“Good morning,” Ryder said from his spot at the kitchen counter. “Coffee?”
Markus shook his head, but Ryder poured him a cup anyway. Picking it up, Markus took a careful sip. The warm liquid curdled his already sour stomach.
“Want to go over the steps?” Ryder asked.
“Only if you need to.”
“Nope.”
He sipped his coffee, the epitome of calm.
Ryder had this way about him. He wasn’t easily fazed. Depending on the day, this either calmed Markus or drove him crazy.
This morning, it drove him crazy.
Putting down the coffee, he checked his Glock and walkie-talkie to make sure both were in working order. Ryder would be carrying a semi-automatic along with his handgun, but Markus liked to keep things simple.
Simple tools meant faster motion.
If all went according to plan, not a shot would need to be fired. First, they’d take care of the guard by subduing and tying him up, and then Ryder would watch the road and exits while Markus went into the warehouse and grabbed the goods.
Easy enough plan. Too bad his nerves didn’t agree.
“You okay?” Ryder cocked an eyebrow.
“Great,” he lied. “You ready to go?”
They walked half a mile to the used car they’d purchased precisely for this job. It wasn’t much to look at, but it blended well into Jacksonville traffic and they’d paid cash for it through an acquaintance who didn’t keep a paper trail.
Markus would have liked to drive, since it helped when he was nervous, but Ryder got behind the steering wheel without inviting discussion.
On the ride to their exit, they were quiet. They’d scouted the area out days before and found an abandoned service road between two swaths of trees that provided the perfect hiding spot for the car. Backing the vehicle as far as possible into the brush, they got out.
Markus checked his wristwatch. Forty-five minutes until sunrise.
“Okay.” Ryder cracked his knuckles. “Send me the word when you’re in position.”
“Right.” Since his tongue had gone dry as sandpaper, one word was all he could manage.
They moved at a crouch through the woods, separating when they got within sight of the trailer that served as a guardhouse. With Ryder positioned behind an old junker car, Markus started making noise by cracking sticks.
Though the blinds were drawn in the trailer, orange light escaped through the sides of the windows. A shadowy figure moved, and a moment later, the trailer’s back door opened.
Markus’ heart skipped into his throat. The guard, armed with a semi-automatic, descended the few steps into the yard.
Drawing behind a thick tree, Markus pressed his back to the trunk. If this plan didn’t work, he would be a dead man.
A long, tense moment passed. No footsteps sounded.
Markus drew his gun, ready to shoot if he needed.
But then…
A thud, followed by a groan and the sound of something heavy hitting the earth. He looked around the tree to see Ryder jumping on the man and grabbing his arms.
Markus joined in. The guard had been dazed thanks to a hit to the back of his head. He started to shout, but Markus got a bandana in his mouth while Ryder tied his arms behind his back.
The man was big, and he started thrashing around as they dragged him to the tree Markus had just been hiding behind. The top of his head clipped Markus’ jaw, and shooting pain momentarily took over the show.
They got him flush against the tree, though, and another rope around him, binding him there. Even though he still struggled, he wouldn’t get loose, and his attempts at shouting were significantly subdued.
After feeling in the man’s pockets, Ryder pulled out a set of keys, which he tossed to Markus.
Straightening up, Ryder used the back of his hand to wipe at his forehead.
“Christ,” he said. “I’m already sweating.”
Markus craned his neck to check the road. No traffic. “I’m going in.”
They parted, Ryder going to the side of the trailer to watch the road, and Markus rushing the warehouse at a low run. The scouting they’d done over the course of multiple days showed that A.J. had been right. There was only the one guard to contend with.
The door had two locks, one on the knob and one deadbolt. Luckily, there were only two keys on the guard’s ring, and they matched with the locks on the first try.
The door swung open into darkness. Gun at the ready, he entered and stepped to the side, eyes squinted against the black and ears listening hard.
Nothing. The warehouse was dead quiet.
Markus licked his lips and felt along the wall till his hand hit a light switch. The fluorescents overhead flickered to life, revealing mostly empty space.
A ratty couch. Some metal folding chairs. Two small safes.
Markus cursed.
Safes?
A.J. hadn’t mentioned that part, but he probably hadn’t known. And Markus should have expected it. Why would Dagger leave diamonds sitting in a cardboard box?
The safes were on the smaller side. Markus would have been able to carry them both if they were empty. Crouching down at the first one, he tried it, just in case.
No use. It had been sealed shut. He had no clue what the combination could be, but a safe bet was that it wasn’t one-two-three-four.
Fury bubbled up his chest and throat, and he wanted to scream. Instead, he forced himself to stay calm and move to the next safe.
To his disbelief, he’d hardly touched the second one when it swung open. His jaw dropping, he gazed at the contents.
Diamonds. A literal pile of diamonds. White. Pink. Yellow.
His pulse quickening, he pulled the cloth bag from his back pocket and swept the jewels into it. He was just about to see if he could carry the locked safe when the walkie-talkie clipped to his belt beeped.
“Someone’s here,” Ryder said. “We need to go. Meet at point three.”
