Page 21 of Wanted 2
I had the right place, but where was—
Don’s black Dodge Ram with tinted windows tore around the corner of the building, swerving a little as he headed straight toward me. He waited until I lost my nerve and dove for the passenger seat before squealing to a stop, less than two feet away.
“Chicken shit,” he snorted as he hopped out of his truck. “You’re nothing but a chicken shit. It’s a miracle you pulled this off.”
Ten minutes, Kass. In ten minutes, this will all be over. You’ve got that five hundred dollars hidden in the trunk. It’s enough to cover the gas to get you and Jeremy to Canada. All you have to do is pick him up from school and just drive. Forget the IDs, forget the—
The passenger door yanked open and Don thrust his hand inside. “The code? The key?”
I swallowed and forced myself not to think as I slapped them both into his sweaty palm.
He studied my offerings as if they might take flight. “These better be real,” he said. “I know how to get to you and the boy if they’re not.”
I nodded. “They are.”
Don’t think. Don’t think how you’ve just betrayed the Count.Damn it. Don’t think.
“Slide over,” Don barked.
Shit. I didn’t want him in my car, but I had no way of stopping him. He already had the door open. I scooted back to the driver’s seat. “You’ve got what you wanted,” I said. “Deal’s done.”
Don chuckled as he crammed his long legs into my car and closed the door. “Key,” he said, holding up the key in one hand and then, the paper in the other. “Code.”
“Yeah.”
“Good, now use them.”
“What?
“You didn’t think thatIwas going to break in when you’re already there?” He looked at me with an incredulous expression. “Open that damn safe and bring me the contents.”
He slammed both the key and the code onto the dashboard with such force that I cringed. Yeah, I got the message. He was letting me know I’d be the dashboard if I refused.
“That wasn’t the deal,” I croaked, my throat drying up like a parched desert. Despair churned deep inside me. I should have known. I should have freaking known. This wasn’t going to end. He was never going to hold his end of the bargain. He’d be blackmailing me forever. Why, oh why, had I ever trusted him? Why the hell do criminals trust other criminals?
“I’m in charge here, Kass,” he ranted. “And what I say the deal is, the deal is. That’s the way it—”
“There’s something new,” I interrupted as a half-baked—ok, quarter-baked at best—plan began to form. He wanted to play devious? I’d perfected those skills when I’d been on the streets, begging for cash to score my next hit. Who knew I’d benefit from those now?
“What?” Don stared at me in disbelief that I’d interrupted him.
“The butler,” I followed up quickly, knowing I had about ten seconds before that fist came smashing my way. “He brought a chest. Huge. It’s important.”
He held still. I exhaled a silent breath of relief. He was hooked. I could tell by the dilation of his eyes as greed slowly replaced rage. Now, I just had to reel him in. Too slow and I'd lose him. Too fast and he'd become suspicions. I had to play this just right.
“What's in it?” he asked.
“Remember that small chest of jewels?” I waited until he nodded. “Well, this chest is bigger. Twenty times bigger.” Technically, I hadn’t said this chest was filled with jewels, but then, that didn’t really matter. I didn’t mind lying to Don. I’d say anything to get him out of my car so I could go collect Jeremy and run.
Don pushed the car door open and stepped out while lighting a cigarette. He didn’t speak, he just paced back and forth, sucking his cancer stick, making me watch him take drag after drag. He knew it was a form of torture for me, that I hated things to drag out.
It worked.
By the time he finally flicked his cigarette onto the pavement, my nerves were frazzled.
“I’ll take that chest, too. And if you don’t deliver it all?” He stepped onto his cigarette and slowly ground it with his heel. “This will be Jeremy’s head.”
I swallowed. Whatever, Kass. Don’t let him get to you. You just need to get out of here, get Jeremy and run.