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“Well,” he replied, having thought it through, “if they’re not idiots — and you’re telling me they’re not — then they’ll know that banks have withdrawal limits. It’s this or nothing. You did tell them it was the first installment, right?”
“Yeah, yeah, just like you said,” Hank assured him. As he spoke, his phone beeped. “OK... OK, good. Look.” He handed Ridge the phone.
“About time. Don’t make us wait for the rest. Three Rivers church.”
“So what do we do now?” Raven asked.
“Get some sleep,” Corbett advised. “I’ll head home, talk to the field office and liaise with the drone guys.”
Ridge handed Corbett his jacket. “Small and simple, remember?”
“So small even mybossdoesn’t know. I’ll be with the team when you make the drop. Call me if you need anything.” They shook hands, and Corbett whispered, “Hell of a thing, Ridge.”
After watching through the curtains to see that Corbett left safely, Ridge locked the door, turned out the lights and set two alarms for 8 a.m. “Hank... you good out here?”
“Snug as a bug,” he replied, settling down on the sofa once more.
“OK. Raven?”
She crossed the room and knelt down to talk quietly with Hank. When she rose a moment later, Hank was smiling.
“Time for some rest,” she agreed and followed Ridge into the bedroom. By the light of his small bedside lamp, he watched her undress, leaving the big red t-shirt and her jeans on the carpet, then unhooking her bra and pausing for a second, glancing across at him, before slipping her panties off and climbing under the covers.
“Are you exhausted?” he asked as he joined her, just as naked.
She wrapped her arms around his body. And then her legs, sliding on top of him. “No, not particularly.” Raven held a cautioning finger to her lips, reminding Ridge that they had a guest next door, no matter that he was already snoring. “But you must be?”
His hands were on her back, smooth and warm, sliding down to her bottom, squeezing her admiringly. “Not right now.” Then his fingers went lower, and Ridge found her exactly as he wanted her.
Moments later, she sank down onto him, briefly pausing their kiss and gasping quietly into his mouth while he slipped gently inside.
CHAPTERTWELVE
“And how would you like that?”asked the helpful teller to her first customer of the day.
“Hundreds would be fine,” Ridge replied. The counting machine rattled as the first of the newly minted bills was run through; he couldn’t help keeping a count of the $5,000 bundles. Once all five were counted, the teller repeated the act and then slid the notes into a sealable plastic bank bag.
“There you go, sir. Good luck with your new investment.”
“Thank you,” Ridge said politely. “Have a great day.”
Thursday morning’s rush-hour traffic had largely dissipated by the time they hit the road. Hank looked hassled but somewhat refreshed, while Ridge’s plan to grab a few hours’ sleep had been hijacked by an insatiable redhead. The night had brought more sex, he calculated, than he’d had in a year. Once this sordid business was done, Ridge mused, there would be time for a lot, lot more.
They were ten minutes from the church when a text arrived:
Waiting for you. Come to the altar for your confession.
“OK, so we just play it cool, right?” Ridge had taken control from the outset and intended to see that no last-minute glitch derailed their plan.
“Sure, cool.” Hank turned to Ridge. “You know...”
“We aren’t talking about that right now. They’re gonna agree to a payment plan that benefits everyone. You’ll get it together, pay them down, and then walk away.”
“I haveno ideahow I’m gonna...”
If not for the relationship with his sister, Ridge would just have grabbed Hank and slapped the self-doubt out of him. “You’ll be fine. Things come up in life. It’ll always surprise you. Now,” he said firmly as they turned into the church parking lot, “get yourself into character.” The car stopped. “You good?”
“Yeah. Let’s get it done.” Checking that no eager parishioners were in sight, Ridge led Hank up some steps to the main door of the church and slowly eased it open.
