Victor eyes me. “You sound awful sure about that.”
“Just saying we don’t know why she was there.”
He studies me for a beat too long, then snorts. “No chances. That’s too big of a fucking coincidence. You and Rico will pick her up. Keep her quiet until we figure out what she knows.”
My stomach turns. The wordspick her upland heavy.
Rico straightens. “From the campus?”
“Outside the gates,” Victor says. “Today. And make sure she’s breathing when I see her. We still need her alive if we want access to that trust.”
The room tilts a little. My voice feels thin. “Got it.”
Outside, the cold hits like a slap. My hands shake as I pull my keys from my pocket. The parking lot is almost empty except for my car under the flickering light. I whisper, “Sorry, girl,” before jamming the knife into one of the tires. The hiss of escaping air is the only sound in the world.
Rico’s voice echoes behind me. “Yo, you good?”
“Yeah,” I call back, forcing calm. “Think I ran over something earlier.”
He jogs over, squints at the damage. “Damn, that’s shredded.”
“Guess we’ll have to swap it before we go.”
He groans, heading back for the tools.
I can feel Victor’s eyes on us from inside the warehouse. No chance to text Jamie. Not yet. Every move has to look natural. I kneel beside the flat tire, pretending to inspect it, my heart punching against my ribs.
Time. That’s all I’m buying. A few precious minutes before everything explodes.
It takes us nine minutes. I know because I keep watching the clock on the dash like it might save me. Nine minutes of crouching beside the car, of Rico cursing and wrenching and wiping sweat off his face with the back of his hand. Nine minutes of pretending this delay isn’t intentional. The air reeks of burnt rubber and engine oil, the kind of smell that sticks in your lungs and makes your skin itch.
When the jack finally lowers the car, it’s almost one. My palms are black with grease, and Rico is still muttering under his breath about the “goddamn tire.”
He lights a cigarette the second we pull back on the road, blowing smoke out the window like it’s the only thing holding him together.
“You know what I was thinking?” he says, and I already know I don’t want to hear it. “If we’re gonna grab her anyway… might as well have a bit of fun before we hand her over.”
I grip the steering wheel tighter. “Fun?”
He grins, sharp and greasy. “You know. She’s a pretty one. Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it.”
My jaw locks. I keep my eyes on the road, heart thudding so hard I can feel it in my throat. “We better not.”
Rico laughs. “Don’t get all noble now, Thatcher. You’re not fooling anyone. We’re all in the same boat. You, me, the boss. Don’t matter how clean you act, you’re already dirty. Plus, if she is going to end up in the ground, does it matter anyway?”
Fuck!
Fuck!
He’s not wrong about me being dirty and just like my uncle. I helped him kill after all, but hearing it said out loud makes me want to slam my head against the dashboard.
I force a breath through my nose. “Do you think Victor’s really gonna… kill her?”
Rico flicks his ash out the window. “You ask too many questions.”
“That’s just one question.”
He turns to me, eyes flat and mean. “You think we’re keeping her around for company? We get what we need, then she’s gone. Victor doesn’t leave loose ends.”
