by Staci Hart
“What’s the problem?”
“It’s a wireless magnetic trigger. We move the painting, and the alarm sounds. It’s connected to the alarm pad.” I slipped off my pack and found my wire cutters, then popped the face off the alarm and cut the phone line.
Jade hung a hand on her hip, and I nodded at her.
Her face twisted into a smile as she lifted the painting off the wall and set it on the ground, then reached into her pack for the black canvas case with a strap. I wasn’t allowed to touch it. Nothing would be left to chance with me, not knowing how I felt about everything, which was smart. I’d almost rather see the painting destroyed than the fate planned for it.
I watched the Rothko disappear into the case, into the dark.
Jade glanced around the apartment as she propped the painting against the wall. “Nice place. You really know how to pick them.”
“Fuck off.” I slung on my bag.
She strolled over to a vase on a shelf nearby. “So many pretty things.” She locked eyes with me and tipped it over with a single finger. It hit the ground with a smash.
My stomach rolled. “Why are you doing this?”
“That. Right there.” She pointed at me. “That look on your face.” A picture frame hit the hardwood, and the glass skittered across the floor toward me.
Rage shot through me, but I refused to be toyed with by that cunt. When I turned to leave, she laughed.
“Aw, come on, Cory. Just having a little fun,” she called after me.
I didn’t stop, just left the apartment and ran up the stairs, out to the roof, yanking my buff down so I could breathe. The cool air hit my cheeks and the wind skated across my sweaty skin as I pulled off my gloves and sat down. I hung my head, eyes between my boots, breathing deep as I tried to regain composure.
Jade walked through the door a minute later looking smug, the massive painting sideways on her back. She didn’t look in my direction as she passed. I watched her disappear over the ledge, making a million wishes as I hauled myself up and followed.
With every leap, every footstep, the dread I’d felt about breaking into Van’s morphed into something darker. I’d checked off another task on the most fucked-up to-do list of my life. It was almost done. One more step, and the whole thing was over. But that last step was the most dangerous of all.
I followed Jade, though it was slow going with the unwieldy painting. It would have been faster if Jade had let me help, but she wouldn’t let me touch it. She watched me like I was the criminal of the two of us throughout the long route.
When we neared the warehouse, we dropped down to the street and walked between rows of buildings on the warehouse lot, rounding a corner to a wide drive. Jace and the two thugs, Sammy and Trevor, stood at the end, the dark warehouse behind them, and a chill worked its way up my body. My buff was up, and I unzipped my jacket and hoodie with numb hands as we approached, finding comfort in the weight of my gun against my ribs.
Jace’s smile was an odd mixture of relief and uncertainty at the sight of us, and he shifted on his feet next to the two hulking men. They were too young to be considered old, with dark features and wild eyes, looking enough alike that they could have been brothers. Their weapons weren’t concealed, and the bigger of the two had his gun in his hand, hanging idly at his side as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
We stopped a dozen feet away from them, and I hung back, taking in every detail. Something wasn’t right. Tension crackled in the air, as if every molecule transmitted their intentions.
“Well, well, well.” The guy with the gun smiled, seeming casual, but it was absolute bullshit. I chased the fleeting thought that I might not make it through the night. Jill’s face flashed in my mind.
“See, Trevor? I told you they’d get it.” Jace was so jittery, he was almost bouncing.
“You sure did. Let’s see it.” Trevor jerked a chin at Jade, and the quiet one, Sammy I assumed, folded his meaty arms across his chest.
Jade said nothing, just took off the huge case and unzipped it, slipping it down to reveal enough of the painting for them to be sure. I could feel her fear, even though she stood tall, looking the thugs in the eye with her face drawn.
Trevor picked up the duffle bag with his free hand and extended it in invitation as Sammy held out a hand for the painting. Jade took a reluctant step toward them and handed the case to Sammy, who stepped back with it. She reached for the bag, still hanging in Trevor’s hand, and as her fingers closed over the strap, time slowed down. Trevor’s other arm shot up, the movement punctuated by the click of his safety, and Jade looked up the barrel of his gun, frozen with her hand still on the bag.
