There was a short silence that she didn’t know how to fill because she was suddenly terrified. Her father was one of the scariest men she’d ever known, but she’d never been frightened of him until right now. The anger and hostility had never been directed toward her and now that it was, she was she felt like her world was upside down.
“Lorna?” Lucca’s voice pulled her back into the conversation.
“Yeah?” She sounded like they did when she’d got them lost on an expedition into the forest when they were kids. Lucca had come along and joined her, but when she had to admit that they were lost, she cried like a baby. He had been looking at his compass and led them right back to where they were supposed to be. It was then that she knew that he would be the perfect leader, but she hoped her father hadn’t figured that out because she didn’t want him to be in danger.
“You know that bracelet you have that I gave you a few years back?”
“The pink diamond one right? The one that never leaves my wrist? The one that cost over a million dollars? That bracelet?” She knew what he was talking about, but she was still lost in the fog of fear and wanted to show him that she still had some good spirits about her.
“I need you to give it to me for a bit. Your father doesn’t think you’re alive, and I told him that you were, but he needs proof. Everyone knows that you never take it off.” He sounded like he’d tried to think that through, but the plan sounded flawed to her ears.
“Wouldn’t that tell him that I was dead? If I never take it off and it’s off now, what’s the correlation?” She didn’t want to give up her bracelet but more than that she didn’t see what that would do.
“You could write a letter with it. That might give him the proof he wants and needs.” Lucca seemed like he was just trying to do his best, so she decided not to give him a hard time.
“How would I get it to you?” She wasn’t sure what this was, but it didn’t feel right to her. Lucca hadn’t ever directed her the wrong way, so she wouldn’t dispute what he was asking of her. It could have been that there was just so many doubts in her mind, it was making her leery of everything and everyone.
“Give the phone to Aidan. I’ll talk to him about how we can make the switch. I’m going to ask that you don’t come with him because that would be too risky. Don’t argue with him about it, and don’t try to do any dumb stunts. This isn’t like when we were kids going off on a grand adventure. There are real guns involved, and I would roll around in my grave if I knew something happened to you. Please know that I love you and I can’t wait to see you again.”
“You’re not going to kill him are you?” Lorna almost laughed hysterically. This was the weirdest conversation she thought she’d ever had, and with the life she led, that was saying something. It was like telling a five year old not to put something in their mouths when you knew it was their natural instinct.
“That’s not my plan.” The words were delivered in the way he normally spoke, but there was something underlying in them. This was just all kinds of screwed up, and she didn’t know how to take anything. Was she being too sensitive, or did she really hear something sinister in Lucca’s tone?
“That was a really sketchy answer,” she said to him and waited for him to respond, but the answer didn’t come as quickly as she thought it should have.
“Well this is very sketchy business. Like I said it’s not my plan to kill him. I just need the bracelet to slow down their pursuit of you. I’m working with Aidan on some things to clean this mess up, but this shit is getting deep, and I’m not sure if it’s not going to blow up in all of our faces. My advice to you is not to get too wrapped up in this guy. He’s got a bad rep, and all your life you’ve done nothing but try your best to stay away from types like him. Keep that shit up; that guy is going to bring you down.”
“You don’t know that for sure,” she said not willing to accept what her cousin was saying about Aidan as truth.
“You’re right. I don’t. The guy actually seems pretty cool for someone who was sent here to kill me, but the fact remains that you have defied the odds of staying out of trouble for this long, and now here you are with your first criminal type and you’ve disrespected your father, something you’ve never done before, and ran off to warn the enemy in your father’s eyes. You’ve totally lost your senses. Don’t let good dick make you change your life.” Lucca hadn’t ever talked to her like this, but she assumed that the man was trying to look out for her like he always did.
“Alright, Lucca, I’ll think about what you said. I love you too,” she said as she handed the phone to Aidan who was in the next room. The two men talked in hushed voices, or she should say that Aidan did. She couldn’t hear Lucca, but she’d bet he was doing the same thing.
When she heard Aidan disconnect, she wanted go in there and try to find out what was going on. She would learn what she needed to know when she needed to know it. Damn it if she didn’t sound like part of her family right now. She tried to go back to watching the animal life program, but now she was too distracted. After trying for a few more minutes she determined that this was something she was going to have to face, and she wanted some answers from Aidan.
Turning off the television, she went to find Aidan. He didn’t look like he was fairing any better than she was in terms of worrying.
“What’s up, Chuck?” She remembered her cousin saying that to her when he wanted her to laugh because upchuck was in the sentence and of course throwing up was funny as hell to some people. Not really her, but she was trying to butter him up so he would talk to her… really talk to her. Like a confidante and not like someone he was trying to keep safe.
