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“Don’t know how you missed me?” Finn yells. “Look at the front of my car. This is thousands of dollars of damage! That’s the best you’ve got?”
“He’s really laying it on thick,” Wren mutters.
“The angrier he is, the more distracted everyone will get,” I say.
Something of a yelling match ensues. A couple lights turn on in the house, and after a few minutes, a tall figure marches through the gate. Axel.
“What the hell are you doing?” he snaps to the guys surrounding the cars. “No one’s watching the back of the house if all four of you are standing around up here.”
“Oh—right. Sorry, sir.”
“You two, start cleaning up all this glass. And you two, get back to your posts.Now.”
All four men scramble to obey.
I glance at the clock on the dashboard. It’s barely been five minutes. In theory, it’s enough time, but Oliver is supposed to let us know when they’re on their way back to the house.
“You’ve got two guys heading toward the back of the house,” I say into the little mic clipped onto my coat. “Is Aubrey in the clear yet?”
As we wait for a response, Axel and Finn size each other up. This is the moment I’ve been worried about the most. Finn runs in different circles than us, so we were mostly sure Ludo’s men wouldn’t recognize him. Axel is the most likely to.
“We can get insurance companies involved if you’d prefer,” Axel says, his voice lacking recognition, “or we can handle this off the record.”
“I’m not paying a fucking dime,” Finn growls. “This idiot pulled out right in front of me.”
Axel turns to the other driver. “Is that true?”
“I . . . I guess, yeah. Sorry, sir.”
Why isn’t anyone answering?
Wren is giving me a look of absolute terror when Oliver’s voice finally comes through.
“Just got to the car,” he says while panting. “Heading back to the house now.”
“Thank god,” Wren whispers as she slouches in her seat.
I breathe out a sigh of relief. “We’ll join you soon.”
Chapter eighteen
Oliver
Wedon’thaveanyissues getting Aubrey off the mansion’s property. Aubrey has already untied her scarf and stashed it back inside. Once we hear the sounds from the crash out front, Aubrey appears on her balcony, staying low. She doesn’t move for a minute, probably waiting for Ludo’s men to run to the front of the house.
My heart is in my throat as she starts climbing down the tree. Soon, she’s low enough that we can’t see her over the wall, and we move closer. The side yard isn’t very big, so Aubrey doesn’t have far to run.
“Be ready,” Elliot says lowly. “We don’t have a lot of time.”
I nod, not wanting to make any extra noise.
The wall is short enough that Elliot can jump up and grab the top of it. He hauls himself up and over to the other side. It only takes a few seconds before I hear a whispered conversation on the other side of the wall.
“On the count of three,” Elliot says lowly before he counts.
Aubrey grunts, and her hands grasp the top of the wall as Elliot gives her one last push. Once she gets her legs over, I help her down.
Rhett’s voice comes through my earpiece. “You’ve got two guys heading toward the back of the house. Is Aubrey in the clear yet?”
