To Have and to Heist(98)

“Don’t goad him,” Jack warned. “You don’t want to mess with a guy like that.”

“He should be more worried about messing with me. I beat up a mob boss’s son. I chased away armed intruders with a floorboard. Who knows what I’d do to him? I’m not the simpering Simi you met at the museum. I organized a successful wedding, an escape, and two failed heists. I just broke into a Mafia boss’s office and went through his safe. I’m just surprised he wasn’t quaking in his boots.”

Jack leaned over to kiss my temple. “You were never simpering. You just didn’t know your own strengths.”

We walked through the house to the kitchen. The catering staff had finished cleaning. Rose was shooing the last of the nonnas away, and Gage was leaning against the counter pouring Chloe a glass of what looked to be cooking sherry.

“Simi!” Cristian ran into the kitchen, narrowly missing one of the servers. He grabbed the counter to slow his momentum and heaved in a breath. “Bella . . .”

“Christ,” Gage said. “You did her, too?”

Cristian shook his head. He looked around to ensure we were alone and said in lowered voice, “Bella has the necklace.”

“The necklace?” My heart leaped into my throat. “Our necklace?”

“Sophia . . . er . . . Mrs. Angelini pulled me off the dance floor about half an hour ago,” Cristian said. “She said she’d walked in on Bella when she was packing upstairs and saw her put a necklace in her bag. Bella told her that her father had given it to her as a wedding gift. I asked Sophia what it looked like, and she described the Wild Heart. She went on and on about how her husband had never given her anything so beautiful, how he didn’t really love her.” He shook his head. “She was so distraught. I had to take her somewhere quiet and do what I could to calm her down so she didn’t run to her husband and confront him before we had a chance to find Bella.”

“I’m sure you did . . . calm her down,” Gage muttered. “You’re a model of altruism.”

“Gino said she’d taken something of value,” I said. “That must be it. And now Bella’s on her way to Rio. We have to catch her before she gets on the airplane or Gino gets to her first.” I stared at the shocked faces around me. “Well, come on. Move. Everyone to the van. We’ll get Emma on the way. We can’t take the limo or they’ll know something is up. Where’s Anil?”

“He’s still DJing,” Chloe said. “We can’t pull him away without drawing attention.”

“I’ll stay and pass on the message,” Rose offered. “You’ll need someone here in case there are any problems.”

“What about Jack?” I hadn’t even seen him leave. Why did he always disappear when we needed him most?

“Don’t worry about him.” Rose pushed me gently in the direction of the door. “I’ll find him. You need to go before you lose your chance.”

We dodged and weaved through the crowd toward the parking lot, grabbing Emma on our way to the van. Heaving our breaths, we piled inside while Emma climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Where to, boss?”

“I’m not sure. I can’t think.” I dropped my head between my knees and made a mental note to start jogging again. “She’s taking a private jet and she didn’t tell me which airfield they were using. I can’t call because she and Ben both dumped their phones in case her father could track her.”

“Didn’t you book their cab?” Chloe asked. “You could call the company and ask them where they dropped her off.”

I made the call. The cab company gave me the address of a warehouse in Hanover Park that was nowhere near any airstrip that I could see online.

“What’s she doing there?” I stared at the map on my phone, trying to figure out why they’d made a stop when they were supposed to be on their way to Rio.

“Maybe Gino had men nearby and they caught her,” Gage suggested.

“Then she’ll definitely need our help. The warehouse is in an industrial park forty minutes away. We can’t wait for Anil and Jack. I’ll text them the address. This is our last chance to get the necklace.”

“What if she won’t give it back?” Chloe pulled the door closed.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll come up with a plan.”

Twenty-Eight

Pull over and let me drive,” Gage shouted from the back seat. “You’re going to get us all killed.”

“Poor baby.” Emma swerved around a car, and we all braced ourselves against the seats. “Can’t take the speed?”

“I don’t have a fucking death wish.”

“You’re perfectly safe with me,” Emma said. “There isn’t a vehicle I can’t drive, and I haven’t been in an accident since I got my license back.”

“Back?” Chloe knocked on the wood paneling inside the van. She’d always been superstitious.

“Reckless driving. It was a bogus charge,” Emma said. “If I’d had a better lawyer, they would never have made it stick. That road was made specifically for drag racing.”

“Why does it smell like tacos in here?” I sniffed and my stomach rumbled, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.