He looked her way and then brought her down to sit on his lap. It was almost like he needed comfort, and she was the one who would give it to him for as long as she could. That touched her heart more than she would ever say. He wasn’t a needy guy and was more focused on giving than receiving so this meant a lot.
“I’m sure your cousin told you he wants to meet to pick up some bracelet that is going to show the world that you are still alive.” How this man could sound like a gruff grandfather and a sullen 4 year old was beyond her, but he had it down packed.
She looked at his face trying to determine the exact expressions that were crossing over it faster than she could catalog them. There was some tension, concern, worry, fret, sadness, and anxiety. That was to be expected, she guessed.
“That’s what he told me, too. Do you think it’s some kind of set up?” She wanted to know what he thought, and she wondered if he’d give her a straight answer.
“I hope not. It sounds like your cousin is looking out for you, and I think he thinks looking out for you means keeping me safe as well. At least for the time being.” He squeezed her just a bit tighter in his arms, and she loved the solid feel of him.
“When are you supposed to go with him?” She turned in his arms to because she wanted to see his face.
“He had it planned to be late tomorrow night, but I wish it were sooner. Waiting makes me crazy. I want to do what has to be done now, and there is another reason I’d like to do this as soon as possible. The Devil’s Stepbrothers are going to be sending in someone else to do my job, and I wanted to get the scoop on when the person would be coming in. I just don’t want this guy to get to Lucca before we can work all this out.”
“I just want everything to be okay.” She snuggled back into him wishing this moment didn’t have to end.
“That’s the same thing that I want, but I don’t know how it’s going to happen.” They were both quiet as they contemplated all of the possible scenarios that could come into play.
“Let’s just wait and see what happens, but know that I’ve had more fun with you in these last few weeks than I’ve ever had with anyone.” She didn’t want this to sound like the farewell portion of the afterschool specials she’d seen when she was younger, but it couldn’t be helped, and it had to be said.
“That sounds like I’m dead a
lready. Let’s not talk like that,” he said with a chuckle.
She lifted her head and playfully smacked him in the chest before leaning in for a kiss. They had done so many different kisses, but she loved when she offered him one and he accepted so sweetly.
When she was done, she sat up and took off the bracelet that never left her arm. It was beautiful, but that wasn’t why she loved it so much. It was given to her at a time when she was just sprouting her wings, and every time she looked at the sparkling jewels it reminded her that she had to take the chance to sparkle no matter what the cost. Would she get the bracelet back? She hoped so, but if she never did she’d remember how it felt to hold such beauty in her hand and that she should make sure she continued to sparkle without the beautiful reminder.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Aidan had agreed to the set up time to meet up with Lucca to give him the bracelet that looked like it cost millions of dollars. He almost didn’t want to give it to the man because he’d seen how much the bracelet meant to Lorna. It wasn’t like it was about the money either. That piece of jewelry had some special meaning for her. She fondled it and held it up to the light before she’d handed it over like it was her prized pup.
Why Lucca wanted to meet in a dark storage facility was beyond him, but he was going to trust that this thing was going to work out the way it was supposed to and he’d be able to tell Lucca about the other man that was on the way and hopefully hammer out a plan.
“Mr. Barnes?” The voice came from a bit of a distance and Aidan got a feeling in the pit of his stomach that signaled bad happenings. Shit. He hated when that happened. At least he knew that Lorna was in a safe place and she had enough money to either get home or try to make a new start somewhere.
“Who’s asking?” In Aidan’s line of business, you didn’t answer questions like that if the person knew who you were they didn’t need to ask questions.
“The man you were supposed to kill.” Lucca said as he stepped out of the shadows. He looked just like the picture, but he didn’t look as jovial in the picture as he did now. That was the weird part. What the hell was he in such good spirits about?
“Good to see you in such good spirits,” Aidan stood back because he didn’t know where the bad vibes were coming from.
“How many times do you actually get to see the person you were supposed to put down like a dog in the street?” Lucca’s eyes were focused on him, and it felt like a stare off was going to ensue. He didn’t know the man, so whether this was the type of behavior he normally had or if this was some strange anomaly was unknown to him, but he was just going to continue to play it by ear. If this was to be his last day, he was happy for all the things that he’d accomplished and all the people he’d met. The only thing he regretted was not being about to share with Lorna how he really felt about her.
The man had a pleasant demeanor and a happy face, but the words seemed hostile. He walked closer, and the bad feelings increased. Aidan didn’t stay alive this long not listening to his intuition, so there was something off but he didn’t feel like it was coming from Lucca.
“Do you have Lorna’s bracelet?” Lucca held out his hand, and Aidan withdrew the jeweled piece from his pocket. The sparkling pink gems seemed to gleam ridiculously in the dark room, almost like it could find any little piece of light to make it shine. That reminded him of Lorna.
