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“She took a duffel bag full of cash that belonged to my boss after a flight. Right after we’d landed. And then, she compounded that first mistake by sinking all the money into a condo in Seattle, so it was tied up and she couldn’t hand it right back to me after I tracked her down.”
Auggie looks wary. “How much cash?”
“Sixty grand.”
Auggie whistles. “Holy shit.”
“In my defense,” I blurt, “I’d gotten a text from my good friend in HR during the flight, letting me know I was on a list of people getting the axe the next morning. When I picked up that duffel bag, I was freaking out about losing my job. And it wasn’t like I planned some elaborate heist. The bag had fallen off a luggage cart between the airplane and the line of SUVs being loaded up by Mr. Di Marco’s men. When I grabbed it to bring it over, I noticed what looked like a whole lot of cash through a small hole in the zipper, so, on an impulse, I threw my coat over the bag and high-tailed it out of there. Trust me, I regretted doing it the minute I got into a taxi, but then, once I’d taken it, I didn’t know how to give it back without admitting what I’d done in the first place. So then, when I realized I’d fucked myself, Idecided to do what that guy inOzarkalways does withhisdirty cash: I bought real estate with it, in order tolaunderit.”
Carlo rolls his eyes and mutters, “Ozark.Do you see what I’m dealing with here, Auggie? That’s like saying ‘I learned to fly a 757 by watching the movie,Airplane!’” He chuckles and shakes his head. “You really complicated things for me, sweetheart. If only you hadn’t tied up the money so fucking fast, I could have said there’d been a mix-up at the airport. I could have said the bag got onto the wrong cart and got put in storage in a sea of other lost luggage.”
“I know I fucked up, Carlo. I haven’t slept a wink since I picked up that stupid bag. But,please, can we not talk about this anymore in front of Auggie? I don’t want to involve him.”
“It’s too late now, sweetheart. He’s in it.”
“I’m in it?” Auggie murmurs.
Carlo runs a hand over his dark beard. “This is still fixable, okay? Put your heads together and figure out a way to come up with the money in time for the party. If you do that, if you bring me the money when you fly in for the party, I can still sell the lost luggage angle. Bring the money in a carry-on, and I’ll pick you both up from the airport, transfer the cash into one of our standard duffel bags, and handle the rest from there.”
“So, Carlo,” Auggie says tightly. “Funny story.”
Carlo’s dark eyes harden. “Save your breath, Auggie. This is how it works when you’ve asked a woman to marry you. When you asked Charlotte that all-important question, and she said yes, you put yourself on the hook to love, cherish, andprotecther, always, no matter what—underGod. And that includesyoubeing on the hook to help her clean up any messes she might have made and take any and every bullet aimed at her.”
“Bullet?” Auggie blurts, the color draining from his handsome face. “Please, tell me you mean that word as a figure of speech.”
Carlo smirks. “Sure.”
“Does Mr. DiMarco know what I did?” I choke out. “Is that the reason for the change of plans?”
“He doesn’t even suspect you, and we need to keep it that way. Which means you and Captain America here need to come to Bella’s birthday party and act like you’re both innocent as babies. We all know you’d never miss one of Bella’s birthdays. And now that everyone knows you’re engaged, it’d be weird if you didn’t use the party as the perfect opportunity to introduce your new fiancé around. If you don’t come, and bring Auggie with you, the big boss might start wondering why you’ve stayed away—and that wouldn’t be a good thing for any of us, Charlotte.”
“What do you mean ‘everyone’ knows about the engagement?’” I gasp out. “If we never tell anyone—"
“Too late. The cat’s out of the bag. Right after the bouncer told me yesterday, I told my sister. And you know how she is.”
“Why the fuck did you tell Angela?” I shriek.
“No shouting, sweetheart. It’s not necessary. We can communicate like adults. I told my sister because she adores you and I knew she’d be as thrilled to hear the news as me. I also told Mr. DiMarco for the same reasons. And Genevieve, too, so she can stop feeling so fucking jealous of you. By now, I have to assume everyone who knows you has heard the news.”
“Goddammit,” I murmur. “But why does me being engaged change the timeline to pay back the money?
“The change of timeline has nothing to do with that. The change is because there’s a young buck on the team—a new guy—who’s been looking for a chance to impress the big boss. He keeps sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong, trying to play hero. He’s got his sights set on finding that money, and then making whoever ran off with it pay for their sins, even though I already told him I’m handling the situation and he should stayin his lane. I’ve got a hunch it’s only a matter of time before he puts two and two together, sweetheart. Asks around. For all we know, someone on the ground crew saw you take that bag. Maybe another flight attendant. One way or another, if he digs deep enough, he might hit pay dirt, so we need to move faster than originally planned. Give me that money when I pick you up from the airport, and I’ll handle the rest. Otherwise, this could get bad for all of us.”
“Forallof us?” Auggie echoes lamely, his face still drained of color.
Carlo shrugs. “Charlotte, for obvious reasons. Me, because I looked the other way, and that’s a big no-no in my business. And you because, at the end of the day, you’re gonna have to be our fall guy, if things turn to shit on us.”
“Leave Auggie out of this,” I say. “I’m the one who took the money, so I’m the only one who should be punished. Auggie has nothing to do with this.”
“Let’s not get so dramatic, talking about someone gettingpunished. That’s a strong word. I’m pretty sure, if the big guy heard all the facts, including the one about you getting laid off, he’d give Auggie here nothing but the equivalent of a slap on the wrist. Me, on the other hand? I was disloyal. I picked you over my boss, and that was a cardinal sin. In my business, guys like me don’t get laid off for fucking up that badly.”
Auggie is breathing hard. Like he just ran a hundred-yard dash. “How sure is pretty sure?”
“Huh?”
“You said you’re ‘pretty sure’ I’d get the ‘equivalent’ of a slap on the wrist.”
“Oh. Yeah.” Carlo shrugs. “Fifty-fifty?”
