Mitch grimaced. It was true. Logan had tried to extend the olive branch, and he was being a prick about it. Some things just didn’t change, no matter how old he got.
Gage took a swig of his coffee, then asked, “So, any ideas how we find your thief?”
“No. Not a one. It’s like she disappeared into thin air. She knows that I know her real first name, but not her last. She’d think it would be a gamble to try and use the airports. Unless she has fake ID to go with her many disguises, then I guess anything is possible. Did you hear anything from the guys you have at the airports?”
Gage nodded. “They got nothing. There were a couple of women that looked like they could have been her but turned out to be false alarms. She might have slipped past us. Who knows?”
“Great. Doesn’t leave us with much.” Mitch rubbed his face with both hands.
“How did Diana Sterling hire Alex in the first place?”
“Through an ad on Craig’s List but it’s really word of mouth. My understanding is Diana was told to place an ad on Craig’s list that asked for a repo man to help with a problem. A man contacted her, and she worked out the details with him.”
“But how did Diana Sterling know to do that? Where did she hear about Alex?”
“From a friend.”
Gage frowned. “What friend?”
Mitch looked at his brother. “I have no idea. But I’m sure as hell gonna find out.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Alex paced back and forth in front of the TV in her apartment. The commercial was still on, and she wanted to throw the remote at the TV. The anchor had said they had new details on the Hamptons Bombing. That’s what they were calling it. And then they went to a commercial break. It was excruciating for her. The commercial ended, and she flopped down on the sofa across from the screen. She put down the remote and grabbed her mug of tea, cupping it in both hands.
The blond talking head smiled at the camera. “Late yesterday afternoon, during the annual Kickoff to Summer party thrown by well-known businessman Jameson Drake, a bomb went off. Police say it was part of a larger plan to steal from Mr. Drake. Drake, who is best known for his real estate holdings, is also a big name in business circles for investing in technology start-ups. The police believe that a thief or thieves were using the bomb to distract Mr. Drake’s security so they could rob Drake.
“Although the thieves got away empty-handed, one of Drake’s security team was hurt in the blast. His name has not been released, but he is currently in the Hamptons General Hospital in serious condition. A spokesperson for Drake has said that Mr. Drake is relieved that nothing was taken, but he is very upset that one of his employees was hurt. He is offering a reward for any information that leads to the capture of the thief or thieves. It is thought that the police do not have a suspect in custody at this time but are searching for a woman whom they believe may be responsible for the bombing.”
The male talking head started speaking. “In other news...” Alex dropped the mug on the table with a clunk and picked up the remote. After turning off the TV, she threw the remote down on the table and then hopped up and resumed her pacing.
She was breathing rapidly. Her heart was double-timing it in her chest. The cops thought she’d planted the bomb. Someone got hurt. Had to be the first guy that shot out of the bushes at her. She couldn’t believe it. She would never in a million years plant a bomb. One of Mitch’s team was hurt. She was glad it wasn’t Mitch. She never wanted to see him again, but the pain in her chest eased slightly at the knowledge he was safe.
She took a deep breath. What should she do? Better question was, what could she do? She hadn’t planted the bomb. The news station obviously didn’t have the scoop on the car she’d stolen or else they would’ve mentioned it. No surprise there. It was amazing what information could be held back when powerful people were involved. Between the Sterlings and Drake, no one wanted the true story of the car out there, so they squashed it. That was probably a good thing for her. But the cops had to know, so maybe not.
She did not want to be held responsible for a bomb that hurt someone. She should run. Get as far away as possible and do it as quickly as possible. Except Mitch knew her name, and there was no way on God’s green earth he was going to let it go. Not ever. Especially since someone got hurt on his watch. She understood him well enough to grasp that instantly.
She walked over to what passed for the kitchen of her apartment and leaned on the island. Grabbing her phone, she dialed a number from memory. She had thought she would call Lacy to they could catch up. Now she desperately needed her friend’s help.
