“Of course. I know you didn’t do this.” He clicks off.
Standing, I take off my suit and pull on a pair of jeans, socks, sneakers, and a lightweight sweater. If I’m going to jail, I’m going to be comfortable. I then dash off a note to my boarders with instructions for the next couple of days, just in case. Finally, I hear a car pull up outside. I open my door and jog down the stairs of my outside entrance while texting Alexei with an update of what’s happening. I know he’s busy, but I’m sure he’ll see the texts when he can.
Cage’s town car waits at my curb. The two men from Alexei’s organization move toward me from the front porch, and I wave a hand. “It’s okay. I have to surrender myself at the police station, and then I’ll be back home.”
The back door of the car opens, and Joseph Cage leans out. “Is everything all right?” He looks at the two guys. They’re both built like trucks and are obviously armed.
“My bodyguards,” I say.
The first one shakes his head. “You’re not supposed to leave.”
He’s a youngish guy named Olaf, and a couple of my boarders have been sneaking him pancakes. His partner is a couple years older and looks like he could punch through a wall with his head.
“I don’t have a choice. Either I go in or the police come and get me,” I say.
They look at each other, obviously not wanting to mess with the police.
Olaf rests his hand on his gun. “Most of our, um, organization is in the middle of a, well, negotiation right now.”
What? I read between the lines. Alexei and his few followers are meeting and hopefully not shooting with the rest of the mob? Great. “I’m going in. I’ll deal with Alexei later.”
“We’ll follow you,” Olaf says.
“Fine by me.” I hurry to the car and slip into the back seat along with Joseph. I shut the door. “I can’t believe I’m being arrested.”
Cage is pale in the dim light of the vehicle. “It’s all right. We’ll use the back door, and hopefully nobody will see you. The firm doesn’t want the news media to pick up on this.”
“I agree,” I say. “I’m really sorry about this.”
He swallows loudly. “It’s not your fault. Jaqueline assigned the case to you. I would’ve passed on the whole thing.”
“You don’t care about redeeming the firm’s reputation?”
Cage looks down at his jeans. “Not even remotely. I did at first, but believe me, this has not been worth it.”
“I know.” I feel like I should apologize again, but really not much of this is my fault. I look through the back window to see the two Russian men following us in a lifted, light-beige truck. The truck’s a surprise. I’m accustomed to these guys all driving around in black town cars. In fact, the truck is a nice change of pace. I always figured when it comes to the mob, they all drive black cars. It’s good that they have some choice in their vehicles. I have no problem focusing my brain on whimsical thoughts or unimportant details while ignoring danger. It makes me feel more in control.
Just as that last thought runs through my mind, a large delivery truck barrels out of an alley behind us and then slams on its brakes.
“Hey,” I say. “Wait a minute. It’s blocking my guys.” I don’t know when they became my guys, but I go with it.
Joseph turns toward me. “I am really sorry about this.”
Dread slides through my veins on the heels of a rush of adrenaline. “Sorry about what?”
The window partition between the front and back seat goes down and a man turns to us with a gun pointed at Cage.
I blink. “What’s going on, Joseph?”
I don’t recognize the man, and the weapon has one of those slider things on it. Wait a minute. It’s a silencer.
Cage shakes his head. “I’m sorry. They didn’t give me a choice.”
“Who didn’t give you a choice?” Alarm clashes through me. I leap toward the door and frantically pull on the handle. Nothing.
“It’s locked,” the guy in the front seat says. I can see the back of the head of a driver who’s another man I don’t recognize.
I gape at my friend. How is this possible?Icalledhimwith the news that I needed to go to the police station. I set this up—not him. “What did you do?”