Markus’ blood ran cold. Spinning around, he caught sight of the gray light through the door he’d left cracked.
No time to grab the locked safe. He would have to make do with what he had.
He dashed for the door, but a gunshot going off stopped him. If his ears were to be trusted, it had come from behind the trailer.
Shoulder pressed against the wall, he peeked out the door. Nothing. No more gunshots. No bodies or people.
He resisted the urge to call Ryder back in case he was hiding out somewhere and one of Dagger’s men heard it. Point three was at the road, the spot they’d planned on meeting if things got hairy and they needed to make a quick getaway.
Taking one step into the yard, he scanned the premises. Still no sign of anyone. Was Ryder okay? Had he been caught?
There was only one thing to do: stick to the plan. Keeping to the warehouse’s outer wall, he moved in the direction of the road. Voices around the corner stopped him in his tracks.
“Watch the back door,” a man said.
Markus’ breath froze.
“Hey, Dagger,” someone called. “You got—”
“Shh,” the first man hissed. “Shut it.”
Markus had gone rigid as a board. After years of wondering, he finally knew Dagger Rossi was real—and only a few feet away from him.
“Where’s A.J.?” Dagger asked someone in a quiet voice.
A.J.
The little rat. He’d told Dagger all about the heist. It was the only explanation for his being at the warehouse this early.
A gunshot went off from somewhere behind the warehouse, a yell following it. Markus heard footsteps take off in that direction. Taking what could be his only chance, he ran for it.
He didn’t look behind to see if Dagger or his thugs had noticed him. He just ran, weaving an erratic path to avoid bullets.
He sped through a thicket of trees, something sharp snagging on his pants leg and tearing the fabric. The road appeared, the first orange of sunrise past it.
With the car in the other direction, there was no quick getaway. He’d be unlikely to hitchhike a ride before Dagger came down the road looking for him. That meant his best bet was sticking to the woods. When the tree cover ran out… well, he didn’t know.
Right as he started to turn from the road, though, he caught a flash of metal in the rising sun. It was their car, slowing down as it reached the massive fallen tree designated point three.
And in it was Ryder.
Markus ran for the car, pumping his arms and jumping over rocks and bushes. He threw himself into the front seat, and the engine groaned as Ryder took off.
His friend was already cussing, letting out a long string of expletives as he leaned into the steering wheel and tore ass down the road.
“A.J. was there,” Ryder exploded. His face was flushed and blood trickled from a small cut above one eye.
“I heard.” Markus glanced behind them. So far, it didn’t seem they were being tracked.
That wouldn’t last long.
“Dagger was there,” he added. “I didn’t get a look at him, but someone called him by name.”
“Yeah, well, they got a look at me.” Ryder’s lips drew into a thin line. “And that little snitch A.J. has probably told them everything by now. Our names. Where we live.”
A terrible chill went down Markus’ back.
They’d expected a day like this might come. The fact that it was happening on his last job stank of irony.
“We have to lay low for a while,” Ryder said.
Markus nodded stiffly and dropped the bag of diamonds onto the dashboard.
“Is that them?” Ryder asked slowly, like he didn’t want to get his hopes up.
“Part of it. There was another safe, but it was locked.”
“At least we got something to make this mess all worth it.” He shook his head. “Sorry, man.”
Markus was already pulling his phone out and calling his mom.
“Hello?” she answered, voice slow and thick. He’d woken her up. “Markus?”
“Mom.” His throat ached. “You need to get out of town. Now.”
“What’s happening?”
“Someone knows who I am. It’s only a matter of hours—minutes—before they find out who you are as well. Listen. Pack a bag and go to Carolyn’s. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going. And you need to leave immediately. Do you hear me?”
“Y—yes, I do. What about you? Come with me.”
He swallowed against the lump in his throat. “I can’t, but I’ll be okay. You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll call you as soon as it’s safe. Don’t take more than twenty minutes to pack, okay? Go right away.”
“Okay.” Her voice shook. “What about Viv? Do they know about her?”
“I’ll take care of her. I love you, Mom.”
He hung up.
God, he was the worst son in the world. What good would buying her a dream beachside house do if she wasn’t alive to enjoy it?
What he’d told her was true. Once Dagger couldn’t get ahold of Ryder and Markus, he’d go for their inner circles. That meant family. Friends. Girlfriends.
He’d either make them talk or hold them captive in the hopes of drawing Markus and Ryder out from hiding. Tossing the diamonds on the ground and letting Dagger find them would do no good.
Crime lords like Dagger Rossi kept their operations under such careful wraps because they were good when it came to details. Meaning they kept every person they needed to quiet. Having two men talking about Dagger’s activities would be very, very bad for business.
“You have somewhere to go?” Markus asked Ryder.
“Yep.”
“Good.”
They were quiet the rest of the drive into town. Ryder took back streets and cruised by his house to make sure no one watched it. After deciding it was probably safe, he took the car a few more blocks down and left it in a mall parking lot.
By this time, Markus had divvied up the diamonds. Each taking their half, they walked back to Ryder’s. People were out walking their dogs and checking their mail, and even though they wanted to run, they didn’t.
