Page 24 of His Sinful Need

Bricker raises his eyebrows at me in a silent question.

“I’m telling you, it’s closed,” I say. “So if anything goes wrong with the primary escape route, we’re fucked. But it’s your call, Capo.”

Bricker is silent for a moment, eyes on the map. Then he checks his phone, and I want to groan, but I swallow it down.

“The lane’s open,” he says at last, looking up at me, “according to Google fucking Maps. We go with Van’s tactics.”

The planning continues, and I don’t push the issue. As long as nothing goes wrong with Plan A, it’ll be fine. But my instincts are rarely wrong, and combined with the sudden change in the armored car schedules, there’s something about this job that doesn’t sit right.

Because Bricker and I drove by that utility lane just this morning on our way here, and Iknowit’s closed.

* * *

We head out in three cars. Pony drives the van, which has had clean plates screwed on and a fresh logo on the side. Jazz and Tank go with him in the back. They’re taking point on the armored car, once it’s hemmed in by the other cars driven by Bricker and Van.

They’ve done this before, I remind myself. Several times. But I also know that last time didn’t go as planned, based on the argument between Tank and Pony.

We suit up with balaclavas, Kevlar, helmets, guns, earpieces… This part always reminded me of gearing up for war, and I like it even less now than I did back then. But I’ll do what’s necessary, just like I did back then.

The crew is silent, each of us focused on the task at hand, but I can’t shake the nagging feeling that something is off.

In the kitchen, Nico and Bricker are starting to get loud.

“...you mean, I’m not in?” Nico demands. “Fuck’s sake, Bricker, I carry myself as good as any of you assholes!”

“I need the company,” Honeybee calls over cheerfully. She grins at him. “You and me, Nico, we’re making sure the Lair stays safe, in case the crew needs a bolt hole.”

Nico looks only slightly mollified, and as Bricker walks past me, he rolls his eyes. “Kids these days,” he says under his breath.

I quirk a smile, but I do wonder why Bricker’s leaving the two of them out. Honeybee makes sense: she’s not muscle by any stretch of the imagination, and there’s no call for her skillset in a job like this.

But why Nico?

“Alright, everyone knows their roles,” Bricker calls out. “Let’s get the job done, and get out clean.”

“And leave no man behind,” Van adds.

“Or woman either, you misogynistic fuck,” Jazz adds, but she grins at Van.

“I’m counting on you to getmeout,” he tells her, and they fist-bump. I’m relieved to see the camaraderie, but…

Something still feels wrong.

“Hey,” Bricker says on the way past. “You ride with me, Pedretti.”

I follow him out to the car, not his Charger, but a nondescript, reinforced white Ford, and we get moving.

CHAPTER11

BRICKER

Max is even quieterthan usual as we drive to the waiting zone. According to Van’s tactics, Pony is due to cut off the armored car’s path right after it takes the corner and comes under the overpass bridge, which will help us avoid cameras. Van—with Rook and Giddy in his car—will come up on the right-hand side to manage the driver, and Max and I will take the guy on the left. Once the guy in the back’s been flushed out, Jazz and Tank will clean out the cash.

In and out. Thirty seconds.

But as we cruise past the narrow laneway Max kept insisting was closed, I discover that he was right. There’s a big roadblock sign across it.

“Shit,” I mutter.

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