“Call Seth,” Jack said. “We need to know where we are going.”
Tina flipped through the phone until she found Seth’s number. “Seth, Tina. We’re on I-40 Westbound. Jack wants the address for the warehouse.”
“I don’t have one yet,” Seth said.
“He doesn’t have one yet,” Tina repeated for Jack.
“Fuck…” Jack muttered, then held his hand out for the phone.
“Seth… we got to have this, man. We’re depending on you.”
“I know, Jack! But it’s Sunday!”
“I know! But you said you could do it.”
“I’m trying, Jack. I spoke to three places Saturday. They are supposed to get back to me first thing Monday morning with the paperwork. I told them the first one to get the paperwork to me gets the contract. But I can only do so much!”
“I know. But stay on them. We are going to be arriving in LA at about… ten, ten-thirty. Nine-thirty local. I don’t to be sitting around all day with a hundred million dollars’ worth of cars on the truck while they jack off.”
“I’m pushing as hard as I can!”
“I know… and I know I didn’t give you a lot of time. But you said you could do it. The Sons are depending on you, Seth. Make it happen.”
“I will if I can.”
“I have faith in you. I know you can do it.”
“Okay. I will call you back as soon as I know something.”
“Good enough. Thanks, Seth.”
“Yeah,” he grunted before hanging up.
“We’re fucked, aren’t we?” Tina asked.
“Not yet. But it’s going to be damn tight.”
“We didn’t have much choice.”
“I know. It was either go this Sunday and risk not finding a place to store the cars, or wait and go next Sunday and risk the cars being released from impound. Either way, it was a risk. But we’re putting a lot of pressure on Seth.”
“Could we hide somewhere for a day?”
“I’m open for suggestions.”
Tina chewed her lip. “How about just out in the desert somewhere?”
“We can’t go off pavement. We’ll get stuck or hung up for sure. So anywhere we stop, somebody could drive by. We need to be inside somewhere. And in case you hadn’t noticed, this thing isn’t exactly a Smart Car.”
“Yeah. I noticed. But you handle it pretty well. Have you driven a truck before?”
“A little. When I first started out I had this idea of stealing the cars and transporting them myself, so I got my CDL. That turned out to be a non-starter. But I have kept the CDL up just in case.”
“So what are we going to do?”
“We are going to press on and hope Seth comes through.”
“And if he can’t?”
“Then… we’re going to have to scramble.”
“Come on, Seth!” Tina cheered.
Jack snorted. “Yeah. Come on, Seth!”
***
It was just after two-thirty in the morning when they ground through Flagstaff. They had been steadily climbing, and Tina had poked at buttons until she figured out how to turn on the heat to ward off the night’s chill.
“How’re you doing?” she asked.
“Okay so far. The nap this afternoon helped. You?”
“A little drowsy, but doing okay. Mostly I need to stretch my legs a little.”
“Can you hang on a little longer?”
“I’m okay. I’m just not normally cooped up in a car… or truck… this long at a time.”
“We’re almost halfway.”
Tina groaned and stretched. “How about something to eat to help pass the time?”
“Sounds good. What did Nic pack for us?”
Tina rummaged in the sack for a moment. “You name it. It looks we have ham, roast beef, or turkey for sandwiches—two of each—plus three kinds of chips, beef sticks, jerky and… I claim the M&M’s.”
“Just give me something. It doesn’t matter.”
Tina handed over a ham sandwich and chips, and stuck a water in one of the cup holders.
“What are we going to do once we get to LA while we wait for Cheryl and Brett to turn up a buyer?”
“We’re going to lounge by the pool and soak up some California sunshine.”
“What if they can’t find a buyer?”
“They’ll find one. Eventually someone will want them. We just have to give them time.”
“You have a lot of faith in the Sons.”
“They are the best. If we were located in LA or New York--someplace like that—we would be making a killing. They’ve never let me down.”
“But this was a stretch for you, wasn’t it?”
Jack splutters. “A hundred million dollars’ worth of cars in one heist? That’s a stretch for anyone.”
“But you did it.”
“We did it. I told you before, we couldn’t have done this without you. Either time. You and your magic fingers.”
“If they—”
“When,” Jack corrected.
“When they find a buyer, then what?”
“Then we will give the buyer the keys to the cars and warehouse and hit the road. We’ll have to come back for either the Audi or the bikes.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. Simple, huh?”
“Why do I think it won’t be that easy?”
“Come on! Have a little faith!” he teased. “That is one of the reason I picked LA. Huge port, lots of money, and easy to hide in.”
Tina grinned. “What was I thinking? What could possibly go wrong?”
Jack snickered. “That’s more like it! Seriously, if Seth can come through, I think we will have it made.”
***
“I shouldn’t have drunk that water,” Tina moaned two hours on the other side of Flagstaff.
“Don’t feel bad. I’m going to have to stop too.”
“Where? I haven’t seen a thing in miles.”
“Which means we should be coming into Kingman soon. There will be someplace to stop there.”
“I hope. This truck may be as big as a house, but it still needs a bathroom.”
“Easy for you to say... but unless you can drive this turkey, we still need to stop so I can pee.”
Tina snickered. “Trying to switch drivers would be… look! That sign says eight miles left!”
“Are you going to make it?” he teased.
“Yeah. Are you going to stay with the truck?”
“Nah. I’ll just park it out somewhere. Quick pee break and we will be back on the road before anyone has a chance to look too closely.”
