The need to know what was going on burned through my gut. If Lyn was right and this was a shakedown, the idiots doing this should have tracked down the owner and tried to intimidate him. It didn’t make sense for them to be going after Lany.
But what else could it be?
If this was a robbery, these guys should have been long gone. It felt like more than that, though, and that worried me almost as much as knowing Lany was in the thick of all of this shit.
I glanced over to make sure Clarke could see before signaling that I was going to move up. I wanted him to stay where he was and cover me. Once Clarke nodded, I turned and signaled to Burke to move up to my spot.
I waited until Burke joined me and then slid around the wall. I could almost instantly see what was pissing Lany off. There was broken picture frames and destroyed artwork littering the floor. These guys weren’t just trying to shake someone down, they were destroying the art. I recognized several of them as paintings Eddie had done.
I didn’t know what was going on here, but it wasn’t good.
I stiffened when I heard a crash.
“Stop!” Lany cried out. “Why are you doing this?”
Porca troia!
Chapter Eight
Lany
I was seconds away from stomping my foot. Why did these meatheads insist on destroying the artwork? What did it gain them? Was it so damn important for this madman to be given a tour of the gallery?
“Stop!” I cried out when one of the goons pulled another painting off the wall. “Why are you doing this?”
The head goon chuckled. “Because I can.”
I wanted to hit him.
The guns stopped me.
I could be stubborn, but I wasn’t stupid.
Most of the time.
Some of the time?
Ah hell, I was screwed.
“Just leave.” It was a suggestion and a really strong hope.
“So, the artist.” Ivan stared at one of the paintings not destroyed. “It’s Edward Gambino, isn’t it?”
I stilled. “Who?”
The man turned toward me, giving me a knowing look. “You know who I’m talking about.”
Oh crap.
Why was he after Eddie?
I held up my hands. “Hey, look, I just hang the paintings. I don’t know who paints this shit.”
Man, I wasn’t going to get out of this without getting hit for a second time, shot, or worse. I could see it in the calculating glint in this moron’s eyes.
“Where is he?”
“Who?”
