To Have and to Heist(104)

“Someone give me a shirt. We need to put pressure on his wound. Who’s got a phone? They took all our stuff when they tied us up. We need an ambulance right away. Where’s Jack?” My brain was going at full tilt. I was determined to get everyone out alive.

Anil handed me his shirt. “Rose has a phone. I can create a distraction so everyone can get out and she can make the call. Jack isn’t here.” He grimaced. “The situation is . . . complicated.”

I wanted to ask what he meant by complicated, but the blood was coming faster and we were running out of time. “Everyone go,” I said. “I’ll stay with Ben.”

Anil picked up his drone and pulled a handful of foam pellets from his pocket. “I modded my drone to shoot Nerf darts. I can cause a little chaos while everyone slips out the door.”

“Sounds good. Rose, as soon as you’re out, call for an ambulance and then call the 18th Precinct and ask for Detective Garcia. Tell him I’m here and there are people with guns, but don’t give any other details.”

“I’m not leaving you.” Chloe knelt down beside me. “Four hands are better than two.”

“You are leaving, because Olivia needs her mom and someone needs to get Rose to the van before she does something even crazier than dropping from a warehouse ceiling.” I gave a hollow laugh. “She’s seen too many crime shows. She might forget the bullets are real.”

“I’ll come back for Simi,” Gage said to Chloe, pulling her up.

“No, you won’t.” I met his gaze with a shake of my head. “Your job is to keep everyone safe. There are people out there with guns, and they are not afraid to use them.” I swallowed hard, reached for the strength inside me. “I’ll be fine. Bella’s not going to stick around when things start to go wrong. She’s a survivor.”

And so was I.

Anil started up his drone and sent it into the middle of the warehouse. I heard an “ow,” a shriek, a grunt of pain.

“What’s going on?” Bella shouted. “Where is it coming from?”

“Go.” I tipped my chin toward the door. “Now.”

Chloe shot me a last desperate look before following the rest of the crew into the shadows.

Gunshots echoed in the warehouse; a bullet pinged off the ceiling. Sweat beaded on Anil’s forehead as he made the drone swoop and dive.

“You have to leave,” I insisted. “The van needs to be gone before the police arrive.”

“They might come for you,” Anil said. “I think it’s time to let The Butcher out to play.”

“Anil . . . no.”

In the distance, sirens wailed.

* * *

◆ ◆ ◆

?“Hi, Garcia.”

“Simi.” Garcia moved off the sidewalk while the paramedics lifted Ben onto the gurney. “Fancy meeting you here at a crime scene.”

“It’s a funny story.” I glanced behind me, caught the back of the van hurtling down the road.

“I look forward to hearing it.” He shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around my bloodstained dress. “I think you know the drill by now.”

“I’ll call Riswan and ask him to meet us at the station.”

* * *

◆ ◆ ◆

?“Let me see if I’ve got this right.” Garcia leaned back in his steel chair across from me and Riswan. We were in the same interrogation room as the night we’d first met. If I hadn’t been so worried that I’d forget our cover story, I would have been touched.

“You started a wedding planning business and got a last-minute gig salvaging the wedding of Mr. Angelini’s daughter. She told you she was being forced into the marriage, so you and your friends decided to help her escape so she could be with her boyfriend.”

“We’re a full-service business,” I said. “There isn’t anything I won’t do for my clients.”

“Escaping from the mob?”

“My client has no knowledge of whether or not her client’s family is involved in organized crime,” Riswan said.

“She does because I told her.” Garcia tried to stare down Riswan. A normal mortal would have crumbled, but Riswan had a core of steel that made even the sternest prosecutor tremble.

“I believe you used the words ‘allegedly’ and ‘rumored’ in that conversation.” Riswan flipped through the notes he’d made in our pre-Garcia meeting. “Your speculation does not constitute actual knowledge on the part of my client.”

“Um. Hmm.” Garcia tapped his fingers on the table. “You said Mr. Angelini called you to his office to ask if you’d seen his daughter. Subsequently, you spoke to Mr. Angelini’s head of security, a man named Gino. He told you that Bella had taken something valuable from her father. Do you know what it was?”

“Bella mentioned a necklace when we were in the warehouse.”

Garcia lifted an eyebrow. My lips quivered with a smile. Riswan cleared his throat and we got back down to business.

“Gino issued a threat, saying there was a price for betrayal, so you took it upon yourself to track Bella down to warn her after already having helped her escape from a forced marriage.”

“I’m sure you’ve watched a Mafia movie or two.” I drew a line across my throat. “Although I had no direct knowledge of any Mafia connections, your comments did raise some red flags that made me concerned for my client’s safety. I couldn’t let her get killed by the mob.” I caught Riswan shaking his head and made a quick correction. “Alleged mob.”