The Heist (3 page)

“Where should we keep her, boss?” Abahti asked upon his return.

“Take her to one of the warehouses. Put the boys, Manny and Pitt, on her. Make sure you get pictures here before
Chocolat
arrives. Tell them both to handle her with care. She’s precious cargo.”

“Got it.”

Lee re-entered the room. Sasha slept with the diamonds sparkling on her neck and wrist. He removed each piece and forced them in his pocket. He emptied her purse for her cell phone, checked her ID and anything else to identify her. Satisfied, he turned and left. “Time to get this show on the road, princess.”

His actions could be perceived as cruel. In the past he would have never dared made this move. It was never Sasha Dixon that he wanted. No. Michelle was the beauty he could never claim as his own. Now it didn’t matter. His bitterness over Pops betrayal extinguished any flames of desire that burned in his barren heart. Lee planned to take back all that was robbed of him—love or whatever it was between he and Michelle would not stop him.

Chapter Two

Michelle stormed through the club. Others drank, laughed, and played cards, oblivious to her panic. In her hands was the manila envelope containing the photos of Sasha, unconscious, gagged, and tied to a chair. God help her, she was going to kill Lee with her bare hands. Marching over to the bar, she slammed her purse on top of it.

“Where is he?”

The bartender continued his conversation. Michelle grabbed the nearest glass and threw it at him. Just missing his head, it crashed and shattered into the mirrored wall. Silence fell over the bar. Several men stood, reaching for their guns.

“I said, ‘where the hell is he?’” she seethed.

“
Chocolat
… hello, beautiful. Lee’s expecting you,” Abahti answered from behind her. Michelle found his reflection in the bar mirror then turned around to face him. She knew of him, but they never dealt with each other directly. Pops made sure she was familiar with the men in Lee’s organization that ran his lower operations. “If one hair on my sister’s head is harmed, I’m killing you next.”

“I look forward to it.” Abahti smirked. “Now, come with me.”

She did, holding tightly to her purse and carrying the gun she planned to empty into Lee if he didn’t release her sister. Because she wasn’t leaving without Sasha….

***

Sasha jumped.

Air! I need air!
She sucked in deep breaths. The dark cloth covering her face pressed into her gaping mouth and blew out when she exhaled. She tried to move, but couldn’t. I’m restrained? Shaking her wrists, she discovered they were chained. Bucking in the chair, she fought against the inconceivable.
Why am I restrained?

Her head felt as if someone had hit her with a barbell. She ground her teeth under the crushing weight of the headache. Her throat was dry, her mouth stale. When she swallowed, there was a bitter aftertaste, something akin to lead. Where was she? Why was she tied up? Who had covered her face?

“Help,” she croaked out in a hoarse voice. Her plea barely rose above a whisper.

She jerked and bucked in the chair again, unable to do more with her arms tied down. “Hellllpppp!” She groaned once more. This was madness; she wasn’t supposed to be here. This wasn’t supposed to happen to her. She was Pops Dixon daughter. If her father were alive, Lee would have shown her more respect.

“Help!” she screamed, followed by an eruption of tears that soaked through the heavy cloth pressed into her face. It got sucked into her nostrils as she sobbed. Sasha dropped her head. Nothing made sense. Why was she tied up? Who, why? Then her memory returned, painful in its accuracy.
Lee
. This was Lee’s doing. She had been dumb enough to fall into his trap. He took full advantage of that stupidity. But this? Why this? It wasn’t even necessary, she was trying to help him, be his ally.

“It wasn’t necessary, damn it! Damn you! Damn you!” she said. This was it. She had finally screwed up beyond rescue. Michelle would never forgive her; Pops was in heaven turning his back on her at that very moment. She was so stupid. Sucking in deep breaths, caught in a cloud of claustrophobia under the stifling hood, she wheezed. “Let me go! Okay…okay…let me go! Help!” She screamed over and over until she was hoarse. Thrashing in the seat that refused to give, crying, shivering from the damp coolness all around her, she felt helpless. This was hell. Sasha was terrified.

