AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A beat passed. Then another and another, and oh, God, maybe she wasn’t going to bite. Camila scrambled to come up with a Plan B that didn’t involve her getting shot in the chest and stuffed into a trunk, but then, finally, Portia said, “You know what? You’re right.”
Keeping the gun trained on Camila, she got out of the driver’s seat and yanked open the door closest to Camila’s head, tugging her to her feet with shocking strength.
“They both wrote me off as weak. Stupid. But I’m the one left standing. All that money we stole? That’s mine now. Idodeserve to brag. You want the story? I’ll tell you the whole fucking thing.”
27
Roman sat in the passenger seat of Hale’s Charger and hung on for dear life. Not that he was pissed about the fact that she was a half-step shy of breaking the sound barrier. All he cared about was getting to Camila, and every second could be the difference between life and death.
Please, God. Don’t let her die.
“Capelli’s still got the tracker signal on Shore Point Drive, headed south,” Matteo said from the backseat, hooking something in Roman’s memory and pulling it forward.
“Wait a second.” Oh, no. No, no. “Isn’t that close to where the RFD found the car with Thorn’s body in it?”
Hale stomped on the accelerator even harder, the Charger’s engine roaring. “Yes,” she said. “It’s less than a mile from North Point Pier. There’s an industrial park off the main road. Any buildings that aren’t abandoned will have closed hours ago. Security is for shit and there are no street cams.”
“Archer has to have taken her there,” Matteo said through clenched teeth, his face pale.
Roman shook his head. As badly as he couldn’t lose Camila, he knew her family couldn’t, either. “We’re going to get her back. All we need is a plan for how to take Archer and Portia down.”
“Well, we’re going to need it fast,” Matteo said, holding up his phone. The map on the screen showed the red dot representing Camila’s tracker, only now it wasn’t moving. “They’ve reached their destination, which means we’re running out of time.”
Roman looked at the map. Weighed all the options. Made a decision in one lightning-fast second.
“I’ve got an idea. But it’s going to take all of us to make it work.”
* * *
Camila’s legsfelt like abandoned tires as she stumbled out of the car. It took a few seconds for her to get her senses firing on all cylinders, but even then, there was nothing to see. Barely any light, definitely no other people. No sounds from passing cars or nearby buildings. The pungent smell of brackish water told her they must be close to North Point Pier, and that told her there was probably a whole lot of nothing around.
“Running is as bad an idea as screaming,” Portia said, too close to her for Camila to have a prayer of trying either without getting shot before help could arrive. She’d bolt as an absolute last resort—she’d rather go down fighting than give up—but hopefully, she wouldn’t need to.
Camila stood beside the car, her hands still bound behind her. “Yeah, I got that part.”
“Anyway, we’re not staying out in the open, just in case. Walk,” Portia directed, pushing Camila toward a darkened building about twenty yards away. Camila did her best, although the short walk wore her out. Portia directed her past the front door, the lock broken, and into the musty space, where she fired up a battery-powered camping light.
Surprise filled Camila as she took in the two sleeping bags and piles of provisions, including a battered laptop, on the floor. “Is…this where you’ve been staying?”
“Not exactly The Plaza, is it?” Portia asked. “But it’s not the worst place I’ve ever slept. Anyway, it let me keep a close eye on my brother. It’s how I figured out what he was up to.”
Okay, this was good. “He was going to double-cross you?”
Portia huffed out a laugh. “Archer always thought he was smarter than everyone else. And make no mistake. Hewassmart. Planned all of those robberies down to the last damn detail.”
So, Roman and the Intelligence Unit had been right. Archer had been the leader all along. “So, you and Thorn were accomplices?”
“Thorn,” she spat, her spine going rigid, “was a bully. He’d probably have robbed those banks for free. He was always pushing, trying to hurt people. He never did things the way Archer said to. I’m glad Archer killed him. Hewasa liability.”
“So, what?” Camila asked, trying to keep Portia talking. “Archer got mad that Thorn went after me and just shot him?”
“That’s the beautiful part,” Portia said, her laugh entirely devoid of joy. “Yeah, Archer was pissed that Thorn killed that guard and that he went after you, but Archer was going to kill him anyway once all the robberies were done. He never planned on letting Thorn have a cut of the money.”
Camila’s jaw unhinged. “He double-crossed Thorn?”
“Yep. And as soon as he did, I knew he’d probably do it to me, too. So I started snooping around on the laptop when he was out, following you. Oh, yeah.” She waved her non-gun hand. “He’s been watching you ever since you came back from wherever the cops had you stashed. But more on that in a second. Anyway, I paid someone to hack the password on his laptop so I could figure out what he was up to. He must’ve realized that killing you would bring too much heat no matter how cleanly he did it, because wouldn’t you know, I found a plan he’d made to frame me for your murder and turn me in to the cops so he could run off with my cut, too.”
Holy. Shit. “He was going to let you take the fall for the robberies?”