“Hey. Just hanging out. It’s raining here. Call me.” Alex had made her voice very casual but she knew Lacy would understand as soon as she heard the message. They had worked out the simple code when they were in high school. “Rain” meant trouble and “hanging” meant grounded when they were teens. Now hanging meant stuck. She only hoped Lacy would get the message quickly. She needed to find a way out of this mess before it literally came banging on her door.
Her phone buzzed. It was a text from Lacy. Our usual spot in a half hour? Alex immediately responded with a happy face emoji. Thank God, Lacy was in the city and could meet her. She went into the bathroom and opened the closet. She pulled out the long black hair wig and then grabbed some large sunglasses off the shelf.
“These should do,” she mumbled to herself. She put them on the counter and then went into her bedroom and changed into a pair of black leggings and a black T-shirt. With the black wig and glasses, it would be hard to recognize her. She added a black dog collar around her neck, some large silver stud earrings and some funky chunky silver rings and bracelets.
Once she put on the wig, she did her makeup. Light foundation, much lighter than her skin tone, with lots of black eyeliner and dark lipstick. Then she grabbed the sunglasses and went out to the hall closet. She pulled on a pair of knee-high black lace-up boots that had big silver buckles. She stood back and admired the effect in the mirror in her foyer. As expected, she looked like every other goth type in Manhattan. More importantly, she didn’t remotely look like herself.
She left her building and walked east toward the rendezvous point. She thought about grabbing the subway or a cab, but decided against it. Uber was out, too. She didn’t want to have to speak to anyone, and she didn’t want to get trapped on mass transit. It took her longer than she thought, so when she walked into the designated Starbucks, she was already five minutes late.
She did a quick scan of the room while she stood in line. It was filled with people looking at screens. They were either working on their laptops or using their phones. She could walk through naked, and the only ones that would notice would be the baristas, which is exactly why she liked Starbucks. No one paid any attention to who was around them.
She got her skinny decaf no-whip mocha and claimed a table in the corner. She sat down with her back to the wall and watched the door. Lacy walked through about two minutes later. She went to the counter and ordered a drink. It took about five minutes and some back and forth between Lacy and the barista before she finally had her drink and made her way over to Alex’s table.
“Hello. How are you?” she said low as she sat down. She shed her coat and got out her tablet. “In case I need to take notes.” Then she took a sip of her drink. “Okay, I’m ready. Fill me in.”
Alex smiled. “It’s nice to see you, too.” She knew Lacy was only following the rules, but it still seemed odd not to greet her best friend with a hug.
“You know the rules. Do nothing to draw attention. People notice hugging.” Then Lacy did smile. “I gotta say, it took me a couple of minutes before I realized it was you. That look totally works. I wouldn’t have been able to pick you out of crowd if I didn’t know to look for you.”
“Good to know it’s working.” Alex’s shoulders started to relax just a fraction. Just seeing Lacy was making her feel better. She’d been feeling sick ever since the news report.
>
“So, what’s going on?” Lacy murmured as she set up her tablet.
“I...I’m not sure where to start.” Alex took a breath and then another. Then she spoke in a quiet voice, “Okay, so I had a client, and the job went sideways. I’m worried that I’ll be blamed for something I didn’t do. I need to know what my options are.”
Lacy nodded. “All right, start at the beginning and tell me everything.”
Alex laid it out in detail. When she got to the part about the yacht, she hesitated, but then found herself spilling everything. Lacy was her best friend, and she needed that right now just as much a lawyer.
Her cheeks got hot as she talked about it. She was glad her sunglasses covered most of her face. It was...humiliating to have let her guard down so far. She had almost gotten caught because of it. In fact, she still might. She was hating herself for losing control that afternoon.
Lacy was silent for a minute, then reached across the table and squeezed her hand. After a minute, she brought her hand back and cleared her throat. She was back in lawyer mode.
