Once the screen glowed to life, Jace patted his backpack for the charger and came up empty. “Did you see what I did with the laptop charger?” he asked as Amy checked the inventory in the stockroom.
“You left it on my new bookshelf.”
“That’s right,” he mumbled. Good thing the battery had enough juice to last an hour or two; it was all he’d need.
“Did you tell Leo how much I love that bookshelf, by the way?” Amy called.
Jace shook his head. He’d taken pity on his poor brother and hefted the dumb thing to Amy’s last week after she said she’d been looking for a bookshelf to go along her dining room wall. Just one look at the thing and Amy was sold.
The trouble was, Jace didn’t want Leo to know he was the one who’d taken it. “I’ll have to mention that,” he said. “He’ll be glad to hear it.” Or he’d be disappointed that the folks in his neighborhood found couch-less cushions and old, battered barbells more appealing than his handcrafted woodwork.
A plug in here, a log-on there, and Jace was donning a headset. In seconds flat, Maddox would be posing as the one and only Albert Volkoff in a first-time phone conversation with Mr. P, where they’d finalize the deal regarding access to Volkoff’s private (as in, illegal) east coast port.
If they could pull this off, Jace and his team would be hosting the sting operation in a matter of days.
Jace felt better than he had in a long time. He was all about the action. And knowing they’d finally be able to make a move had him dreaming of what life might be like when it was all said and done.
Creed had already prayed over the mission in the chat room last night, but Jace decided to utter a silent prayer of his own. That Maddox would fool the ringleader today. That they could arrange a sting op with few surprises, and above all, succeed at taking the ring down without Amy, or any of the men from his team, getting hurt.
One last concern floated to Jace’s mind as he uttered the words. It took him by such surprise, he hesitated to even mentally speak it. Still, Amy would be exposed to the dangerous side of his world, firsthand, and he couldn’t help but worry it might ruin her forever. At last the urge won out, and Jace offered the final request.Please,don’t let this scare Amy away from me.
* * *
Amy leaned on one hip,eyes glued on the display of windshield wipers stored behind the counter. Behind her, within mere inches, Jace listened in on a call that would determine how the sting operation would pan out.
Thanks to the generous speaker on Jace’s headphones, Amy could overhear the conversationifshe stayed in place. A step to either side would put her just out of earshot. So she planted her feet, remained very still so that Jace didn’t detect her, and gulped past the knot of fear rising in her throat.
She’d purposefully missed the first ten minutes of the call as she organized the stockroom a bit. Jace had been convincing while listing all the reasons sheshouldn’tlisten in on the call. But Amy knew herself well enough; there was no way she could resist listening in on at least some of it. Which is why she’d snuck out of the stockroom to see what she could overhear.
Hopefully, no one would attempt to come into the shop early.
The idea caused her to crane her neck far enough to check the time. Fifteen minutes until they opened. If the call went long, Jace might be tempted to pick up his laptop and move into the stockroom.
Amy tuned in to the sound of Maddox’s voice. Easy to distinguish since he was speaking with an accent. He must have done his homework on this Volkoff guy; he was bragging about his travels, prior deals he made, and the private jet he kept at the ready in case of emergency.
Mr. P sounded so… normal, for lack of a better word. To the point that it almost had a familiar ring to it. Of course, she couldn’t place his voice; it was more the ease of conversation she recognized. The way he was boasting of his countless companies across the globe. Places he kept to launder the money he made. As if he wasn’t participating in one of the most heinous crimes known to mankind.
“I’ll let you in on a little secret,” she heard Mr. P say. It was the first indication they were about to get down to business. The statement was static to the hairs on her arms. As much as she wanted to hear what thatsecretwas, Amy feared it too. She braced herself by gripping onto the edge of the shelving unit and closed her eyes.
“There’s a reason thisAverage Amygained such quick popularity on our site. The guy she’s with, Jace Burns, is said to have been involved with a recent takedown of my men. We did our homework, discovered a classmate of his was already on our list, and placed her on the fast track to a bidding war. Talk about hook, line, and sinker.”
A rash of prickly goose bumps rippled over her skin. Amy threw a hand over her mouth as she gasped. She shot a look over her shoulder in time to see Jace glare back at her, every angle of his face tight and angry.
She spared him the apologetic look and leaned closer to hear what Maddox said in return.
“You’re kidding,” he said with a chuckle. “I thought he was the boyfriend.”
“That’s whatshethinks too,” Mr. P said. “But no.”
The statement was like gunfire, triggering every insecurity Amy had about Jace’s feelings for her. She repeated it in her mind without the slightest desire to do so.That’s what she thinks too.
“We’ve tapped the woman’s home,” Mr. P said, “and it doesn’t seem he’s told her about the danger she’s in. I’m sure he has big plans to set up another sting operation, catch a few more of my guys—but he’s got a surprise coming to him.”
What?This was news, all right. They knew about Jace already. Knew he was the one behind the Tammy Brinkman takedown. They’d staged this entire thing just to get to him.
They’re going to kill Jace.It was all she could think. They were after him as much as they were her.Moreso, even.
Jace kept his gaze aimed at the floor, brow tight in concentration as he pressed the headpiece to his ear.
