“Let’s just say I’m going to make a withdrawal from the bank.” I grinned, and Merrick groaned, scrubbing a hand over his face.
“Oh sugar, I love that devious mind of yours,” Spade drawled, lightly nipping my earlobe.
I preened, some of the nervous energy churning in my gut easing away at his praise.
“I’m going with you then,” Merrick said, his chest puffing out like he could convince me by his purely bullheaded declaration.
“You’re not.” I pursed my lips. “You’re still injured, and I won’t allow you to be an open target if any of his men show up.”
“Giana—”
“No,” I interrupted, cutting him off with a glare. “If I were still hurt, you wouldn’t let me out of the house, let alone bring me into a dangerous situation. I’d be pissed about it, but you’d hold me back, so I’m doing the same for you.”
His jaw worked, but after a few moments he gave me a terse nod. He knew just as well as I did that he was not ready to get into a fight. After our session yesterday, he had to spend the afternoon in bed after taking more pain medication. He was close, but there wasn’t any point in injuring himself further when we’d need him once we went on the offensive and took Angelo out.
“Have you heard anything from Lorenzo?” Francine asked, cutting through the silence as she refused to meet any of our gazes. She focused on her hands as she nervously wrung them in her lap.
“We haven’t.” I frowned, hoping for all our sakes she was right about him. Francine needed to still believe he was the boy she remembered, and we needed an edge in this fight.
“You’ll let me know though, right?” Her eyes met mine, glassy and filled with hope.
“You’ll be the first to know.”
“Good.” She nodded and stood, pulling in a deep breath. “Then I’ll get to work organizing the town.”
“Do you need anything from us?” Merrick asked as Spade opened the door.
“Some water would be nice.” She took her seat again and rolled closer to the desk. Pulling the phone toward her, she dug her phone book from her pocket and flipped through the pages. “My voice will be gone by the time I’m finished with all these calls.”
“Of course.” Merrick dipped his head and followed us out, closing the door behind him.
“Let’s get ready for our heist, sugar.” Spade beamed, spinning me around to face him. “This will be a first for me.”
“Yeah, I can’t say I’ve ever held up a bank before.” I chuckled, ignoring Merrick’s grumbles behind us as we joined the others in the bar. He was just jealous he wasn’t coming with us.
Chapter Twelve
Giana
Spadeopenedthevandoor and hopped out to help me. My scarlet red-bottomed heels clacked against the sidewalk as I climbed out and straightened my outfit. It was one of the outfits I took when we went back to get some of my things from the mansion. It wasn’t my style, not anymore, but I viewed it more like a weapon. Clothes could demand respect or lose it in a second, and today I was going for rich bitch energy.
The white wool pantsuit had slits on the inside of the arms, making it resemble more of a cape. With the red shoes and Hermes Kelly bag, I looked like I could kill a man with a single look; which was exactly my intention. Kellan and Spade were each dressed in expensive Italian suits, the perfect match to myensemble. I wanted them trembling at the thought of saying no to me.
Despite what I said to Spade, we weren’t robbing the bank. I considered it more to be reclaiming what was mine.
Kellan took my arm as we strode up the few steps to the bank. Spade kept watch and followed a few paces behind us. There were a few people finishing up with the tellers, but all three employees did a double-take the moment we walked in. The man closest to us glanced at his colleagues, his face draining of color as he realized that he’d be the one who had to assist us.
“How can I help you today, Ms. Bardot?” he asked, Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat.
“I’d like to speak with the bank manager, Mr. Miller.” I smiled, the expression seeming to put him at ease a fraction.
“I’m sorry. He appears to be in a meeting. Can I schedule an appointment?”
“I think we both know how this is going to go,” I said. “Now are you going to get the manager for me? Or are we going to have to do this the hard way?”
He audibly gulped, tugging at the collar of his dress shirt. “I’m sorry, Ms. Bardot, I can’t just let you—”
“The hard way then.” Kellan sighed in disappointment. “Green light,” he murmured the last part in his earpiece.
