Taylor’s gaze darted away to the door. “Not quite.”
“Then what?”
“Look, all I have to do is go in, chat up this guy, Dante. He’s the one that collects the cash from the door and he transfers all the bets. And I’m talking thousands of dollars.” Taylor sat down on the couch next to her. “I’ll just lift the cash when he’s not looking, he’ll never know. The way Drew described it, it’s just a pile sitting in a grey bag. Once I get the money, I’ll reach out to Drew’s only contact, show him the money that gets Drew to come out of hiding andvoila, I’ll personally hand him over to Lock-Hart. What do ya think?”
Kenzie’s jaw dropped halfway through this so-called brilliant plan. She stared at Taylor, waiting for her to start laughing because it was a joke. She narrowed her eyes and shifted to the wall then back to Taylor in utter shock. “Oh, my God, you’ve officially lost your mind.”
Taylor flinched. “Wait, what? It’s brilliant.”
“Brilliant? Are you insane?”
Kenzie jumped up from the couch, pacing around the room frantically, jerking back to face her friend who’d obviously lost all common sense. “You wanna steal money from a man who runs an illegal fight club, which by the way, isprobablyfunded by men who areprobablyon the FBI’s ‘Most Wanted’ list. Then you want to lure Drew out of hiding with the promise of cash?” She widened her eyes in disbelief. “Cash that you stole, and somehow get him to just come with you to the bail bondsman. That’s your plan?”
“Okay, I know…”
“It’s crazy! It’s fucking absurd.” She threw her hands above her head. “No, no way am I being part of this.” Kenzie rarely shouted, but this situation called for it. Taylor had absolutely lost her mind.
“Okay, just calm down. I never intended you to be a part of it, Kenzie. This is my shit, and I won’t drag you into it, I promise.”
Kenzie scoffed. “Wake up, Taylor, I am in it. Smacked down right in the middle of it.”
“If I leave now…”
Kenzie snapped. “No. You are not leaving.” She immediately started in on her middle finger, gnawing on the cuticle as she walked to the love seat and sat down. “There’s got to be another way. Stealing and running can’t be the best option.”
Taylor shrugged. “I’m up for suggestions.”
“I’ll loan it to you. I have money.”
“Not eight thousand.” Taylor got up from the couch and seated herself next to Kenzie on the love seat. Their thighs pressed against one another before a soft hand landed on her back.
“Look, I’ll be safe and smart.”
Kenzie snorted, shaking her head. There was nothing safe or smart about this situation or the intended plan.
“I’ll pay the money back. As soon as Drew is in custody, I’ll return the cash. Two days’ tops. In that time, yeah, maybethey’ll figure out who swiped it and come looking for me but I’ll be smart. I won’t get caught.”
This was stupid. Of course, she would get caught.Taylor was impulsive, she had no sense of patience or waiting for the exact time to make her move. That’s where Kenzie came in--she was usually the voice of reason, the one to convince her best friend to let shit play out and wait until the right moment. It was what made them work. Of course, none of their foolish schemes and plots had ever been this dangerous or risky.
“When are we doing this?”
Taylor shook her head and opened her mouth but Kenzie cut her off. “We either do this together or not at all.”
Taylor’s eyes flickered over her face. She was probably evaluating how serious Kenzie was. There was no way she would bail on her best friend. It wasn’t the good times which defined a friendship, it was how the bad were handled.
“Friday night.”
“Okay. But we are giving that money back, Taylor. No shopping sprees. It’s not ours, and we will do the right thing.” She dropped her face into her hands and mumbled, “The right thing. That’s a joke.”
“It may be crazy but it’ll work, and I promise, I will return the money, maybe even before they realize it’s gone. It’s my only option.”
Her elbows rested on her knees, her chin in her palms.Her only option?It couldn’t be, there had to be something else they could do. Unfortunately, Kenzie didn’t know what. She knew that if she didn’t go along with this plan, Taylor would do it alone.
Taylor leaned closer, resting her head next to Kenzie’s. “I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.”
“As long as neither one of us gets killed or jail time, I’m in.”
Taylor burst out laughing. “Famous last words.”