“I am assuming you’re wondering your culpability in all this.” At Alex’s nod, she continued, “Well, the car is a non-starter. It’s still in Diana Sterling’s name, so it’s hers. You were acting on her behalf to repossess the vehicle, so they can’t get you for grand theft.”
“Exactly! That’s what I am, an Asset Repossession Specialist Extraordinaire. That’s why people hire me.” Alex grinned.
Lacy frowned. “You know the acronym for that is ARSE, don’t you?”
Alex glared at Lacy. “Yes, thanks, and thanks for pointing that out,” she huffed.
“Just sayin’,” Lacy mumbled before continuing. “They can try for breaking and entering, but again you were acting on her behalf as a repossession agent. They could give you a hard time about not having the correct paperwork for that...but it’s not a serious thing.”
“What about the bomb and the guy who got hurt?”
“Well, you had nothing to do with it, so none of that is on you.”
Alex relaxed even more. “Great, so I’m in the clear.”
Lacy put up her hand. “I didn’t say that. Legally speaking, you should present yourself to the police and explain your part in everything so they can clear you as a suspect.”
“I can’t do that. There’s no way. I mean, they’ll know my real name, and what if they find out about...other repossessions I’ve done? Yeah, no, there’s no way I’m going to the cops.” She was shaking her head.
“Okay, calm down. You don’t have to come forward, but until they figure out who the bomber is, the pressure is going to be on. Telling your story would most likely get you off the hook.”
“Most likely? What do you mean, most likely? I had nothing to do with the bomb.” Her voice had gotten louder, and Lacy immediately shushed her.
“You need to relax. Take a breath. Right now, you are probably their only suspect. You would need to convince them you had nothing to do with it since it might be hard for them to believe you broke in on the same day, at the same time, as a bomb went off and had nothing to do with it. Cops are big on coincidence.”
Alex jerked upright in her seat.
“What is it?” Lacy asked.
Alex took a sip of her drink to buy time before she answered. “You’re right. It is a huge coincidence. Too big. I hadn’t really thought about it before but...I think someone used me as the distraction, or at least part of it.” She turned to look out the window, but she wasn’t seeing the sidewalk, she was trying to wrap her brain around this new idea.
Lacy sat back in her chair and smoothed her hair back. She took a sip of her drink. “It’s certainly possible.”
“But that would mean someone knew I would be breaking—that is, I would be there on that day. I wasn’t sure I was going to do it Saturday until the day before. It was always the plan to go in during the party if possible, but several things happened that could have altered that plan. So, someone close to me had to be involved.” As she took another sip of her drink, her hand shook a bit. There was a mole in her operation.
Lacy leaned forward on the table. “Walk me through it. Who knew you would be going for the car yesterday?”
“Leo, of course, but it goes without saying that he would never set me up. He’s the one who taught me everything I know.”
“Okay, not Leo. Who else?”
“No one, really.” An image of Mitch rose in her mind. He knew she would do it, especially after what had happened between them. He knew she would be determined to go through with it, just to get back at him. He would have done the same if she’d gotten one over on him. And he knew her real name. Maybe he knew her whole story. Could he have set her up? What did he get out of it?
“What about the client? Did Diana Sterling know you would be getting her car back yesterday?” Lacy asked.
“Yes. She asked Leo if we could get it this weekend because she wanted to give it to her husband today. But why would she set me up? I’ve never met her. I listened in on the phone conversation she had with Leo, but she has no clue who I am.”
Lacy shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m not sure who wanted to set you up, but it looks like someone did.”
Alex took another sip of her drink. She was getting a headache. This was going from bad to worse for her.
“So, you don’t want to go to the cops, I get that, but you need to clear your name somehow, otherwise they’ll still be looking for you. And the longer they do, the more poking around they do on you, the more likely your whole career comes to light. It’s a big risk.”
“I can’t go to the cops. Too many questions there are no easy answers for.” She shook her head again.