Aidan was stretching his arm out to place it in Lucca’s hand, but right before he dropped it into the man’s palm, Lucca drew back his hand and cradled it. There were a few seconds that Aidan didn’t know what was happening, but when he looked closer, he could see Lucca’s hand bleeding profusely. What the fuckity fuck was going on? Aidan looked in the direction that the shot must have come from and was unable to see anything, but he knew for a fact that there was a man standing there. He didn’t bring a gun with him because the door he entered was supposedly set up with an alarm, and Lucca said that he was going to be unarmed as well.
“Who’s there?” Aidan said walking closer to the man. It looked like this may be his last day here on earth so he may as well know who was responsible for that. There was a sinister chuckle that came from the area he was headed to, and the noise sounded familiar but he couldn’t place it.
“You do know your bike has a locator on it… don’t you?” Crowbar stepped into the light with his gun drawn. The smirk on the man’s face was daunting. It was like Crowbar had done something he thought was very cleaver. Aidan wasn’t sure he wanted to know what it was, but since he still didn’t know the slightly psychotic man’s plan, he figured he’d get the full manifesto before he was taken out. He was backing away from Crowbar back towards Lucca when it hit him.
“So what… you followed me here?” Aidan didn’t know when he’d ever been so shocked. How was that for trust? His team had put a tracker on his vehicle long before he’d ever gotten to this point. Here he thought he and Lorna were off the map, and his company was following his every move.
“You set me up?” Lucca was still cradling his arm, but he was standing upright. Aidan looked over to see how he was doing, and the expression on Lucca’s face matched the way he felt inside. Shocked, dismayed and betrayed.
“Believe me I know what this looks like, but I had no idea he was going to be here. I was trying to find a way out of this and help get Lorna back home safely. I didn’t have anything to do with Crowbar being here. You heard the man… they have my bike set up with some homing device. Plus you told me there was a metal detector on the door and would go off if I had a gun.” He watched Lucca slightly smile at that one.
“No honor among thieves… that’s what my uncle always said.” The look he gave Aidan told him he didn’t believe that Crowbar had come without his knowledge, and to be honest, he didn’t know if he’d have believed that either, but now he didn’t know how honest Lucca was being either. He saw in his peripheral vision that Crowbar had his gun raised, and when he turned back to look at Lucca he saw that he too had his gun raised. Oh… so now Lucca had a gun when he said there wouldn’t be any. This was bullshit.
“What is happening here?” Aidan wasn’t dense, but he felt like he was in a bad dream where all the things were happening, and you couldn’t do anything about it. His thoughts felt slow and hazy like he’d had too much to drink.
“You can’t be this stupid, Aidan. Did you think the crew didn’t find out that you were screwing your hot piece of ass, and she had somehow got you to talk to the other side about working a deal? You know that’s not how it works. We aren’t arbitrators or go-betweens when someone wants something done, and they don’t want their hands dirty… we do it. Dumbass.” Crowbar wasn’t the friendliest and his words were always harshest of the bunch, but there was truth to his words.
“I know that, Crowbar, but damn. This jump out of nowhere shit is crazy. What the hell… do you have a silencer on your gun?” Aidan’s brain was beginning to catch up, but what he was seeing wasn’t making him feel like it was going to end well.
“I like shit like this, so I don’t know what to tell you, and of course I have a silencer. I wouldn’t want to alert anyone who’s waiting for that guy to walk back out the way he came that he wasn’t coming. I’m sure the guy has some kind of system where his men check up on him.” Crowbar smiled, and when he did, Aidan knew he was just a bit crazier than even he realized. He wasn’t doing this for the notoriety or the money. He was doing it because he loved it, and that meant this wasn’t going to end well for any of them. Aidan hadn’t brought a gun inside with him because he thought he’d be patted down, and they’d agreed that there wasn’t going to be any gunfire at this meeting.
There was a standoff when the two men, Crowbar and Lucca, stood there with both of their fingers on the trigger. No way in hell was Aidan going to get in between them, and it seemed like forever before he’d come to terms with the how truly horrible this was all going to play out.
“This isn’t going to go well for any of us. Why don’t you just put the guns down,
Crowbar can leave us to talk, and I’ll catch up with him later.” Aidan didn’t think either of them were in the right state of mind for the conversation he was suggesting, but he had to try.
“Why should I put the gun down? Both of you want me dead. Why shouldn’t I take my chances and try to kill you both?” Lucca looked like he knew this was the end and wanted to cause as much chaos as possible and why not? Aidan would probably have done the same thing. Shoot the man with the gun first and the one without next.
“I can see where revenge would be in your mind, but this is not the way I thought it would go down.” Aidan tried to compel to the man’s intellect, but he could see he was running in his feelings, and he wasn’t willing to compromise any more than he already had.
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