Will grimaced. “Ouch.” He’d lost track of the woman during their fiery escape, but it wasn’t surprising that she was hurt. Between the collapsing building and all the idiots running around with guns, himself included, it was amazing that no one had been hurt worse than Cole. “She gonna be okay?”
“Desiree thinks so. But Marcus is threatening to burn down the gallery next if Cheyenne doesn’t meet with him in the next twenty-four hours. I’m his first choice for contact, but he can’t get ahold of me. Obviously.”
Damn right.They’d held out against Alders’ surveillance so far. Cole wouldn’t spike that wheel if he could help it. Still, with the gallery at stake… “You better let Lilith know.”
“I tried.” Cole frowned. “She isn’t picking up any of her phones.”
Lilith had to be in her late fifties, early sixties. It was entirely possible that she was just asleep; her days of cutting a swathe through the city’s nightlife scene were well behind her. But… Lilith knew what was going on. She knew what was at stake. And she was comfortable ignoring a call from Cole, one of the few people on the scene she treated as a genuine friend? And Cheyenne, who worked for her and managed the gallery she owned, the one that housed millions of dollars’ worth of contemporary art? Something wasn’t adding up.
“Desiree wants to set up a meeting.”
“And give Cheyenne to Marcus?” That was cold, especially for Desiree.
“More like get Marcus to confess to the fact that he’s in over his head and has no idea where the Puffin is, then give him up to Alders.”
Oh. Huh. Well, that was certainly more along the lines of the poetic justice that the son of a bitch deserved, but… “Sounds complicated.”
Cole nodded. “I agree. I asked her to let me take things in another direction instead.”
“What’s that?”
“Giving Marcus to the cops.”
A reluctant smile crossed Will’s face. “They do have the original footage of the theft.”
“Yes, and coupled with Marcus’s own confession about stealing a replica,” Cole said. “I mean, I know they’re interested. He was bold enough to make sure both the police commissionerandthe chief of police were at the party with the hopes that they’d be arrestingus. That means they’ve got a bone to pick with him for setting them up to fail. If I promise to throw in some evidence linking him to other heists over the past few years, I think they’ll be willing to charge him.”
Will thought about it for a moment. It sounded almost too easy. “How do we keep him from offing Cheyenne?”
“We call the cops and let them take the time to make it into a sting.”
“You think they’ll bother?”
He nodded. “They will once I make it clear that I can help them close a major caseandget Alders off their back.”
“But you can’t promise to get Alders off their back,” Will pointed out. “Because Alders wants the Puffin, and we don’t even know whohasthe original Puffin at this point unless Cheyenne starts talking. She’s the one who made Lilith’s replica, after all.”
Cole’s eyes lost focus. After a moment, he shook his head and exhaled. “I don’t know. I just—I need to talk to Lilith.” He met Will’s gaze. “Youneed to make sure Cheyenne gets to her exhibition studio in time to set Marcus up.”
Oh, hell no. “We’re staying together,” Will insisted.
Cole gestured to his knee. “Desiree and Cheyenne need backup, and I’m not going to be moving at more than a slow walk for a week or two, the way this feels. You’re the only choice.”
Will stared at him for a moment, weighing odds in his head. Cheyenne’s second studio was in downtown Manhattan, full of video cameras that would be observing him constantly. Him, and Desiree, and Cheyenne. Jansen was already in the wind and undoubtedly wanted nothing to do with the rest of them for at least a year, probably more, and Vanessa was too sly to put herself out there if she didn’t have to. There was no way in hell she’d be seen downtown anytime soon.
It was possible that this would end in almost everyone except for Cole being in the line of fire. What a coup—for him to be able to get revenge on Marcus and take out everyone who might be able to threaten him at the same time. Will could implicate Cole all he liked, but the man had the skills to cover his tracks. It would be he said versus he said, and Will knew he’d come out the loser in a battle like that.
Or he could trust Cole.
“You sure you can run Lilith down on her own?” he asked, and Cole nodded. “All right, then.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Damn, I’m gonna need to sleep for a week after this. Give me time to make a pot of coffee, then set me up with Desiree. I’ll be there.”
“And you’ll be careful,” Cole insisted.
“Careful as a cat on ice.”
“I don’t think that’s the best simile, all things considered.”
He smiled. “It’s the best. Nine lives and all, can’t do better than that.” He moved to get to his feet, but Cole caught his hand and pulled him back down.