“Excellent work, kids,” he said, smiling. “Thanks for your diligence, but I have an … amendment to our arrangement.”
Jace stepped toward Jade fuming, and I mentally screamed at him not to move. I was frozen in place, not willing to risk making a sound.
“What the fuck, Trevor?” he yelled, his cheeks fiery. “I thought we had a deal.”
Trevor didn’t break his laser eyes on Jade. “Sammy, shut the kid up.”
Sammy took a single step with his fist cocked, popping Jace in the nose hard enough to send him sprawling.
Jade whipped her head around, eyes on Jace, body taught. Trevor’s gun didn’t waver.
“You pushed hard enough, Jace. You wanted more money. You wanted to meet in our space. Well, you got your wish. Happy?”
Jace groaned.
He addressed Jade again. “Listen, sweetheart. Don’t do anything stupid. There’s five hundred grand in this bag. Take it and get the fuck out of here. Seems like a good enough deal, doesn’t it? You get some money for your trouble, and you get to keep breathing. Or you can try to fight and end up in the Hudson.” He shrugged. “Your choice.”
Even from feet behind her, I could see Jade shaking, and my eyes bounced around, assessing everything, looking for a way out. We were boxed in, and I wasn’t stupid enough to pull my gun. We just had to do what they said and hope they let us go. There was only one thing to do.
“Take the bag, Jade.” My voice was far away.
She waited only a moment before nodding. Trevor’s smile stretched across his face as he let go of the bag and took a step back. “Good girl. Your friend’s pretty smart.”
Jace rolled around on the ground moaning, and Jade slung on the duffle bag as she ran to him. He caged his nose with his hand as she helped him up, leaning on her while he dripped blood all over the ground.
Trevor never lowered his gun. His smile slipped, eyes hardened as his body squared up, wiping away the illusion of levity. “Go on.”
Jade helped Jace walk away, and when they passed me, I walked backwards for a few steps with my eyes on Trevor as he lowered his gun. He knew he had us. And I knew they would let us go.
I turned and followed Jade in silence, my fury ratcheting tighter with every step I took. It was all for nothing, just a tiny fraction of what was promised. I was right. All the pain, all the fear, and it was for nothing. Because if they’d known, if they hadn’t been so money hungry, if they’d only been smarter, Jade never would have pushed me so far. Not over that amount of money.
The realization that it could have all been avoided was a sucker punch to my heart.
The second we rounded the corner into the alley, I was ready to explode. I stared at the back of Jade’s head as my face twisted.
“Goddammit, Jade,” I snarled, my hands shaking as I resisted the urge to hit her. “I knew it. I knew this was going to happen, you fucking idiots. Idiots.”
They stopped and turned to me. “There’s no way we could have stopped them.”
“We never should have been here in the first place.”
“But we were. What else were we supposed to do? You told me to take the money!”
“Because they would have killed us, you stupid bitch. And for what?” The trembling worked through my entire body until I was vibrating. “This was your idea. You did this. You were
willing to betray so much for this. Betray everything. Was it worth it?” I screamed, and her face bent in and anger.
“Shut the fuck up, Cory!” She half cried the words.
“Fuck you.” The energy burst out of me, and I ran full-sprint, slamming my hands into her shoulders with all my weight. She hit the ground and rolled as I walked behind her, pulling my gun without thinking.
I stopped, looming over her, emotions battering me like angry waves. I blamed her for every single one, counted them out in my mind as I stared down the barrel at her. Her eyes were wide with fear and recognition, and no one moved, no one breathed. My finger flexed by a hair against the trigger, feeling the tension against my skin. It would be so easy, just one soft squeeze and the source of my pain would be gone.
But that wouldn’t make it better. Wouldn’t make it right. It wouldn’t change the past.
