‘Two-fifty’s not a lot,’ Dave said. ‘I mean, you’re talking about stealing twenty or thirty grand’s worth of car.’
‘I got expenses,’ Leon said. ‘The scout, the cleaning agency. And the man who’s gonna ship the cars overseas doesn’t exactly get his numbers out of Glass’ second-hand price guide. I’m doing well if I can get five grand for a Mercedes that just came out of the showroom at thirty.’
‘I appreciate the offer, Leon,’ Dave said. ‘But risking two years of my life must be worth nearer to four hundred.’
‘The summer rush is on and I’ve got more cars than thieves right now,’ Leon smiled. ‘So I’ll stretch to three hundred, but that’s your lot.’
‘Three-two-five,’ Dave said.
Leon rocked his head uncertainly before his hand crept out towards Dave’s.
‘One other thing,’ Leon added, as they shook on the deal. ‘I’ve kept the cops off my back all these years by being careful. So now this is set up, we don’t ever talk about it again, OK? My people will call you. The money will come through your letterbox. If you ask me something about this, I’m not gonna be happy and all you’ll get for your trouble is a blank look.’
‘What if there’s a hitch, like if I don’t get paid or something?’ Dave asked.
‘You’ll have a number to call,’ Leon said, as he began hauling himself off the sofa. He turned to look at James. ‘I don’t mix my family up in the naughty stuff. So if you’re hanging out with Max or Liza, you keep this under your hat. OK?’
‘No worries,’ James nodded, slumping on to the sofa as the incredible bulk headed for the front door.
James sprawled out and allowed himself to grin at the rapid progress of the mission, then shot half a metre in the air as a finger touched his shoulder.
‘Is my dad gone?’ Sonya Tarasov whispered.
‘Jesus,’ James gasped, as he spun around to look at the sixteen-year-old sitting on the carpet behind the sofa. ‘You scared the arse off me. Were you behind there the whole time?’
He broke into a grin as the shock wore off and he realised Sonya was naked.
Sonya wrapped her arms around her chest. ‘Stop staring you little pervert,’ she said furiously.
‘I’ve seen better,’ James giggled.
‘James, behave,’ Dave said stiffly, as he walked into the room. He tossed his robe at Sonya. ‘I brought your dad in here because I thought you were still in the kitchen.’
‘And crawl under that sink again?’ Sonya said fiercely. ‘My back still hurts from yesterday.’
‘What were you two doing in the kitchen with no clothes on?’ James grimaced. ‘I swear to god, I’m never eating off that table again.’
Sonya quickly slid into the robe and knotted the cord around her waist as she straddled the sofa.
Dave shrugged as he pulled on his T-shirt. ‘He’s offering me a leg-up, Sonya. Look at this dump we’re living in. I need money to do it up and that’ll take five hundred years from what I’d earn working in some supermarket or fast-food joint.’
‘But what if you get caught? You’ll go down for sure and probably take James with you, or he’ll have to go back into foster care.’
‘Then I won’t get caught,’ Dave said.
He moved in to calm Sonya down with a kiss, but she wouldn’t buy it.
‘My dad shouldn’t be dragging you in to this,’ Sonya stormed. ‘He doesn’t even need to do it any more, he’s got two pubs that are doing nicely and the car dealing on top. He’s using you, Dave. If he really wanted to help, he could offer you a straight job, or find someone else that could.’
‘Sonya, I’ve known you for two days,’ Dave said. ‘I really like you, but you can’t run my life.’
‘Fine, ignore me,’ Sonya shrugged. ‘But I’ll warn you now: my dad only looks after number one and I won’t be visiting you behind bars.’
‘Look, Sonya,’ Dave said. ‘I know you’re trying to look out for me, but I need this money.’
‘My dad’s like Teflon: nothing ever sticks to him. You know last year? He made an absolute killing; the biggest score of his whole life. My poor mum worried herself sick that the police would turn up the heat, but Dad never even got his collar felt.’
‘What did he do?’ James enquired innocently.
‘He never tells us, but everyone reckons he got a cut of some massive robbery,’ Sonya