CHAPTER THREE
San Diego, California
Alexa Rogers stood at the corner under the street light and glanced at her watch for the fifth time. Where is he? She sighed as she spotted him strutting along the sidewalk. Damn Sloane, he knows I get nervous about the fence part.
“Sorry, negotiations. You know?” Sloane smiled.
Rolling her eyes, Alexa did not smile back.
Motioning with his head for her to follow, he moved ahead on the sidewalk. She stepped in to follow him.
Sloane was the best point man in the business, as well as her friend and mentor. She met him at the age of fifteen, after she ran away from the foster home. When she arrived to the rough streets, Alexa dressed like a boy to escape the prostitution rings. Sloane took her under his wing and taught her everything she knew about theft and the art of being a cat burglar. But for some reason, he’d never liked that expression. Like a cat? Whoever heard of a cat that steals? He always said.
“Alexa?” he called.
“Uh?”
“You daydreaming––or what?” He gave her that crooked smile.
She glared at him.
“Aww, don’t be nervous. They offered five grand!” His smile grew wider. “And they got a request job for us!”
“What do you mean?”
He pulled her into an alcove. “They have a buyer for this special antique necklace.” His voice rose to an excited pitch.
“Not the necklace?”
“Yeah Alexa–– that necklace!”
She remembered the necklace he spoke of. She’d only seen photos of it online. Diamonds on top of diamonds. If they got it, she could retire from this and finally get a normal life. A house and maybe a job as a librarian or something. “Where is it?”
“You will have to fly up the coast. It’s at some fancy estate in San Francisco.”
“And so?” she asked.
Sloane gazed around. “The owners will be gone for three days. We have the floor plan, and it’s all set.”
The adrenaline rush at the thought of another job began to course through her blood. She knew she shouldn’t feel like this, as she had to quit stealing and join the legitimate world where people worked 9 to 5 and had barbeques in their backyards.
“You ain’t got a whole lot of time though.” He tugged her arm.
She let him tug her along for a foot or two and then halted. “How long?”
“You fly out tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Her body grew rigid.
“Shh…It’s the only window of opportunity.”
Alexa sighed and shook her head. He always used that expression when he got excited about a job.
“Come on, let’s go celebrate and then you can pack. I’ll treat!”
At the thought of flying to a new and unknown territory, she pouted.
“Pink flamingos…At the Flamingo?” he suggested.
A smile nudged at her lips. He knew she loved that drink and that particular club.
Sloane grinned and turned to hail them a cab.
They sat at her favorite place and had a drink. Sloane gave her all the information she needed and plane tickets for a round trip.
At midnight, Alexa sat in the rental car at the dark curb, just outside the Golden Gate Parkway. She gazed at the mansion on the hill. Sloane had clued her in on the entire plan, along with entry, exit and getaway paths.
The necklace sat in a safe in an upstairs bedroom behind a painting. She’d rolled her eyes at this. No imagination. Like why not just have it out on the bar in plain sight? She’d chuckled at this. Some of these filthy rich slobs were just dumb when it came to real security. She could show any of them every weakness they had. She knew more than most about how to get in, avoid heat and get the hell out.
She raised her night binoculars, adjusted the sight and spotted the first window. Alexa continued to scan across to window three. The third bedroom held the safe at the top level. She swung the binoculars down to the gate. A ten-footer, no problem. She spanned her scope all around the lawns. Quiet and empty just like Sloane said. Alexa grabbed her bag from the seat.
The climb over the fence took only a minute and she stood very still behind the tree, directly below the window. Alexa gauged the distance from the tree to the balcony. Yep, Sloane was spot on again. She adjusted the strap on her bag and climbed.
Reaching the top limb, she stilled when a tingle shimmied along the back of her neck. Her instinct had never failed her. There were so many times when it saved her from jail time. But this was different. She felt a pull from inside that room. The necklace itself, maybe? She wondered if she was just nervous because of this particular piece. It was the prize of a lifetime, and Alexa just had to have it.
Well... to have it, I have to steal it! She pushed away the anxious feeling and swung her rope over to the balcony. Stepping in through the window, she dropped lightly to the carpet, drew in a breath and looked around the room. The alarm had been taken care of by an inside servant that very afternoon, so it wasn’t a problem.
The shiver returned as she spotted the painting, which hid the safe. It depicted the estate itself. She drew out her penlight and clicked it on. The Lagari Estate.
Lagari Estate?
She held her breath. Even she had heard of these people. They were deadly if you crossed them. She’d always managed to avoid attracting the attention of any organized crime people. Until now that is. Fucking Sloane sent her to a mobster’s house to steal a dammed necklace? Oh, man I am going to fucking kill him.
Looking around, she figured the best thing to do was to at least get the necklace. After all, she’d made it up here without getting caught. Maybe her luck would hold out. She needed this take. With it, she could get out of this business forever.
Stepping forward to the painting, she lifted it from the wall. The fucking head of the mob! Sloane was either retarded or he had a death wish. But she was just as bad. She really should just turn around and leave. Never look back. But she ignored the self advice. She just couldn’t resist this.
Now for the tricky part. It was one of those digital safes, but she was the best hacker in the biz. She took a deep breath and attached her tech then allowed it to run through its cycle. Thank god, it was silent.
Pausing, she heard a loud noise from the hall.
She reached down along her leg for her strapped pistol. She crept to the door, then stopped to get a look back at the safe’s readout. Still 50 numbers to go. She eased the door open and saw a woman standing in the hall breathing heavily and a man stood in front of her. She woman screamed and threw her hands up as the man raised a gun.
