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“I’ll wear yours,” I say quietly as I get her sling back into position, resting her arm in it.
Now, she smiles, and it’s just what I need. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
I dip, collect my baseball cap, and slip it onto her head, tucking her hair behind her ears as I do. It’ll help keep her eyes low. I kiss her again. This time she participates, holding her lips on mine. “I love you,” I whisper, and she nods again, her face disappearing into my neck for a few, precious moments. I hold her, silently sending prayers to the heavens, hoping they are heard. I can’t lose her. My love. “Come.” Let’s get this over with. I straighten her baseball cap, claim her hand, and lead her out to my Mercedes, helping her into the passenger seat.
Closing the door, I go to Danny and James.
“We’ll come in from the east.” James watches me. As uneasy as me. “We’ll only move in if you give the signal.”
I don’t plan on giving him the signal. Get what I want, give him what he wants, get the fuck out of there. I just pray King will meet his end of the deal, give me Nolan, and not try to take Pearl, because the signal will mean a shootout that I really don’t want Pearl in the middle of.
“You’re loaded,” James goes on, motioning to the Mercedes. “He’ll sniff them out.”
Leaving me an unarmed, sitting duck, so Danny, James, and the others better be on their A game if I resort to the signal.
I catch the keys James tosses and go to the car, stalling at the door when Pearl’s cell rings. I pull it out, see the screen. Turn it to face the others, showing them who’s calling. Unknown number. Every man before me looks as stiff as I feel, wondering . . . what now? I answer, walking closer to the others so they can hear.
“I’ve changed my mind,” King says. “Bring your friends. It’s probably best I have them in plain sight.” The line goes dead, the cell held out in my limp hand.
“Fuck,” Ringo breathes, saying that one word we’re all thinking. “What now?”
I tamp down the red-hot blood climbing to my head before it explodes out of me. “Now why would King outnumber himself like that?” I muse, seeing the rage rising in Danny and James too. “Move the cash to Leon’s jeep,” I order, and they all fly into action. “Let’s go.” I help Pearl out of the Mercedes and move her to James’s Range Rover.
“What is it?” she asks, her fear escalating. “What’s happened?”
“Slight change of plan.”
The American, The Brit, and The Enigma, all in a row.
All of us unarmed, all sitting ducks.
Only one man would be behind that.
Sandy.
The drive is quiet and tense, as you’d expect. I can’t look at Pearl. Every time I do, that little bit more crazy seeps into me. I hold her hand though. On the seat between us. Tightly.
As we pull off the main road onto the stone track that leads to Byron’s Reach, memories invade my mind. Danny, Rose, and Winstable Boatyard. His face when I showed up with Rose. How he must have felt. My stomach turns.
I get it.
“They’re everywhere,” James says, eyes on the track as we progress slowly.
“I’m seeing it,” Danny confirms as I cast my eyes across the dense overgrowth, clocking men evenly spaced, all bases covered. We were right.
“He’s got support,” I muse quietly, feeling Pearl’s hand in mine shift as my phone dings. I look down at the message. Smile.
“Who’s that?” Danny asks, finding me in the rear-view mirror. I don’t answer. And he doesn’t push. Trust me.
As we reach the end of the track and the boatyard comes into view, I take in every man gathered around the cabin—all armed.
And King, Sandy, and Luis.
Chatting like friends.
Fuckers.
It’s not the best start to what I hoped would be a straightforward exchange.