I spun around and took off running. Ran until my feet ached and my muscles burned, climbed until sweat soaked my clothes. I found myself on a rooftop, staring out over Manhattan in the night. The lights of the city stretched off into the distance, a wedge cut by the dark streaks that marked the rivers.
It was finally was over. And nothing was worth the price I’d paid to get through it.
Dawn had begun to creep in by the time I got back to the quiet loft. No one was awake, and there were no signs of the twins, which was lucky for all of us. I had no idea what I would do to them if they made the mistake of showing their faces right now.
I dragged myself to the shower like a dead woman, an empty shell. Thoughts drifted through my mind like tendrils of smoke, and every time I tried to touch one, it would dissipate and the next waited to taunt me.
Sleep would reset me. It had to.
I dried off and shuffled into Erin’s room as the sun began to rise, painting the room golden, though the shadows were rich and deep. She stirred when I opened the door, then sat up fast.
“Cory?”
“Hey.” My voice cracked along with my numbness at the sound of my name, the proximity of someone I knew would understand. She was maybe the only person in the world who would understand. Tears rolled down my cheeks.
“Come here,” she urged.
I crawled into her bed, and she held me while I let all the hurt out. For hours I’d been running all over the city, trying to make sense of it all, trying to hold myself together. But I came unglued, breathing through shuddering sobs. The night replayed in bursts, cycling through again and again until the tears slowed, then finally stopped.
After a long while, Erin broke the silence. “What happened?”
My voice was raspy, my throat dry. “It was horrible, Erin. Fucking horrible. Every second in his house and every minute after. And then when we made the drop, they double-crossed us.”
“Jesus, Cory,” she breathed.
“Yeah. Jade’s big plans for millions were a pipe dream. We got held up. He gave us half a million and told us to fuck off.”
Erin was quiet for a second as she processed what I’d said, and I stared at her collarbone, not needing an answer. “I can’t even. I have no words.”
“Me either, and I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know if there is anything to do. I was so angry at her, Erin. So, so angry. I pulled my gun on her and …” I swallowed hard. “I almost did it. I thought really hard about it.”
“She’s not worth it.”
“None of this is. I’ve lost so much, and so much has changed, just like that. I’m left wondering who I am. What have I become? I’m a monster.”
“No.” She cupped my face. “No, Cory. This is not your fault. All you can do is start over. We’ll figure all of this out.”
My breath hitched against the pain in my chest. “I don’t want to think. I don’t want to hurt, Erin.” I slipped my hands around her waist and pulled her closer, our hips flush as our legs wound around each other. “I don’t want to feel.”
She brushed my wet hair from my face, and her eyes searched mine. “I know.”
“Make me forget.” A hot tear slipped down my cheek.
She nodded and kissed me, her lips slow and easy against my own, her body warm as she pressed against me, knowing exactly what I needed. I focused every thought on her hands as she touched me, but when I closed my eyes, his face was right there, leaving me breathless.
I opened them to banish him, watching Erin kiss down my chest. My eyes were on her lips as she closed them around my nipple through my tank and sucked, sliding her hands up underneath as I shuddered under her touch. She lifted the hem of my shirt over my breasts, trailing her fingers around the curves before palming them. She squeezed hard as she kissed down my stomach, looking up to meet my eyes.
She parted her lips when she reached my clit, locked her mouth over me and sucked hard enough to make my legs tremble. She ran her tongue up my slit slowly, top to bottom, bottom to top, slipping a finger inside when she reached my clit again, and my hips rolled against her. Her free hand cupped my breast with my nipple caught between her fingers, and when she closed them and pulled, a shock shot down my body, between my thighs, straight to her mouth.
I couldn’t close my eyes again, just watched Erin push every button, knowing exactly how to make me come, sending my pulse racing with every touch until I arched off the bed. My aching heart stopped for a long, merciful moment, lungs frozen as my body let go. I begged my heart to do the same.
I didn’t realize I was crying, not until Erin and I were wound around each other again. She kissed my hair, told me I would be all right, that I would survive.