Ten minutes later the Peterbuilt hissed and blew as Jack engaged the parking brake well away from the pumps and store.
“Aren’t we going to put gas in it too?” Tina asked.
“Nope. We still have a little over half a tank. This bitch has legs! Don’t dilly dally, and don’t beat anyone up. You remember what happened the last time we stopped at a place like this.”
“I’m going to kick your ass if you don’t stop picking on me about that,” she said, but she was grinning when she leaned over for a kiss.
They climbed out the cab and stretched for a moment before they walked hand-in-hand into the truck stop.
“Shit… I’m getting sleepy,” Jack said as they approached the idling Peterbuilt. It was nearly five am and they had been on the road seven hours.
“You want to walk about a little to wake up?” She asked. She felt for him. Despite her best efforts, she had nodded off a couple of times between Flagstaff and Kingman.
“Getting out of the truck has helped, but we still have four or five hours to go.”
Tina thought for a moment, then pulled him into the shadows beside the truck where she kissed him with everything she had. They devoured each other for several long moments as their tongues dueled and they pressed their bodies together.
“Fuck… who can sleep now?” he panted.
“Think about that if you start to get sleepy,” she said breathlessly.
“Yeah…”
Once they were back on the road, Tina began to tell him, in exquisite detail, all the things she was going to do to him, and all the things he was going to do to her, when they got to Los Angeles… and neither Jack nor Tina became drowsy again.
***
“It’s Seth,” Tina said as she picked up the ringing phone. “Hey, Seth. Tell us the good news.”
“I got a place. It’s in San Bernardino. They are going to meet you there with the key. You owe the relator a hundred bucks when you get the key.”
“Shit! We’re in San Bernardino right now! Jack! Get off! We’re here! What’s the address?” Seth quickly rattled it off. “Shit! I can’t remember that. Can you text it to us?”
“Yeah… as soon as I hang up.”
“Okay! You’re my hero! I’ll call you back as soon as the cars are safe.”
“Okay. Call me if you have any problems. The woman’s name is Lisa Zetchel.”
“Got it. Thanks, Seth,” she said before she hung up.
***
Twenty minutes later, the rig ground to a halt a block from the address of the warehouse. Tina had called Lisa and she was there waiting on them. “Go around the block a few times while I get the key. I will wave you in if the coast is clear,” Tina said as she opened the door.
“Okay. Be quick as you can. I feel like my dick is hanging out here.”
“I know the feeling… and I don’t even have a dick.”
As he rounded the corner from his first trip about the block, Tina waved her arm in a welcoming gesture, then stepped onto the truck as he stopped.
“We’re going to have to unload out here. There is no room to turn this thing around in there.”
“Shit!”
“Yeah. But it can’t be helped. You unload them and I will park them.”
“Okay. Let me pull up some.”
As soon as she heard the blow of the brakes, she began to unlock the Audi. They worked together and had all four cars on the bottom rack freed and ready to roll in minutes. As fast as Jack could get them off the trailer, she drove them into the warehouse. She went easy on the throttle as she puttered through the parking lot to hide that Ferrari yowl, then trotted back for the next one. The second tier rack took longer, but within forty minutes, all cars including the Audi were safely locked away inside the warehouse and, as far as she knew, no one had seen a thing.
“Do we have to go to San Diego now?” Tina asked as she crawled into the truck. She didn’t seem at all pleased with the idea.
“It’s only two more hours,” Jack said as he started the truck moving.
“Each way,” she reminded him. “Are you okay to drive?”
“Right now, I’m so pumped up I don’t know if I will ever sleep again. And with the sun up? Yeah, I’m good. Why don’t you grab a nap on the way down?”
Tina yawned loudly. “Maybe I will. But if you get sleepy, wake me up.”
***
“Tina. Wake up.”
“Getting tired?” she mumbled as she struggled up out of sleep.
“No. We’re ready to head back.”
She blinked as she tried to clear the cobwebs from her mind. Jack was on the wrong side of the truck… and her door was open. “We’re in San Diego?”
Jack chuckled. “We’re in San Diego and the bikes are unloaded.”
“The bikes are already unloaded?” she asked as she tried to catch up. Jesus… I must have been dead to the world, she fretted.
“Yes. I just let you sleep.”
“Where are we?” she asked as she looked around and continued to blink herself awake. They were in a huge parking lot with a Walmart and a few other stores.
“Someplace called Stonecrest Plaza. It was right off the interstate, so it seemed like as good a place as any to dump the truck. And there is a Panda Express for lunch. I’m about out of gas and need something to eat.”
Tina climbed out of the truck, then turned back for the bag of food. No point in stinking up Rog’s truck with rotting sandwiches, she thought as she climbed down for the second time.
“I spoke to Marshall on the drive down. Rog called him about eleven last night after he reported the truck stolen. They will be looking for it, but it may still take a few days before people put this abandoned truck and Rog’s theft report together.”
They left the bikes where they sat while they tanked up on fast-food Chinese. After lunch they felt much more alert as they mounted up and set out on the ninety-minute ride back to San Bernardino.
They made a quick stop to check on the cars, then found the nearest motel and checked in. Jack had to produce his ID and prepay since he was paying with cash, but he was just too damn tired to care. If the cops wanted to arrest them now, they could. At least he would have a place to sleep.
In their room he allowed Tina to shower first to wash off the road before he did the same. She was already asleep before he joined her—not that he cared. They would have to wait and do all the erotic things they discussed sometime tomorrow.
***