***

Kumar leaned in to inspect his electronic equipment. It was time to upgrade, and that meant he had a blank check from Lee. Sniffing, eyes raw and itchy from lack of sleep, he was determined not to abuse that privilege, though the temptation was always there.

Then he heard a scream.

His head lifted. He had been there for over eight hours and not a sound was made in the direction of the closed door. Manny and Pitt lounged near a closed door since his arrival. The two goons ignored him and the helpless cry of terror. Still, Kumar was certain he heard it. Frowning, he listened. This time it came through clearly. He could tell it was a woman.

“Shit, they got someone in there,” Kumar mumbled under his breath.

The warehouse was stock-housed with his equipment, which was the only reason he frequented it. He knew Manny and Pitt were low-level guns doing small jobs for Lee, but he just never figured they would bring that dirty business there.

“Maybe you should check on her,” Pitt suggested.

“Maybe you should shut your fucking pie-hole!” Manny spat, twirling the toothpick in his mouth.

“What’s going on?” Kumar asked, rising.

“None of your business, geek, just keep playing with your toys.” Manny chuckled.

Kumar glared. He sat back down. Dropping his head and shaking it, he picked up his tools. Whoever it was, she wasn’t worth the headache. So he decided to continue his work. When that didn’t block the pitiful cries of the woman, he turned on his iPod and effectively muted the world.

***

“It’s been awhile…”

Michelle threw the photos of her sister at Lee. “Where is she?”

Lee plucked the glossies from his chest. He tossed them back upon his desk. Michelle considered the gun in her purse.
I could kill him and take my chances
. But to do so would be certain death for Sasha, though seeing Lee bleed would almost make it worth it.

Lee was part of The Order. They ran the Underworld. Men—she believed there were eight—who lived by a code that every jewel thief in the world aspired to honor. Invisible to Interpol and the US law agencies, no one knew who all of these men were and how they connected. Pops did. Pops had known a lot of things. That was why she and Sasha had to leave whatever money he had left behind. A break had to be clean, no ties.

“You bastard,” she seethed. “After all my father has done for you, this is how you repay him? You swore you’d leave us alone. You swore it before he was cold in the ground! Now you kidnap my baby sister! How pathetic to go after her, just to get my attention. Even for you!”

“I never went after Sasha, Chocol....”

“Don’t call me that! Don’t you….” She clenched her teeth. Rage held of her. Sasha could be hurt, or worse. How had this happened? How
could
it have happened on her watch? “Listen to me. I don’t know what you think you can gain from this, but you know there’s no way in hell I’ll roll over and take it! And you knew Pops! He was your friend, Lee! What would he think of you now? You let my sister go and I’ll try hard to forget this ever happened.”

“But you know me,
Chocolat
,” Lee snapped. “It’s not my style to go after anyone, unless they come into my backyard first. Your father started this, sweetheart, and your sister stepped in it. She owes me over two hundred G’s. She’s been in my club, dropping your father’s name, and running up a tab.”

The news bulldozed Michelle. How could Sasha be so stupid? And with
Lee
of all people, after Pops had warned them both to stay away from him just before he died. He was once a friend to her father. He’d saved Pops; he’d done it many times. Pops said they saved each other. That was then, far removed from who Leith Sullivan was now. She was sure he had his motives; men like him always did. Once she misread his intentions, she’d be careful not to make that mistake again. She wasn’t that confused, love-starved girl anymore. It had to end. If Pops couldn’t find a way to escape the life of thievery then she would. His death would not be her curse. Lee had complete control over her father. He was mistaken if he thought the same would be for her. Kidnapping Sasha was the final straw.

“How long has she been doing this?”

“Does it matter?”

Michelle dropped into the chair behind her. “I told you, I’m clean. I haven’t done a job in nearly three years. I work at Cosmo’s Diner, for heaven’s sake. You know all of this, I know you do.”

“I’ve offered you work.”

“And I don’t want it! Can’t you see I’m trying to start a life here?”

“When that life intersects with mine, you just have to deal with it,
Chocolat
.”

Michelle shook her head. “I don’t have all the money, but I can raise it if you give me more time.”

“There’s another way.”

