Charley hadn’t meant to flinch, but it was instinctual; she knew what the man was capable of, and she was rapidly running out of second chances.
Stay calm. Stay strong. Don’t let him see your fear…
She reached for the silver coffeepot and poured herself another cup, willing her hand not to tremble as her uncle glared at her, the air thickening with tension.
“I have a theory.” Rudy tapped the table. Tiny ripples disturbed her coffee like a pebble dropped into a polluted lake. “Care to hear it?”
A bead of sweat trickled down the back of her neck, rolling between her shoulder blades. She swallowed hard, then nodded, knowing she didn’t have a choice.
Rudy rose from his chair and came to stand behind her, towering over her.
Beneath the bathrobe, cold fingers latched suddenly onto Charley’s collarbone, squeezing hard. Her flesh screamed at the rough contact, but she forced herself not to jerk away.
“I think we have a conflict of interest here.” Rudy’s fingers crept dangerously up her neck. His enjoyment of the power game was obvious, every subtle move designed to elicit a reaction, but Charley still didn’t budge.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Maybe,” Rudy said, his breath stirring the hair at the top of her head, “my little minx hasfeelingsfor the man. And in our line of work, kiddo, feelings are foolish.” He ran his thumbs up and down her neck, deceptively gentle. “Deadly, even.”
Charley shook her head. “I’m just doing what you asked. Keeping him close, getting him to trust—”
“Shut thefuckup!” Rudy fisted her hair and yanked her head back, forcing her to meet his eyes—the gaze of a maniac. Every last bit of strength and determination vacated her body. Once again, she felt as fragile as a small bird caught in the jaws of a lion.
Blood rushed to her head, the headache returning with a vengeance. At this point in their fucked-up relationship, Charley had no doubt Rudycouldandwouldkill her the moment he decided she was no longer useful.
But still… Something about his reaction was off.
Planning a big score like Ravenswood took forever—months, maybe even years—and timeframes often changed. You had to stay limber, had to have a backup plan, had to be ready to switch things up if the original plan fell apart—which it often did.
You had to adapt, and you couldn’t throw it all together at the last minute, no matter how badly you wanted to get your hands on that score.
Rudy knew that.
So why the hell was he so insistent about hitting Ravenswood this weekend?
Still gazing up into his wild eyes, Charley opened her mouth to try to talk him down, but Rudy shoved her head forward and gripped her collarbone again.
“I guess we can’t help who we love,” he said. “Poses a problem for me, though.”
“But I don’t—”
“Hush.” Rudy’s fingers dug deeper, grinding skin and muscle against bone. Charley pressed her lips together to keep from crying out.
“If you were to warn Mr. Redthorne, or let the authorities know about our plan…” Rudy chuckled, but beneath his twisted amusement, Charley again detected something off. He was losing control, acting desperate. Careless.
He’d always been cool and calculating. Not emotional. Not reckless.
What the fuck has got him so unhinged?
“You can imagine what kind of position that would leave me in,” he said. “For the sake of the crew, I’d have to take immediate action.Permanentaction.”
Charley shuddered, frantically searching for some bit of logic to cling to in the face of his craziness.
No. He won’t kill me here. Not like this. He still needs me to get Dorian out of the way. It’s the middle of the morning. The doorman knows he’s here. His fingerprints are all over the kitchen. Sasha could walk in at any minute…
The thought of Sasha witnessing the deplorable scene in the dining room sent a fresh wave of nausea through Charley’s insides.
“And if anything should happen to me,” Rudy went on, “know that I’ve got layers uponlayersof contingency plans in place.”