“What about going to the security guy? You two have a sort of relationship. He knows you’re a thief. From what you’ve said, his reputation is riding on this. He may be willing to listen to you and run interference with the cops.”
“Why would he do that?” She could picture Mitch being pissed at her, but she couldn’t see him willingly help her out at this point. She’d gotten away with the car, which made him look bad.
“Because he needs to know who placed the bomb if he’s going to save his reputation. Word will get out that all this happened on his watch. He needs to keep it as quiet as possible, and he needs answers as soon as possible.”
She looked at her friend. She hated the idea of seeing Mitch again. She wanted nothing to do with him. She was humiliated. He’d gotten close to her and then betrayed her. No, there was no way she wanted to see him. But the logic of Lacy’s argument couldn’t be denied. And she needed to clear her name quickly so the cops would stop poking around in her life. She worried her lip between her teeth. “Could you be there with me?”
“Of course. We’ll set up a place and time of our choosing. He’ll adapt.” Lacy gave her an encouraging nod. “I think this is your best way out.”
Alex drew a deep breath and released it. “Okay. I’ll call him. Where should we meet?”
“Central Park. By the Ladies Pavilion off 77th street. It’s as good a place as any. He’s familiar with the city?”
“Yes. His family company is on West 48th street. Callahan Security. He and his brothers, Logan and Gage, spent a lot of time in the city when they were growing up while their father was building the business.”
“Wait. Did you say Logan Callahan?”
“Yes, why? Do you know him?”
Lacy’s lips tightened into a thin line. “Unfortunately. We’ve gone head to head a few times. He’s a bastard in court, and out of it.”
“Great.” Alex’s shoulders drooped.
Lacy leaned across the table. “Don’t worry, I can handle Logan Callahan. You probably won’t ever meet him. It’s Mitch you have to deal with. Make the phone call, and let’s get the ball rolling. The sooner we get this done, the faster you’ll be able to get out of town.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Mitch hit the bag one last time and sent i
t flying. He was dripping with sweat, but his brain didn’t feel any clearer. His jaw was still clenched together like it was wired shut. So much for the idea that exercise would help. He sat down hard on the bench and mopped his face with a towel. He dropped the towel beside him and opened his water bottle. After downing the contents, he looked around the room.
The advantage to owning the building and a couple more on the block was that his dad, and now he and his brothers, could do whatever they wanted with it. Turns out they all wanted a gym, so they turned the fourth floor into a gym.
The hardwood floors gleamed under the lights. The heavy bag and speed bag were in the corner next to where he was sitting. Across the room were the weight machines, and in between was the free weight area. There were even yoga mats and exercise balls in the corner.
Logan had been in charge of the remodel and putting the gym together. He’d done an excellent job. It rivaled a lot of the major chains in the city. Mitch didn’t want to know how much it had cost. Logan had said it was an investment. If they were going to be doing security work that involved personal security and things like kidnap and ransom, they were going to need their operators to be in shape, and it was cheaper to offer them a place to work out than to pay their gym memberships.
Mitch got up and started walking toward the door to the showers. Logan hadn’t skimped there either. They were first rate, with a steam room to boot.
“Yo, Mitch, call for you.” Dex’s voice came through the speakers. “Line two.”
Logan had also made sure the whole building was wired to a communication system. There was no hiding. Mitch did an about face and picked up the receiver on the wall.
“Callahan.” He was greeted with silence. “Hello?” He looked at the phone and realized he hadn’t hit the line button. “Fuck,” he snarled as he hit the button.
“And here I thought you might want to talk to me.” Alex’s voice hit him like a bullet to his Kevlar vest.
“Goddammit, Alex? Where the fuck are you? What the hell did you do?” he roared into the phone. A dial tone buzzed in his ear. “What?” He looked at the phone. She’d hung up on him. He wanted to crush the receiver into the wall. He gritted his teeth and hit the intercom button.
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