JAMIE
SHAUN’S WEDDING WAS in full swing. The ceremony had gone without a hitch, and it was now the evening reception. They’d opted to go low key with it all, no sit-down meal but a huge buffet and an open bar instead. It was pretty much how I would have planned a wedding too—more emphasis on celebrating rather than formalities. A few people from my crew had already taken advantage of the free bar and were a little tipsy, but then again, most people were, especially Shaun.
“So you don’t miss it?” I asked Shaun, watching him lean heavily on the bar and slurp his drink.
He shrugged one shoulder. “I miss some things. The guys. And the money.” He sighed wistfully. “But I don’t miss prison.”
“You sure you don’t want back in? I can use you on my team,” I offered.
Shaun laughed and turned to me, his eyes glazed over from too much alcohol. “Can’t. It’s hard being broke and having to live paycheck to paycheck, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I get to wake up every day to my little boy and my beautiful girlfriend...oops, wife,” he corrected, glancing down at the new gold ring on his finger. “They’re two things money can’t buy, so I’ll just keep pushing on and saving up for shit I want.”
“Good for you, I’m happy for you.” I smiled and patted him on the shoulder. I respected that. To be honest, when I’d had Ellie in my life things like money and cars hadn’t mattered to me, either. I guess when you love someone more than anything, everything else becomes a little inconsequential. I missed that.
“Thanks, man,” Shaun slurred.
Ray and Enzo walked over then, Ray slinging his arm around Shaun’s shoulder as he spoke. “You want to take it easy on the booze, there, Shaun. You want to be able to consummate the marriage tonight, don’t you?”
“I can consummate anytime and in any state,” Shaun boasted, grinning lopsidedly.
Ray turned his attention to me. “Are you ready to leave, Kid? I gotta be up early tomorrow,” he lied.
I took the hint. It was time to go. The boost was waiting. “Yeah, sure thing. Thanks for inviting us, Shaun. And congrats again on the ball and chain,” I joked, holding out my hand for him to shake. “Come to the club anytime, there’s always no cover for you and the missus.”
“Thanks, Kid. I will.”
After Ray and Enzo had said their good-byes, we headed out to my car and back to the warehouse to get tonight’s boost started. It was only a short drive, and the whole way there Ray was talking about Shaun and how good he looked. I had to admit, being a family man suited him. I tried not to acknowledge the jealous feeling that swirled in the pit of my stomach. If I hadn’t been arrested, that could have been me and Ellie getting married today. If only I hadn’t done that fucking job, my life would be so different.
Dodger, Chase, and Ed were already at the warehouse and ready to go. Dodger and Chase were busy moving the three shipping container trucks into place, ready for when we brought the cars back.
I grabbed my boosting kit from the workbench and walked over to talk to Ed while Ray and Enzo went to change.
“Listen, when you’re outside Ellie’s tonight, be extra careful. She saw Dodger yesterday, and I’m pretty sure she made him at the funeral because she was looking at him funny. I don’t want her to know anything about this, so park a little farther away and be extra vigilant,” I told Ed, setting my bag down and sorting through it, checking that everything I would need tonight was in there. “Oh, and don’t take the sedan, take one of the other cars in the lot,” I added as an afterthought, nodding toward the front door where five cars sat ready and waiting. I’d purchased them for my crew to use when they saw fit. They weren’t anything special, but some jobs were better done with an unmarked car than one that could be traced back to someone. It was prudent to be prepared, and they’d come in handy with the people watching Ellie for me, too.
“Okay, Kid.” Ed sighed, plopping himself down onto the empty stool at the end of the workbench. “Are you sure you don’t just want to pull the surveillance on this girl? If the Salazars were going to make a move, they would have done it by now.”
“Not yet,” I answered, removing my bolt cutters from the bag and laying them on the table so I could grease them just in case they were needed tonight. “Have you heard anything from them? What’s Mateo up to?” I asked, glancing sideways at Ed.
“Still in Mexico,” he answered, shrugging. I’d had a tail on the Salazars, too. Mateo had gone back to the village that he came from in Mexico and was visiting family, from what I’d heard.
