem too rude. She hadn’t entertained the possibility of having a good time. If Sean didn’t revert to type, it might be an option.
***
Bill led Jordan and Danny round the back of the bank. There were three different security cameras fixed at various points. Loretta had said that they were mainly used for recording rather than live observation. That word ‘mainly’ wasn’t too reassuring, but it was all she could give them. If someone looked at a screen and saw a group of men in balaclavas it would be more than obvious what was going on. It just meant that they had to be extra strict about sticking to two minutes once they got inside.
There wasn’t time for subtlety and the alarms were going to get triggered anyway, so th
is was their chance to have some fun. It turned out Bill was actually useful for something – he was no expert, but he had enough knowledge of explosives to get them through the wall.
Jordan and Danny stood back and let him work. He knew it was childish, but Jordan found he was hoping Bill would have a little accident and blow himself to pieces.
No such luck.
The charge blew and a man-size section of wall crumbled to dust. The noise was pretty impressive, but stopped short of setting off any car alarms. People would be wondering what had happened, but most of them wouldn’t make the effort to find out. It was only human nature.
As the dust settled, Jordan took the lead and ran into the building. It would put Bill’s nose out of joint, but Jordan was the one with the inside info and the one who’d actually been in there before.
“Through here.” He waved Bill over and gestured for Danny to hang back.
Bill went on ahead without a second glance.
“Did she get it done?” Danny asked.
“We’ll soon find out.” He pulled out his handgun and held it by the barrel. A bludgeon should be good enough if he knew what he was doing.
***
The function room at the Heartland Hotel had been transformed in preparation for a sleek ball. From floor to ceiling, everything was draped with corporate green and blue. For Loretta, it was like walking into a weird alternate-reality version of head office. There were the same people wearing the same fake smiles.
But not Sean. He was behaving in a way she hadn’t experienced before. He was being agreeable.
After helping her off with her coat and putting it in the cloakroom, he offered her his arm. “Can I get you a drink?”
“Just a lemonade, please.” She might risk something alcoholic later if things got any less mind-bending.
He deposited her at a table and disappeared over to the bar. She’d hardly had time to say hello to her neighbours when he strode back and placed her lemonade in front of her.
Black Girls and Bad Boys: Stealing Loretta Page 9
