I looked around, orienting myself. The entrance to the building was across from us, a double door chained with padlocks. Above, at the upper reaches of the building, was a skinny catwalk that extended the length of the front and near side, with a series of doors and broken windows.
Otherwise the area was dark and deserted, with no ambient light from the businesses, since they were too far away. Thick clouds covered the sky, a darkly orange haze from the refineries, their stacks billowing ghostly white. The wind carried their chemical odor, overpowering the briny smells off the water. There was no sound, and the stillness felt settled in, as if the property had been abandoned for years.
“What you guys think?” Dom asked, his hands on his hips.
Tig nodded, setting down the toolbox. “It’s good.”
I turned to Dom. “What’s the deal with this place? This real estate has to be valuable. Who can afford to abandon it?”
“It’s in bankruptcy litigation. I used it back in the day and followed it since then in the paper.” Dom pointed up at the catwalk. “Those are the offices. That’s where you watch from, Jason.”
“Thanks,” I said, my emotions mixed. “You sure I can’t help?”
“You’ll help by staying out of the way.”
Richardson turned to Dom. “How long will it take until Reilly, or whoever, gets here?”
“Two and a half, three hours.”
“So we got time.” Richardson shrugged. “Maybe we’ll play a hand. Anybody bring cards?”
They all laughed, and Tig opened the toolbox with a soft grunt, took out flashlights, and gave them to Richardson and Skeet. He tucked a bolt cutter under his arm, then closed the box and straightened up. “Okay, time to make the donuts.”
Richardson turned his flashlight on the building, running a jittery circle of light over rust and grime on the weathered metal. “Hope there’s no rats. I don’t mind mice, but rats, no. Can’t take ’em.”
“I’m with you.” Skeet shuddered, his gold earring glinting. “I’ll take mice any day of the week. I tell my wife, they’re Mickey Mouse, only no pants.”
Tig chuckled. “I’m sure there’s no rats. No mice neither. Prolly fresh and clean inside like the Ritz.”
Richardson snorted. “Who you kidding? You never been to the Ritz.”
“Have so,” Tig shot back. “Had drinks there, many times.”
“You didn’t stay there.”
“Why would I? I got a house.” Tig clucked. “If I hadda stay there, I could stay there. What’re you saying? I’m a piker?” The three men walked to the entrance, their voices receding.
Dom slid a flip phone from his pocket. “I’m gonna call Reilly.”
“Should I go with them, or stay here, in case you need me?”
“Stick around.” Dom flipped open the phone, its faint orange screen shadowing his smile. “You can hear what a good liar I am.”
Chapter Sixty-Three
I sat next to Dom on the floor of the office, our backs against the wall of corrugated metal. The office was one of a row of offices on a cantilevered balcony of concrete, which was accessed by a long, rickety metal stairway. The space below was empty, but I assumed it had once held heavy equipment. The air smelled of dust, dirt, and dead mice. We’d heard telltale scuffling, but nobody wanted to know if they were rats or mice. I was guessing both.
We had been over and over the plan, discussing every particular, and there was nothing to do but wait in the dark. Tig, Richardson, and Skeet sat catty-corner to us, having dozed off. Dom rested with his eyes closed, but I knew he wasn’t sleeping. I left him to his own thoughts. Planes flew overhead intermittently, some closer than others, and one rattled the walls.
All I could think of was Lucinda, Allison, and Ethan. I tamped down any emotion that popped up, threatening to sidetrack my focus. I tried not to think about Hart, either. Or Contessa or Nerone. The face that kept coming to mind was Milo’s, his glittering eyes surfacing from my subconscious. I shifted position, unable to get comfortable.
“Jason, you okay?” Dom asked quietly.
“Yes. How about you?”
“Fine. Don’t worry, we got this.”
“I don’t want anybody to get hurt.”
Dom smiled. “We won’t. They might.”
I couldn’t find a smile. “You think Reilly is dirty?”
“Yes.”
My gut clenched. I had been holding out hope the good guys were coming. “Why?”
“Little things, thinking back. Like, he wanted Wiki to partner with me on this job.”
“I thought Wiki was your partner.”
“No, we switch around for each job. I’ve worked with a couple guys. This time Reilly wanted me to take Wiki. Said he was young, that I could bring him along, all that.” Dom shook his head. “He talked to my ego, and it worked. Anyway. What’s done is done. Milo and his crew’s on the way.”
“And the plan is—”
“Your plan is you stay here. Right in this office.”
“I really can’t help?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Dom, I really think you should reconsider.”
“No.”
We both fell quiet, tacitly agreeing to disagree. I reviewed the plan in my mind. Everyone but me was supposed to take their positions twenty minutes before the expected arrival of Milo and his gang. Tig, Richardson, and Skeet were to wait behind the crane while Dom flagged Milo down. Then on his signal, they were all to rush the car. I was supposed to wait up here and call 911 in case it went south. They had guns; I had Dom’s flip phone.
Dom looked over. “By the way, I want to tell you, I got to know Lucinda. We had some good talks. She told me what happened between you two.”
I felt my cheeks warm. “So you know she cheated? Did Ethan hear?”
“No, he was asleep.”
I breathed a relieved sigh. I didn’t know why it mattered. I didn’t know what mattered and what didn’t anymore.
“I gotta say—” Dom shook his head. “I like her. I admit, I didn’t in the beginning, but I like her now. She didn’t like me in the beginning, either. She told me so. Not that she had to.” He paused. “I’m not getting in the middle between you two, I’m just saying. Things happen.”
My mouth tasted bitter. “She cheated on me with an asshole.”
“It happens, even in a good marriage.” Dom’s tone softened, which struck me.
“Your wife cheated, too?”
“No, I did.” Dom looked over, and though I couldn’t see his features, I could feel his gaze take on a new weight.
“Really.” I didn’t know what else to say. I was surprised. He seemed like such a straight arrow.
“I screwed up, after my partner got killed. That’s no excuse, I know it. I lost my way. I wish I could say it was only one woman, but it wasn’t.” Dom sighed. “But one day we talked, and I came clean. We went to counseling, the whole nine. The thing is, she forgave me. Now it’s behind us, and I’m grateful to her, every day.”
“I don’t know if I can forgive Lucinda. I don’t know how you get past that.”