At Ryder’s house, they stared grimly at each other across Markus’ open car door.
“Don’t waste any time packing up your comic book collection,” Markus said.
He’d meant it to be a joke, but when the words came out, they only sounded sad.
Ryder’s lips twitched, as if he wanted to smile but couldn’t quite get there. Instead of saying anything, he clapped Markus on the back.
The two shook hands, and then Markus hopped in his car and took off.
He’d told his mom to take only twenty minutes to pack and that had been an hour ago. It might not be safe to go back to his apartment, and Ryder would be lucky if he had ten minutes before Dagger sent someone over.
His mom would be safe at her friend’s house in Virginia, but Markus also needed to get out of the state. And he needed to take Viv with him.
Picking up his phone from where it charged, he called Viv as he turned off Ryder’s street. With each ring, his insides screwed up tighter.
“Come on,” he hissed. “Pick up, Viv.”
She didn’t.
He resisted the urge to throw the phone. Hitting the gas, he sped to his place. It was a risk, but he needed to stop there. He wouldn’t be able to use his credit and debit cards for a while, just in case Dagger had connections and was able to track him.
As far as money, he only had a few hundred on him and he didn’t know when there would be an opportunity to sell the diamonds. He might have to let go of them a couple at a time by stopping at random pawn shops.
Since the parking lot in front of his apartment building was always full of cars, there was no way of knowing if Dagger was there. He’d have to take a chance and go upstairs.
Adrenaline coursing through him, he crept upstairs. His front door didn’t show any signs of being broken into, but that didn’t mean someone hadn’t found another way inside.
As quietly and slowly as he could, he unlocked the door and slipped into the living room. In the apartment was thirty thousand in cash. A paranoid amount for anyone to keep.
Unless you were a career criminal.
Cash in hand, he left the apartment, not even pausing to take one last look at it. Though he’d collected some nice knick-knacks and memorabilia over the years, nothing in the home was important.
Not when compared to the people in his life.
Back in the car, he tried Viv again. Still, he got no answer.
Fear gripped his heart. If Dagger had already gotten to her, he’d never forgive himself.
Foot plastered to the gas pedal, he sped in the direction of her apartment. With every rotation of the tires, he prayed to whoever might be above to spare her. This was his mess; Viv had nothing to do with it.
He only hoped there was someone up there to listen.
Chapter 15
Viv
When the plane’s wheels touched down and the aircraft bumped, Viv nearly threw up.
Yet again.
The constant nausea had been with her through the night and into the morning. After a restless night, she’d trudged downstairs, grabbed some yogurt from the complimentary breakfast line, and waited in the lobby for about fifteen minutes, until a staff member informed her that Mr. Romano had skipped their morning flight in favor of taking a red-eye home.
She might have grumbled to herself about his lack of consideration when it came to informing her of this, but she had other things on her mind. The conference’s closing marked the end of one era, and the baby on the way marked the beginning of another.
So, yogurt cup in hand, she climbed into the back of a taxi and went on her way. She and Markus had dinner plans that night, and she had almost, kind of, maybe worked out how she would reveal the pregnancy news.
By the time the plane arrived in Jacksonville, she felt pretty confident. E
ven though she wasn’t sure what Markus wanted, she definitely knew what she did.
A family.
She loved Markus already, and if he wanted to be a part of that family, then that rocked. If he didn’t, then okay. She wasn’t afraid to be a single mother.
There would be the matter of her new job, though, if she did end up raising a kid on her own. Would she be able to support another person with wages from a florist shop?
She didn’t know, and that was probably getting ahead of herself. One step at a time.
Right then, she felt pretty good about the step immediately in front of her.
Suitcase in hand, she managed to get off the plane without her breakfast coming back up. A nap was much needed, and since yesterday had officially marked her last day with HQ, she could take one.
The realization made her smile. Driving out of the airport, she imagined all the things she could do with her day. Sleep. Make her first prenatal appointment. Clean the apartment. Go shopping at that cute little infant boutique downtown.
Excitement made her heart flutter. She was having a baby!
It was one of those dreams she’d never let herself become fully invested in. She couldn’t help but wonder, though, if everything in her life had some sort of divine timing. It seemed too strange that so much was changing at once.
There was only one more thing she wanted: Markus.
In her parking lot, a familiar car sat near the main walkway. Her smile turned into a confused frown. It wasn’t even ten yet. What was Markus doing there?
After parking, she got her suitcase from the trunk. Surely, they hadn’t gotten their times mixed up. They’d definitely agreed to meet for dinner.
Pulling the suitcase on its wheels, she went for the staircase at the front of the building. Suddenly, a man stepped out of the shadows in the building’s breezeway.
“Viv.”
She shrieked and let go of the suitcase’s handle. “Markus,” she exhaled, pressing her palm to her chest. “Oh my God. What are you doing?”
His eyes were wide, filled with a desperate look. At the sight of him, fear shot through her. Something was very wrong.
Sinner - A Bad Boy's Baby Romance Page 9
