“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.
“Elephants don’t like chili peppers,” Gage said. “I got some tacos delivered when her handler took her for a snack. I thought the smell might put her off.”
We followed the map to a small auto parts warehouse in the middle of a vast industrial park. Gage made us sit in the van while he checked the place out. He returned to report that the building was about 25,000 square feet and had only one entrance or exit. Through the windows, he’d seen a labyrinth of engine parts, crates, and fifty-five-gallon drums. Bella was inside with three men and didn’t appear to be in any danger.
“Was one of them about five-ten, thick brown hair with two widow’s peaks, baby blues, four-finger forehead, kinda average but kinda cute?” I asked. “That would be her boyfriend, Ben.”
Gage stared at me as if I were speaking a second language. “They were looking the other way and I couldn’t see their faces, but what the hell kind of description is that?”
“Andrew Garfield. Spider-Man 2012,” Cristian said.
“Why the fuck didn’t she just say that?”
“How was I to know you were a Spider-Man stan?” I said. “You rarely talk during meetings. We don’t know much about you. Not even your favorite snack.”
“Tacos.”
“Thanks for the share.” I peered out the side window. “What do you think they’re doing in there?”
“Looks like they’re waiting for someone. They weren’t making themselves comfortable and they didn’t have any stuff with them. One of them kept checking his phone.”
“Maybe they’re waiting for a fence,” I suggested. “She can’t risk taking the necklace on a plane to a foreign country, and it’s very unlikely she has the connections to sell it directly. A necklace like that is usually sold in underground channels on the black market.”
“Look at you, babe.” Chloe gave me a nudge. “You know just as much as a real criminal. I couldn’t be prouder.”
“I still can’t believe she took it.” I slumped back in my seat. “She seemed so sweet.”
“She was willing to defy her mob boss father and flee the country with the man she loved,” Chloe said. “I’m not surprised she would steal from him, although my guess is that she’s doing it out of spite. The question is, how are we going to convince her to give it to us?”
“You can’t.” Emma turned in her seat. “That’s the kind of money people kill for. She may appear sweet, but she’s a tough-ass bitch and she knows her daddy’s goons will be coming for her. She needs that money to disappear. There’s nothing you can offer her that she won’t be able to buy once she sells the necklace.”
I caught movement in the rearview mirror. A man walked out of the warehouse and lit a cigarette. I would have recognized his four-finger forehead even if Bella hadn’t shown me pictures of her secret boyfriend when we were preparing for the wedding.
“There’s our answer,” Gage said. “We’ll kidnap Ben and offer to trade him for the necklace.”
“Kidnap?” Chloe stared at him aghast. “What do you know about kidnapping people?”
“I wouldn’t give up twenty-five million for that dude,” Emma said. “Timothée Chalamet or Tom Holland? Maybe. But him? He reminds me of my cousin Joe. Painfully average. Only differences are the hair and this dude’s got all his fingers. Cousin Joe liked to experiment with chemicals and one time it all went wrong. He set himself on fire and lost three fingers. He’s into woodworking now. Much safer.”
“She loves him,” I said. “She was willing to risk everything to be with him. People will do crazy things for love. I’m sure if I explain the situation, she’ll understand.”
“You ever loved anyone like that?” Emma asked.
“No.”
“Me neither. If I ever come to you and tell you I’m about to hand over twenty-five million dollars in the name of love, please hit me over the head with something hard and bury me alive until I come to my senses.”
“That’s very touching,” Cristian said. “I always knew you had no heart.”
Emma turned and gave him a withering look. “Look who’s talking. Which bridesmaid brought you as her plus-one? Ten dollars says you still don’t know her name.”
“I spent time with all of them.” Cristian gave an irritated huff. “I like to share myself around.”
“Twenty bucks if you can name even one.”
“We don’t have time for this,” I said. “He’s not going to be out there for long. I wish Rose were here. She knows everything about kidnapping.”
“I saw rope and duct tape in the back of the van,” Emma said. “Also, a tarp, some zip ties, a shovel, bleach, garbage bags, and a bone saw. I call dibs on the tire iron. I’ve taken up golf and I want to practice my drive.”
“Why use a tire iron when we have a .22?” Chloe pulled a gun from her purse.
“Babe!” I held up my hands in a warding gesture. “I thought Gage was joking when he said you’d brought a gun to our last heist. Since when do you own a weapon, much less know how to use one?”
“Gage took me out to the shooting range last weekend,” she said. “I want to be able to defend myself. What if Kyle attacks me on the street? Or in a parking lot? What if he gets past my security system? I’m not going to be a victim anymore. I’m taking charge of my life.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” We’d never kept secrets from each other. I wasn’t as shocked about the gun as I was about the fact that she hadn’t shared any of this with me.
Chloe gave an apologetic shrug. “I guess I didn’t know what you’d think. I’ve changed since we started this heist. I’ve done things I would never have imagined doing. I’m badass now, Simi. I don’t need to be protected by you or Gage or anyone, and I wasn’t sure if you’d still love the new me.”
“I can’t believe you’d even think that after everything we’ve been through together. You’ll always be my ride or die.” I patted her purse. “Now, how about you put that away so we can get to planning our kidnapping?”
As soon as she took her attention off me, I leaned over and whispered in Gage’s ear, “After we’ve kidnapped the boyfriend and recovered the necklace, we’re going to have words.”
Gage gave me a curt nod. “Noted.”
“I’m anti-violence,” Cristian said. “I can’t be an active participant in a violent crime. I can, however, watch the van and be ready to drive if we need to get out of here in a hurry.”
Emma shook her head and sighed. “Were you born anti-everything, or did the world make you that way?”
“There’s enough violence in the world,” Cristian said. “Someone has to take a stand.”