Page 22 of Red, White, and BearCat Blue

I nodded. “Make sure ya tell ‘im what we talked about. Get ‘im to okay the use of Cam as an informant. I ‘ave a feeling this Josiah guy is really bad news. Make sure ya emphasize that ‘e’s the ‘ead of a big ring of car thieves. It sounds like ‘e ‘as a big operation since ‘e’s shipping the vehicles overseas from the Port of L.A.” I wasn’t about to mention the thing about the drugs, not in front of Cam, on the off chance he really was involved with that side of the business as well. “Ya know what to say, right?” I lifted an eyebrow, hoping Mickey could read my mind without me saying it.

Mickey nodded and gave me a look. “I know what to say, Mars.”

“Okay then. Cam and I are going upstairs.”

Mickey simply shrugged.

I clapped him on the back and turned to Cam who was shifting his weight from one foot to the other again. It had to be a nervous habit, but it really was kind of sweet. When he turned away and started heading into the building, I thought about that for a minute. I really liked being around Cam. I hoped to God he wasn’t involved in the drug side of Josiah’s business. The idea of him rotting away in federal prison for years, made my stomach uneasy.

Cam was easy on the eyes, had a super kind heart, and in my opinion, was street smart. I just hoped he wasn’t one of the scumbags we put away every day. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Now that I’d seen him with his mum, I had high hopes that I was right to trust him. I was putting a lot of faith in someone I didn’t even know. Something about him intrigued me, and the more I got to know him, the stronger that feeling grew.

I followed Cam upstairs to the second floor and then down the hall to his flat. He dug out his keys and opened the door. I hadn’t known what to expect but seeing that his small apartment was fresh and clean, surprised me for some reason. I was kind of a neatnik myself. Military trained. Although before meeting his partner, Wes, Patsy’s apartment had been a nightmare. I’d been convinced the man never picked up after himself. But I think with the trauma he’d gone through, a part of him had let go of things a little. Cam’s place was the polar opposite of all that.

His furnishings weren’t expensive and the couch wasn’t stained with food and beer. I’m a disgrace to the gay brotherhood, I know. He even had a large, area rug under the coffee table but no Marilyn artwork, so small mercies there. His TV wasn’t one of those massive, big screen jobs. Instead, it was modest, which sort of impressed me.

I hadn’t known what to expect when he’d said he stole cars. That kind of thing paid pretty well, especially luxury vehicles like the one he’d no doubt been ordered to deliver tonight. A patio off the living room held a small bistro table with two wrought iron chairs. A colorful succulent sat on it, probably the only kind of plant which could survive outside in the Vegas heat.

He tossed his leather jacket over a chair in the kitchenette and then pointed to the hallway. “I need to go change into some different clothes.”

“What for?”

“Because I’m going to one of the better restaurants on the Strip and I don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb.”

My eyebrows drew together. “Why are ya going to a restaurant?”

He looked up at me wearing a smirk. “Because I need to find a brand-new Maybach and this place will have more than one to choose from in the parking lot.”

I whistled. “Nice ride.” A brand-new Mercedes Benz Maybach SL was one of the most expensive cars on the market, starting at around 225 grand sticker price last time I checked.

“Damned nice ride, but like I said, this restaurant parking lot is the best place to start. Everyone who goes there to drop a couple hundred on lunch for two, drives nice vehicles and the lot isn’t patrolled by guards. It’ll just be me and a few valets who don’t know their head from their ass.”

I laughed. This might turn out to be fun after all.

Chapter Six

CAM

It took me about ten minutes to change and gather the tools I’d need to bypass the door locks the Maybach came equipped with. I smiled to myself, grateful for my brother Jessie who’d been a master at getting into all kinds of cars. The guy he sold stolen vehicles to, ran one of the biggest chop shops in Vegas. Gary took in all kinds of cars and paid well. I assumed he stripped them of parts and sold off the pieces rather than selling them whole. At sixteen, I hadn’t understood the reason for that, but after Jessie had taught me about VIN numbers being traceable by the police, it’d made sense.

I still worked with Gary when I needed fast cash. For him, I took much less expensive rides, almost always with rental agency stickers on them. They were quick, easy money, and once I’d disabled the GPS and peeled the rental agency stickers off, they were practically untraceable. Josiah paid a lot better than Gary, though, and as far as I knew, Gary didn’t hurt anyone. He was a kindly, older guy whom I genuinely liked, and he employed lots of mechanics who didn’t have papers. I liked the idea of that too. Undocumented immigrants had been vilified as of late, so knowing that some of them had good jobs that I could only assume paid well, made me content to keep working with the man who employed them.

I locked up the apartment and we headed back downstairs. I’d caught him looking at my collection of vintage comic books when I’d come out of the bedroom. I kept them in the drawer under my coffee table in plastic coverings since I didn’t want them to get damaged; that meant the FBI agent had been snooping. The way he’d blushed, turning bright red under his tawny skin when I’d caught him, was kinda hot. I wasn’t used to palling around with FBI agents, but if I was forced to do it, hanging with Mars and his friend, Mickey, wasn’t such a bad thing. Both guys were gorgeous.

I still wasn’t sure about bringing them with me in search of the Maybach. As I sat in the backseat, while Mickey filled Mars in on his conversation with their boss back in L.A., I was only half listening. I watched the familiar sights of the Strip as Mars drove to the restaurant. I’d lived in the city all my life and knew it like the back of my hand. Over the years I’d seen it grow, avoiding the recession we were currently in. I didn’t pay much attention to financial things, but from what I could tell, business was still booming in the city. Tourists still flooded in to gamble away their paychecks and pay exorbitant prices to see stupid entertainers who headlined at all the big casinos.

On my days off—like most locals—I stayed away from the Strip. I left that to visitors who didn’t mind the shitty stop and go traffic as long as there were lights and signs to stare at with wide eyes.

Mars turned into the parking lot of the restaurant and I hunched down while he waved off the valet and opted to self-park the Camaro. I didn’t want security to notice me in case they questioned one less person in the car as Mars drove back out after I snagged the Maybach. Provided I could find the car I wanted. The other reason I’d chosen this particular restaurant was that it had a back exit without a manned booth. All I had to do was pay with cash at the kiosk and then drive the car right out.

I’d put on a disguise back at the apartment, donning a full beard, thick, false eyebrows, and a mustache. Mars had laughed his ass off when I’d come out of the bedroom, but I’d ignored him, confident in my disguise. I’d added chin and nose prosthetics which wouldn’t fool anyone up close, but would change the shape of my face just enough to fool facial recognition software once I got caught on camera. The braided dreads wig fell almost halfway down my back.

I’d read somewhere that Las Vegas had something like ten thousand security cameras in public spaces, making it one of the most heavily surveilled cities in the U.S. This garage had tons of them from the lot itself to the kiosk at the back gate, so there was little chance my image wouldn’t be captured by one or more of them.

Mars drove slowly around the lot and as he did, I spotted two Maybachs, one of them with the dealer sticker still taped to the inside back window. I was giddy with excitement, unfazed when I caught a glimpse of Mars grinning at me in the rearview mirror.

“Ya were right.”

“Jesus H. Christ,” Mickey grumbled. “We’re really gonna do this.”