“And Alberto?” I prompted.
Ed rolled his eyes. “Alberto wouldn’t dare make a move like that. From what I gather, he was the one who sent Mateo away to lie low for a while after the whole rift with you in the club. I don’t think the Salazar camp is united at the moment.”
“Good. That’s good.”
Enzo walked over, now fully changed into jeans and a sweatshirt, blowing air into his cupped hands to warm them. “Cold tonight,” he muttered. “You ready? Dodge says I’m with you, and he’s going to take Chase with him.”
“I just need to change and then I’m ready,” I replied, hastily putting all my stuff back into my bag. I turned to Ed. “Go relieve Spencer at Ellie’s place. I’ll come relieve you once this boost is done.”
He nodded and turned for the door. “Hope the boost goes well.”
“It will,” I replied confidently. They always did.
* * *
The first and second boosts were an easy grab-and-go. Two beautiful Rolls-Royce Dawns that screamed elegance and money.
Two down, seven to go.
We arrived at the third car, a dark blue F-Type Jaguar parked in its driveway, at almost two in the morning.
“See you back at the warehouse,” I told Enzo, grabbing my bag and checking up and down the street again before I jumped out and jogged toward the car. As I stepped onto the drive, the overhead security light flicked on, shining down on me almost like a spotlight. I froze, my eyes darting around. It was an automatic sensor, but you could never be too careful. Cars parked in private driveways were always more difficult, though not as bad as if I had to break into someone’s garage and get it.
I looked up at the light; it was just above the garage, within easy reach. These people never think! Rolling my eyes, I pulled my bag from my back and fished out a pair of latex gloves, snapping them on before grabbing a black plastic sack from my bag, too. I headed over to the light, going up on tiptoes as I slipped the black sack over the light. It did the job I was hoping for and diffused most of the light, sending the street back into basic darkness again. Light still shined through the bottom and through the airholes at the top of the bag, but it wouldn’t cast enough glow to show me stealing a precious sports car if anyone looked out their window.
I grinned back at Enzo, who gave me a thumbs-up, and then headed over to the car. Reaching into my bag again, I got out a booster’s most valuable tool and shoved the thin bar down the side of the window. The lock popped open within a few seconds and I jumped in, cutting the wires on the alarm and resetting it quickly. Once the alarm was taken care of, I jimmied the steering column off and cut the wires, sparking them and breathing a happy sigh as the car purred to life.
“Piece of cake,” I muttered, pushing it into gear and rolling out of the drive as slowly as I could so as not to arouse suspicion with what was sure to a be a loud, sexy roar of the engine.
When I got back to the warehouse, I passed Dodger on his way back out again and sent him a wave. He’d obviously just finished delivering a car back here. I pulled up outside one of the containers and climbed out. As I closed the door, a huge white scratch down the side of the car caught my attention.
“Mother dick!” I muttered, scowling at it. This hadn’t been on the car yesterday morning, I’d scoped it myself for the pack. The stupid-ass owner must have scraped it within the last twenty-four hours. “Ray!” I called, watching him come out of the garage, wiping his hands on a rag. “Fucking big-ass scratch on the side of this one. And before you ask, no, I didn’t do it.”
His eyes tightened and he walked over to me, bending to run his fingers along the scratch. “Looks like it’s just superficial. I can buff this out, no worries,” he said finally, just as I was starting to worry that we either wouldn’t be able to deliver the full list or would have to deliver this one damaged.
“Yeah?”
He nodded and stood. “Yep, no bother. Go get the last one. Dodger is on his last, too.”
Dodger had more cars than me, but all of his were located closer. Hopefully we’d get done within the next hour, then. “All right, see you in a bit.”
“Oh, and Kid, try not to scratch the next one,” Ray called, winking at me jokingly before heading into the warehouse to get his repair kit.
“Hilarious,” I muttered, climbing into the car with Enzo again. My mood was lower now, the high almost entirely worn off. All I wanted was to be done so I could go check and make sure Ellie was all right.
