Lyn’s shoulders slumped. “Yes, sir.”
I lifted my hand and rested it on his shoulder. “Lyn, I know you want to go in with us, but Eddie and the others need to be protected right now. If Eddie gets hurt, this city is going to implode. His uncle is still fuming over the restaurant fiasco.”
I had received no less than two phone calls a day since Eddie had come to stay with us. One from VinnieCastellano and one from Carlos Gambino. I knew they cared for Eddie, but the two mobsters were driving me insane.
“I understand, sir.”
“Good man.”
I gave the go ahead to Clarke and Burke and then pulled my gun. I slowly opened the door, peeking through the small opening. I could hear voices, but I didn’t see anyone. I cautiously stepped out into the hallway and then moved a few steps ahead, making room for the others to get out and make it to the backdoor.
When I felt someone pat me on the back, I started moving forward. When we got to the end of the hallway, I raised my fist. Clarke knew the hand gesture. Hopefully, Burke would recognize it and follow the command to stop. If not, I knew Clarke would stop him.
I couldn’t worry if they were going to do what they needed to do. I could hear someone walking across the marble floor toward where we were hiding. I listened carefully and then held up one finger and gave the hand command that one hostile was heading toward us.
I flattened myself against the wall as closely as I could and then waited.
The waiting was always the hardest part. I felt as if my breath was caught in my throat, and my heart hammered in my chest. I knew this came from an adrenaline rush, but it didn’t make being quiet easy.
You’d think after all this time, I would be past getting anxious when going on a mission. Maybe it was because Lany was in trouble this time. If I fucked this up, my world would end.
I couldn’t fuck this up.
It was as simple as that.
I waited until I could see the tips of the guy’s shoes and then raised my pistol. The man walked around the corner and right into my gun. The guy’s eyes rounded, and a very readable flash of fear flickered in his eyes.
I raised my finger to my lips, all the while keeping the barrel pressed to his stomach. Clarke grabbed the man by his arms and pulled him farther into the hallway. I kept a look out while Clarke frisked the guy and then zip-tied his hands together before leading him into the storage room where the others had been hiding.
One down, four to go.
Once Clarke patted me on the back again, I moved forward. At the end of the hallway, I stopped and peeked around the corner.
The main room of the gallery was actually pretty large, but it was broken up by several partial walls strategically placed throughout the room. The walls went all the way up to the ceiling, but they were only about five feet wide. Colorful artwork hung on all of them.
Hopefully, these walls would give us some cover as we made our way farther into the gallery.
I signaled to Clarke and Burke that I was going to move up to the next wall. I wanted one of them to move to the wall corresponding to the one I was headed for. I wanted whoever stayed behind to cover us.
Both men nodded, so I turned, quickly checked again, and then hurried across the floor to the closest wall of art. I could hear a man talking, but I couldn’t make out his words. Lany, on the other hand, was as clear as day.
Lyn was right. Lany was pissed.
“You’re a fucking moron!”
I winced at his words. He was just going to piss the guy off and—yep!
Someone was going to die.
No one hit Lany.
“Meany!”
I couldn’t laugh, but I wanted to. Only my Lany would call someone a meany.
Moving cautiously again, I moved around the wall and made my way to the next wall. As I pressed against it, I could see Clarke doing the same thing across the way from me. A quick look back showed Burke making his way to the wall I had just left.
I waited until Clarke and Burke were in place and then made my way to the edge of my wall. There was one more wall between me and my goal—Lany.
