It was weird the things you picked up working in a police station and living with a SWAT officer. Even most of my friends were law enforcement of some sort. Eddie was the one main exception to that.
“Looks swanky.”
I plastered a smile on my face. It was the same smile I gave people who came into the police commissioner’s office and treated me like a glorified office clerk. I was so much more than that.
“We hope it will be a great success. Our artists”—I wasn’t naming names unless I had to—“have worked very hard to bring us their artwork. Saturday’s showing should be quite the gala event.”
That much was the truth.
“I’d like to see this art.”
Yeah, no.
“I’m afraid that isn’t possible at the moment. As I said, the gallery is closed currently. We’re still setting up. If you wanted to come back Saturday—”
My eyes rounded when Ivan snapped his fingers and pointed. One of the no-neck Neanderthals behind him walked over and pulled a painting off the wall, promptly putting his fist through it.
“What are you doing?” I ran over to grab the art and pulled the frame away from the man. My heart sank as I looked at the ruined painting with a giant fist-shaped hole in the middle of it.
There was no way to save it.
“Why would you do this?”
The man grunted at me and went back to stand behind the guy in the suit.
“I’d like to see this art,” Ivan repeated, as if it made a difference.
“We’re closed,” I snapped, ’cause maybe he hadn’t heard me the first time.
The man snapped his fingers and pointed, and once again, one of the men behind him walked toward one of the paintings hung on the wall.
“No!” I dropped the destroyed painting on the floor and ran over to stand in front of the pristine one. I pulled out my cell phone, hitting the number one button before it even cleared my pocket. “I’m calling the police.”
“You don’t want to do that,” Ivan warned.
The hell I didn’t.
“You need to leave,” I said, hoping to solve this without involving the authorities.
I didn’t need the headache. I was still on thin ice for getting taken hostage at the restaurant.
“You need to put that phone down.”
I took a quick step back when Ivan reached for my phone. “Seriously, dude, you do not want to do this.”
How did I keep running into these morons?
The man gestured with his hand. “Give me the phone.”
Seriously?
It was like déjà vu.
I held the phone up to my ear.
“Sal?”
“Hello,caro, what’s up?”