My fourth acquisition was going to be trickier. It was in a private underground parking lot of a luxury apartment building. There were cameras on the entrance and exit barriers, and only owners were allowed to park there. Fortunately, it wasn’t hard to get my hands on a building pass. Anything was possible with the right amount of cash thrown at it.
When I spotted the car I was here for, my hands twitched with excitement. A brand-new Audi R8 V10 Plus Coupe, red with black trim. It was beautiful and less than a week old—$180,000 of car just sat there, ripe for the picking. A little excited grunt escaped my throat as I walked over to it, my eyes darting left and right to make sure I was alone.
Seeing no one around, I got to work and had the door open and the alarm reset in less than a minute. When I got the steering column off and sparked the wires, anticipating that growl of the engine, nothing happened. I frowned, trying again. Nothing. My eyes widened as I slumped down in the seat and ran my hand under the dash, looking for the kill switch. A lot of nice cars had them. A kill switch was essentially just a little switch that prevented the gas from getting to the engine. I wouldn’t be able to take this one if I couldn’t find it. This hadn’t been in my briefing package.
When my search returned nothing, I concluded it had to be under the hood. Popping the hood, I slid out of the car, making sure the lot was still clear. Grabbing my flashlight from my bag, I yanked the hood up and ran my hand over the inside of the chassis. Got it! I pressed the switch and let the hood down easy. Kill switches were remarkably effective, so long as you kept them out of sight.
I grinned and headed back to the driver’s side, shutting the door quietly and sparking the wires again, laughing as the car started up. Tossing my bag on the passenger seat, I tugged my baseball cap lower and drove toward the barrier, pulling my fake security pass from my pocket. One quick swipe and the yellow-and-black barrier rose.
Although everything in me wanted to celebrate, I kept my head down and my face tilted away from the camera as I eased out onto the street. When I was on the main road and home free, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as I decided to see how fast this baby could go. I depressed the gas harder, really letting go. There was no one around, so the road was deserted.
The journey to the warehouse in one of these babies was exhilarating, like there was a demon under the hood, trying to escape every time I touched the gas. I decided on the short drive back that I was going to buy myself one of these.
It didn’t take long to finish up once I was back. After I settled up with everyone and paid them their nightly boost fee, Chase, Enzo, and Dodger each drove a truck to the rendezvous point to meet with the client. Ray was going to follow them and bring them all back here again to collect their own cars. I myself had something else planned for the rest of the night. No sleep for me.
* * *
“Hey. How’d the boost go?” Ed asked when I went to relieve him on stakeout duty.
“Without a hitch, as usual,” I replied, shrugging. I motioned toward Ellie’s house with my chin. “Any problems?” I asked, glancing into his car, seeing an iPad and a couple of magazines piled on his seat and empty candy wrappers dotted over the floor of the passenger side.
“Not a one. She’s been inside all night, all of them have. Her friend, the smokin’ hot blonde one, came over for a while, but she left around eleven. Lights have been off for the last couple of hours.” He yawned and checked his watch before reaching for a can of soda and taking a swig of it.
Nodding, I took hold of the handle and opened the car door. “Okay, thanks. You can go for the night and just take my car back to the warehouse.”
Ed climbed out of the car, stretching his back and groaning. “Someone taking you off tomorrow, or do you want me to arrange it?” he asked, and then pointed to his iPad. “Pass me that, would ya?”
“Spencer is coming back to relieve me,” I replied, passing him his tablet before taking up his spot in the car. I hated that the seat still retained the warmth from his ass.
He patted the window frame and stood. “All right. Have fun.”
As his taillights disappeared into the darkness of the night, I turned my attention to Ellie’s house, scooting down in the seat to get more comfortable, and picked up the energy drink I’d brought with me. The house was indeed quiet. No lights on, no signs of life. My mind wandered to Ellie and what she was doing inside. Was she sleeping soundly or tossing and turning, worrying about her mother? Was she talking in her sleep? Was she cuddled up next to her fiancé or was he not a snuggling type of guy? I sighed, wishing I were him, wishing she were mine and that I were huddled against the warmth of her body in her hot-pink bedroom rather than sitting in the cold, uncomfortable car. My life fucking sucked.