Fugitive Heart - By Bonnie Dee Page 0,41
Elliot—or Nick—safe. Let Nick see this through. If everything goes well, the criminals, um, the original owners can return with their package to whatever it is they do. I don’t even want to know. It’ll be over, and maybe Elliot can live his life wherever he’s gone. If he comes back for his stash, we’ll deal with him ourselves.”
“I’m coming with you, then,” Jake said. “I’ll wait with Ames. Once you figure out where you’re going to meet this guy, we’ll hide and watch.”
“Get him to meet you in a public place, a restaurant or a bar, and we can sit there in plain sight. He wouldn’t know who we are,” Ames added.
“Fine,” Nick snapped, losing his cool at last. He wanted to shake off these two but they were stuck to him like burrs. “But first I’ve got to call Bert and arrange a meeting.”
He checked his watch. It was nearly two a.m., but he didn’t think Bert would complain about being woken up. It would be the first time Nick had contacted him since leaving New York. Bert probably thought he’d simply skipped town. Time to let him know Nick was fulfilling his promise and had found the ledger and money, if not Elliot.
He looked back and forth between Ames and Jake. “I need a little privacy for this. Can you guys go in the house and have some coffee or something?”
Ames narrowed her eyes. “You’re not going to take off while we’re in there.” It was a command, not a question.
“No. I promise.” He held her gaze, those beautiful forget-me-not eyes, and lied through his teeth.
She nodded and rose up on her toes to give him a kiss, only a light brush of her lips, yet it set his heart hammering—and made Jake stare at them.
“I’ll be right in,” Nick promised.
“Okay. See you in a few minutes.” Ames smiled brightly, snatched up the package and sashayed toward the door.
Curses. Foiled again. Nick grinned inside as she thwarted his evil plan to leave her behind for her own good.
The door closed behind Jake. Nick pulled out his cell phone and pressed Bert’s number.
It rang only three times before a familiar gravelly voice answered. “Yeah?”
“It’s Nick. I told you I’d get back what Elliot stole. Now I’ve got it—the most important part, anyway. I’ll be starting back to New York today to deliver it as promised.”
“Don’t bother. I’m on my way to Wisconsin. I’ll meet you,” Bert answered shortly. “What about Jensen?”
For the first time in hours, Nick could breathe normally. Bert was willing to deal. They were all probably safe. Probably.
“Gone. I don’t know where, but I’d guess out of the country. Does it matter so long as you’ve got the ledger and some of the money back?”
There was a pause in which Nick heard the unspoken answer—of course it mattered—and then Bert said, “Where do you want to meet?”
“There’s a diner called the Back Porch. The parking lot there.”
“Too public. Maybe a field outside of town,” Bert suggested.
“Too isolated.”
Bert gave an annoyed grunt. “You want to do this right in front of the Podunk police station?”
“I know a place. An empty house in the country. But I’m going to need some kind of insurance. I…” He paused, trying to decide how to give himself a bit of leverage without pissing off Bert even more. “We’ve been friends since we were kids, but I gotta tell you, Bert, I don’t feel real confident you’re not going to end me. So I’ll give you the ledger and money I found, but I’m holding back the flash drive.”
“Fuck that. You’ll give everything or no deal.”
“You understand my position. Your family makes an example of anyone who crosses them, I get that, but I had nothing to do with this other than having the misfortune of rooming with Elliot Jensen in college. I’m not the one who stole from you.”
Another pause and then Bert sighed. “I believe you, and I haven’t forgotten our history, but this isn’t up for negotiation. Bring me every damn thing you’ve got, or you’re going to have to pay for what your pal did. Now tell me the address of the house.”
Chapter Twelve
Ames sipped the coffee, surprisingly good stuff, though her stomach was close to rebelling.
Jake tapped a rhythm on his mug, got up, looked out the window. “So you trust this guy?”
“Yes.” She realized it was true. In one short day, she’d gone from suspecting Nick of harming Elliot to completely believing in him.
“Yeah.” Jake