of these schemes when they kept pulling it off and getting rich in the process.
He wondered if today’s plan was one they could deploy more than once. If it was, how long would they need to wait? And how should they change it so the Coast Guard didn’t get suspicious of these idiots who kept needing to be towed ashore? Maybe if they used a fishing boat next time, and they—
“What’s all this, now?” Bernard leaned forward, squinting at something in the distance.
Danny looked up ahead. It was difficult to see much in the darkness, but as they drew closer, the headlights illuminated two cars parked sideways, blocking the road. A shiny badge caught the light. “Is that… Is that cops?”
Behind him, Francis swore. Then, “Whatever you do love, keep your head down and don’t make a sound.”
Danny glanced back. Francis was hiding Giulia in the shadows beneath some tarpaulins. Probably just as well until they knew what was going on. Couldn’t be too careful.
As Bernard slowed down, he murmured, “Danny, look.” He nodded toward the left. Standing around in headlight beams were a few more cops, and some men dressed like him and his crew.
Just like him and his crew.
Heart suddenly pounding, Danny squinted harder. “Is that—”
“The other lads,” Bernard said under his breath, as if the cops might hear him. He stopped the car, and an officer strode up to the window. His face was starkly lit on one side, eclipsed in shadows on the other, and Danny couldn’t help thinking it gave him a menacing look. Or maybe he was just paranoid, being stopped by the police with gallons of illegal liquor in the back.
“Where you boys headed?” the officer asked.
Bernard stayed calm and pleasant. “Back to—”
“It’s them,” someone called out. “I’m sure of it.”
The cop glanced in that direction, then turned back to Bernard and Danny, his expression even harder now. “How about you boys come out and have a chat with us?” He stepped back and beckoned sharply.
Bernard and Danny exchanged uneasy looks.
Bernard faced the officer again. “What’s this about, officer?”
“It’s about you boys getting out of the truck,” came the growled response. He looked toward the back. “You too, son.”
“All right.” Danny’s heart pounded, but he nodded and reached for his door. Carmine had told them in the beginning to cooperate that if the cops or the Coast Guard ever stopped them, to call “Mr. Carpenter’s” lawyer, and he’d make arrangements to get them out. So they just had to do what they were told and wait for the opportunity to ring the lawyer.
Bernard opened his door too. Movement in the back said Francis was obeying as well.
Danny’s boot hadn’t even touched the road before he heard the grunt, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. He turned to look over his shoulder, but someone grabbed his arm and yanked him the rest of the way out of the truck.
“What the—” He was shoved face first to the hard ground.
“Hey! Hey!” Was that Tommy’s voice? “There’s no need to—” He groaned, then sputtered, and Danny managed to look up just in time to see Tommy crumple to his knees, holding his midsection.
Someone patted Danny up and down, relieved him of his pistol and his hip flask, and then hauled him to his feet. He was shoved along with Bernard and Francis toward the others, who were helping Tommy up. They all exchanged nervous glances. Were these dirty cops? Or men wearing cop uniforms? What was going on?
Mathew stood close to Danny and lowered his voice to a shaky whisper. “The night we was caught? Stealing from the barn? I only saw them for a second, but…” He nodded subtly toward two of the uniformed men. “It was them. I’m sure of it.”
An icy trickle of horror ran down the length of Danny’s spine. Should they run? No. No, damn it. There were too many men with too many guns and not enough places to go, and those men with guns were between them and their trucks. Even if Giulia managed to creep into the cab, the truck was blocked in and the lads couldn’t get to it anyhow. If there was a way out, Danny couldn’t see it.
For a while, no one said a word. A few of the “cops” unloaded every case and bottle of alcohol from the trucks and onto two of their own trucks. Danny’s heart sank. At least it was only some of what they’d picked up