And I would survive. I just didn’t know if I wanted to anymore.
I WOKE WHEN ERIN tightened the arm curled around my waist, pulling me into her. The warmth of her body, the feeling of her knees against the back of mine was a small comfort against the ice in my chest. I nestled back into her.
“Hey,” she said sleepily.
“Hey.”
“Did sleep help?”
My body was stiff as I rolled over to face her, but I felt better, rested. “A little.” Jade blew through my thoughts, and my heart jolted. “Do you think she’s here?”
“I don’t know.” She reached for her phone and squinted at it. “It’s almost twelve. If I were her, I wouldn’t show my face until I was ready to handle the heat.”
“So, never?”
Erin laughed. “If only we could be so lucky.”
If only. “I don’t even know what to do with any of this, Erin. But I need to see Jade. I need to know she’s going to leave Jill alone.”
“And let you go.”
“She doesn’t have a choice. I’m done with this.”
Sympathy settled in behind her eyes. “I wonder what happened to Van.”
I pictured him walking in and finding it gone after a night that was meant to celebrate him, saw him staying up all night with the police, staring at his ceiling, unable to sleep after someone had violated his home. I wondered how violated he’d feel if he knew it was me.
I took a breath. “I hope he’s okay.”
“He will be, and so will you.”
Morgan laughed from the kitchen, and Erin smiled. “Jade isn’t here or no one would be laughing.”
I chuckled, but my smile slipped away. “I’ve got to tell them what happened.”
Erin sat and nodded. “Better now than when Jade’s here.” She stood and walked to her dresser to dig out leggings for herself and clothes for me, tossing them on the bed. “Let’s get something to eat and you can spill.”
I shrugged on a loose, black tank. “I’m so over it, Erin. Fucking for real. Morgan is going to lose her shit.”
“Probably,” she said, hanging a hand on her hip as she waited for me to pull on sleep shorts and get out of bed. “This is all going to be over eventually, but it’s like an earthquake. You’re dealing with aftershocks. Just keep hanging on.”
I tried to smile, and she didn’t ask me for more agreement than that as she opened the door. We made ou
r way to the kitchen where Cher and Morgan sat at the table over sandwiches. Their faces tightened at the sight of me, and Cher stood and met me halfway with a hug.
“Are you okay?” she asked into my hair.
“I will be.”
She backed away and looked up at me with velvety brown eyes. “Want a bite to eat?”
I nodded, and Cher patted my arm, turning for the kitchen. Erin and I sat on the bench at the table, exchanging glances as Morgan leaned on the surface.
“What happened?” Worry creased her brow.
“We got the painting, and when we made the drop, they gave us a fraction of what they promised Jade and Jace.”
“Oh my God.” Cher had spun around and was staring.
“Yup.” I nodded. “They pulled a gun on us, and one of them put Jace on his ass. For a minute …” My eyes slipped out of focus, remembering the feeling of standing there with our lives in limbo. I blinked it away. “I don’t know. For a second, I didn’t know if we’d make it out. The whole thing was stupid. It was a stupid risk for a stupid price.”
Morgan shook her head. “Except you’re really the only one who paid.”
“Well, it’s over now. Have you seen her yet?”
“She wasn’t here when we got up. We’ve been hanging around all morning waiting for you to wake up so we could find out how it went.”
“It was a shit show. But we got in and out of Van’s without any trouble.” I sighed and looked down at the wood grain of the table. “Walking into his apartment with Jade last night was one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever done. There’s no coming back from that.”
“Not true.” Erin glanced at me, looking tentative.
I folded my arms on the table and shook my head. “Pretty sure it’s completely true.”
“You could always return the painting.”
I snorted. “Right, sure.”
“I’m serious, Cor, I haven’t stopped thinking about this, and now that the job is done, everything has changed.” she pressed. “Look, I respected your wishes, even though I didn’t agree. Now we have an option. Jade fucked up, Jace fucked up. You got fucked. So take it back and tell him the truth.”