It was a horrible sight when the top of the woman’s head was blown off.
Sucking in a breath, she held her scream in and quietly shut the door. Oh, god! She just witnessed a murder! Holy hell! Her heart pounded and she rushed back to the safe. She stared at the readout. 15, 14, 13… Come on! Come on! The safe beeped as it popped open.
Alexa froze and looked back at the door.
She reached into the safe and grabbed a metal box. It had another small digital readout. FUCK! Maybe they weren’t so dumb after all. She heard the doorknob turning.
Shit! She tucked the box into her shoulder bag and nearly leapt over to the window.
“Come back here!” a man shouted.
Then a bullet hit the windowsill just as she let her tide rope out.
Dammit! She was gonna die here. God, please? I swear if you let me live, I’ll never steal again!
Her breaths came in pants as the whole house lit up.
Oh, my god! Her heart in her throat, she ran across the back lawn and went over the fence. Another bullet hit the top of the fence just as she dropped down on the other side.
She ran until she couldn’t breathe anymore. Then she ducked into a dark spot by a trash can. Bent over h she held her sides. It hurt to breathe but she was lucky to BE breathing. She should have run the other way to her rental car. But no, that would have put her right under that sniper fire. She would be dead right now, if she had run that direction.
Luckily, she had come into downtown and after she caught her breath, she lost herself in the crowd. Thank God, the people here stay up late.
Her breathing finally evened out as she ducked into an internet café. Shaking, she ordered a latte and sat at a laptop outlet. What the fuck just happened?
You went to steal from the mob, then witnessed a murder then… you stole from the mob. You fucking stole from the most dangerous family in all of California!
She couldn’t think straight. How could Sloane send her there? She logged on and knew she couldn’t fly home. In fact, she couldn’t go home at all. She booked a bus ticket to Kanasas, then a train ticket from there. There was only one place to go and that would be on the other side of the dammed country.
Raising her gaze, she looked out at the sidewalk. There were two very large men pushing people aside on the sidewalk.
Lowering her head, she looked down at her laptop. It had to be the mob thugs. Shit, they were right on her trail!
Her shaky fingers typed in…You are so dead Sloane. How could you have done that? She sent the mail off and slowly looked around.
The men were gone.
After another latte and getting the shakes from too much caffeine, she made her way out of the café a half hour later. Looking back and forth along the walk, she tucked her cap down over her head and hurried down the walk. According to her phone’s GPS, her hotel was just two blocks away, but it felt like miles.
She was so fearful she would get caught and dragged back to that estate and have her head blown off just like that woman. She shuddered. That had been the worst thing she ever saw in her life. And growing up an orphan on the streets…that was saying something.
The next morning, Alexa awoke and lay very still for a long moment as she listened. All quiet except for a low hum. Her heart pounded so loud it was echoing in her ears. Why did she feel so scared? She struggled to remember. She turned her head to the other side of the room, the air conditioner spat out cold air and that explained the humming noise.
Bewildered, she looked around at the room. What the hell happened? Then it all came back to her with a bang. The woman and her death. Blood all over the wall, the safe, the hail of bullets…The metal box. Running for her life.
At the buzz of her cell, she jumped off the bed. It rang again as she heaved out a frustrated breath, then reached over to swipe the screen.
“Hello?” Sloane’s voice greeted her.
“Sloane?”
“Well, who else would it be?” he teased.
“Maybe a killer bent on ending me?” she asked in a sarcastic tone.
“What?” Sloane squeaked.
“Never mind, Sloane. You set me up!”
The phone went quiet.
“Did you hear me?”
“No, I didn’t!” His voice sounded confused. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Whoever gave you those details, set us up. I just don’t know why.”
“So, you didn’t get it?”
She held the phone against her cheek as she grabbed the metal box from under the bed. “No, I got it. I think?”
“You mean you don’t know?”
“Shhh,” she whispered, “Someone was there, and he...” Her voice fell away as she remembered him. The man had a cold look in his eyes when he’d raised that gun.
“He what?” Sloane shouted over the line.
“I saw something?” Her statement sounded like a question.
A long moment of silence loomed from the other end, and then she heard Sloane laugh. “Stop fooling with me, Rogers! It’s just cruel.”
“I’m not kidding! I won’t tell you what I saw, cause you would…” He would be killed. Sloane had been with her for years and she couldn’t stand the thought of him getting killed.
“What? I would what?”
“I’ll call you in a few days. I hope.”
“What?” he shouted. “But we got the fence waiting and—”
“Never mind that! I have to hide and Sloane?”
“Yeah?”
“You better hide too. And fast. That necklace belonged to the mob.”
He gasped loudly. “What the fuck? Oh man, A. I didn’t know. I swear!”
“Yeah, but whoever gave you this info knew. They had to. So go underground. Toss your phone but check your mail for my message, K?”
“Ok… stay safe, Rogers.”
She hung the phone up and gazed at the metal box. Whatever was in there sure as hell better be worth it. It could be the prize of her illustrious career or maybe it was just a box of death. Hers. Then she raised her phone and smashed it on the side table. Hell, she should’ve done it before. It must have been the fear and exhaustion that had clouded her thinking last night.
Taking the sim card out, she went and flushed it down the toilet. Let them track that shit! Alexa watched it go down and disappear as she felt this would be her last job, maybe her last anything.
She then bent over and threw up into the flushed toilet.