Michelle eyes held as he pulled out the drawer and removed a folded newspaper article. Lee tossed it across the desk to her. “I’m willing to cut your sister some slack, pay you half a mil, minus the debt your sister owes me, of course. And since I’m in a generous mood, I’ll let you go free and clear afterwards. One big score, all debts settled.”

“No,” Michelle answered dryly.

“You haven’t seen the job.”

“Damn it!”

Lee leaned forward. “Take a look. At the very least, face what you’re declining. You were born for this.”

His words chipped at her resolve. It was what Pops would say to her at twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen—each year, when she thought they had done their last job and he promised her a life without thieving. Each year, after the money they scored was lost in a card game or high roller’s poker room, each time she thought things would change.

“We can settle this another way—” she started.

“No, this is the only way. But if you are so determined to stay out of The Life, I’ll think of some creative ways for Sasha to work off her debt.”

Michelle rose. She held her purse tight again, considering the gun. She carried such raw hatred toward him it threatened her sensibility. For the life of her, she didn’t know what she’d ever seen in him. Starting back to the humiliation she suffered at sixteen when she foolishly thought a dangerous man like him was worthy of her. Lee rejected her crush. Michelle sobered up on the reality of the life of gangsters and thieves. It was a life she didn’t want. He just stared up at her, heartless and calculating, no compassion in his eyes.

She picked up the article and unfolded it. The Jesus Stones. Every smuggler in the world had tried their hand at them. The gems were now in Chicago, the city with the greediest smugglers of all. “Well hell, Lee!” She looked back up at him. “Why don’t you just have me walk right into prison and save us both the trouble?”

Lee chuckled.

“Even if we get them, the people responsible for this heist will be hunted by every police agency and religious sect in the world. No way in hell can I get close to these stones.”

He sat back in his chair. “You have seventy-two hours to present a plan.”

“A job like this takes months in planning, you know that! Plus, I haven’t even attempted anything close to this in years. What good am I to my sister if I’m in prison, or dead from the bullet of some hot-shot guard?”

Lee dipped back in his office chair. “Three days,
Chocolat
. I expect to see you in three days.”

Michelle pointed a finger at him. “Promise me,
swear
to me you won’t harm her. Swear it!”

“I swear. Three days and then I pay Sasha a personal visit. That’s my promise to you.”

Michelle stepped back, crumbling the article in her hands before dropping it and storming out. Once clear of him, she put her back against his office door and dropped her head in defeat. Anger kept tears from spilling, but fear for Sasha kept her from crumbling; she would make Lee pay for going after her family.

“Pops….what has Sasha done?”

***

Sasha heard the door open. Her head shot up. She was all cried and yelled out. It was suffocating under the black hood. She thought she would die from lack of air. “Hello? Lee? Is that you?”

The person closed the door. She worked her arms behind her back. “Please take the hood off. I’m terrified enough, please! Please!”

Sasha figured she had been hidden in some kind of warehouse near the docks, judging by the loud horns of passing barges that could be heard in the night. Neither of Lee’s hired goons had even thought to feed her. But she heard one of them mention who she was.
Pops Dixon’s daughter
.

Then the stranger spoke.

“You’re Pops’ little girl. I knew him. He was nice to me. He helped me get clean. I brought you some food,” he mumbled, the uncertainty in his voice making it waver.

“Who are you?” Sasha bucked in the chair. “Please, take off the hood…please.”

***

Kumar paused. One of the reasons Manny refused to even feed her or check on her was fear that she would see his face. And Pitt never did anything Manny wouldn’t do. Kumar couldn’t be led by that fear. He owed too much to Pops. So he did as she asked. He carefully eased the hood from her head. The terrified girl sucked in a deep breath. Her hair was a tangled mass; it hung in her face and eyes. She blew up out of her bottom lip, causing her locks to part, then she peered up at him. Kumar found her round, thickly-lashed, chocolate eyes captivating.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her bottom lip trembling. “I thought I was alone.”

“Are you hungry?” he asked, forcing himself to look away. He went to the Burger King bag he’d brought in then pulled out the burger and fries.

“Can you undo these chains? Please.”