Jack put an arm around me, and we walked to his bike. “Now you know more about me than anyone else.”
“Now you’re just semi-mysterious and a little bit human.”
“Little?” He lifted an eyebrow. “That’s not what you said earlier when you were being a wicked girl.”
Wicked. I liked it. Much better than “good.”
“Take me back to your hotel and I’ll show you wicked.” I grabbed my helmet and yanked it over my head.
“I like this new you,” Jack said.
I liked this new me, too. I didn’t give up and I didn’t give in. I was a fighter. I was in control. When bad things happened, I found a way around them. And now I had a plan.
I just had to find a way to convince the crew to steal a $25 million necklace from the mob and kidnap a mob boss’s daughter.
Twenty-One
Here’s a helpful tip. If you’re planning a heist involving the Mafia, make sure you find a crew who are heavily in debt.
“How much was the reward?” Emma asked after I’d shared the big reveal—Mafia, forced marriage, sadistic groom—and my new plan—steal the necklace and help Bella escape—over beer and wings in Rose’s garage the next night.
“That would be $833,333.33 each,” Anil said. “We were also offered $250,000 to plan the wedding divided by six, which is another $41,666.67 each, for a grand total of $875,000 per person.”
“You scare me when you do that math-in-your-head thing,” Emma said. “It’s not natural.”
“I totally understand if anyone wants to drop out,” I said. “The Mafia aspect adds another level of danger, and helping Bella escape raises it up another notch. I still don’t have a concrete plan for Bella, but I’m thinking of fake kidnapping her during the wedding.” I hesitated, waiting for the thunder of feet as everyone ran for the door. When that didn’t happen, I said, “I’m still willing to go ahead and so is Jack but—”
“I’m in,” Chloe said. “You started this for me, and now we’re going to help Bella, too. I can’t believe it’s even a question.”
“What about Olivia?” I countered. “You’ve seen the movies, read the news. These guys go after families when they’re pissed off. I don’t think you should take the risk.”
“If I don’t take the risk, I might wind up in jail,” she said. “If I don’t wind up in jail, we might wind up on the street. Some days I try to breathe, and I can’t get the air in. I’m almost thirty, and I’m still in the place I was when I earned minimum wage. At the very worst, I know Kyle’s parents would look after her, or even my mom if it doesn’t work out with them, but this is a chance at a better life for us. I have to take it.”
“I’m in,” Gage said. “Nothing has changed for me except it just got more interesting.”
“What’s a little danger between friends?” Emma grabbed another wing. “Seriously, it’s worth the risk for a chance to get my life started. I’ve been waiting for adulthood to kick in for the last decade. My rent takes over half my income. I haven’t had a steady job in forever and I’ve never seen a positive number in my savings account. I don’t know why I even opened one. Plus, you need a driver, and no one is better than me.”
I fist-bumped her across the table, still trying to process the fact that we still had over half our crew.
“You trusted me with the most important job of carrying the necklace,” Anil said. “My mom doesn’t even trust me to do the laundry. My parents don’t think I can find my own wife. Even at work, they won’t promote me even though I’m more qualified than many of the upper-level managers because they think I’m too young. At the rate I’m going, I’ll still be living at home, trying to pay off my loans, twenty years from now and The Butcher will still be a dream. I won’t let you down. I’m in.”
“Dude.” Gage ruffled Anil’s hair. It was the most affection I’d ever seen him show, except around Chloe.
“I’m out,” Cristian said when we all looked to him. “It was bad enough when I found out I’d slept with Angelini’s wife—and before you judge me, she told me she was divorced. But now I find out I’ve slept with the wife of a Mafia boss. Those guys don’t play games. I have to look out for myself. I can’t take the risk she’ll expose me.” He folded his arms over his There is no Planet B T-shirt. “I’m not strong like you. I couldn’t even handle six months of rejection after college when I tried to find work. I went back to my high school job at Pizza Plus to pay off my debt and then tried a bunch of side gigs before I started life coaching and working at Simi’s dad’s store. Now my degree is almost eight years old, and I have no relevant experience. That money would be a game changer, but not if I’m dead.”
“It won’t be the same without you,” I said, and I meant it.
“I wasn’t even supposed to be here.” Cristian pushed his chair back. “I scammed my way in. You won’t even notice I’m gone.”
“I’ll notice.” Emma stood and held out her hand. “You’ll be missed, especially if we go boating again.”
His face crumpled—half laughter, half pain—but he shook her hand. “Good luck, everyone. I hope it all works out.”
After Cristian had gone, I went to tell Rose the news. Of course, a little mob boss danger didn’t put her off.
“I’m still available as a grease woman if you need me.” She poured a cup of tea and added two biscuits to the saucer. “Who’s going to take over his job at the rehearsal dinner? Your plan won’t work if someone doesn’t take away the Angelinis’ phones.”
“I was thinking of asking Emma. She’ll be there anyway.”
“You’re going to let Emma loose on that crowd?” Rose chuckled. “You won’t need anyone to tell you when they’re leaving because it’ll be about five minutes after she opens her mouth.”
“We don’t have any options. I need everyone else doing the job I’ve set them to do.”
“Then use me,” she said. “Theater has been my life. I’m sure I can keep some mafiosos entertained.”
“It’s too dangerous,” I said. “I couldn’t let you take the risk.”
“Sweetheart, I’m eighty years old.” Rose sipped her tea. “I’ve done a lot of living. Now it’s all about finding new experiences, and nothing can top pulling off a heist to rob a Mafia boss. If I have to go, then it might as well be in a blaze of glory and a story that will be passed down through the generations. I don’t want my obituary to read, ‘She passed away peacefully in a rest home.’ I want it to say, ‘She was gunned down trying to escape from a bloodthirsty mob boss,’ or ‘She was found in Lake Michigan encased in cement.’？”
“How about ‘She pulled off the heist of the century netting an eight-hundred-seventy-five-thousand-dollar windfall that she used to decorate her basement suite for her long-term tenant?’？”