Charlie met us at the door. His eyes skated to the neighboring windows and alleyways before he opened it. Kevin growled low in his throat. “Leave the dog outside.”
“Not a chance,” I said firmly. “You know as well as I do, he’ll only start barking, and I don’t think either of us wants that much attention.” I was guessing he and Kevin were already acquainted.
“Fine, but keep him quiet.” Charlie frisked me and Vero for weapons before letting all three of us inside.
I held Kevin to my chest, positioning myself between Charlie and the boys while Vero knelt to check Ricky’s pulse.
“What are you doing, Mrs. D?” Cam asked in a panicky voice.
“Hand it over,” Charlie demanded. He reached for me when I didn’t comply. Kevin Bacon’s lips peeled back with a menacing growl and Charlie changed his mind.
“First, we discuss terms,” I said.
“I’m the one holding the gun.”
“And I have the keys to the car.” I gave him a quick glimpse of the Aston’s key fob before stuffing it back into my right pocket with the dummy drive. “Don’t you want to know where I found it?” This move was a gamble. The Aston had never been important to Charlie. But this whole hunt for the car had been one big game to him, and I had won by finding it first. I was betting on his pride.
Charlie licked the scarred corner of his lip, as if he were fighting the urge to ask. “Where?”
“Exactly where Ricky told you it would be. In Hector’s garage.”
“Bullshit. I went to that garage. There wasn’t anything left of it.”
Vero stood beside me and clasped my right hand, a show of solidarity. “Who do you think burned it down?”
Charlie choked out a surprised laugh. He wagged a finger at us. “I thought I warned you two about setting fires.”
“We confessed our crimes. Now, it’s your turn,” I said. “What happened to Marco and Louis?”
Charlie’s laughter calmed. “That was some mess, huh? Nice of you to save me the trouble of scrubbing the place down. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? You’re in over your head and you want to make a deal? Probably want me to clean it all up for you before Nick finds the bodies?” He took a moment to consider that. “Give me the thumb drive, and I might be willing to work something out.”
“The boys go free first,” I insisted. “And you promise not to harm them.”
Charlie shook his head. “You know I can’t do that. Cam’s got one more job to do for me before I cut him loose.”
“What about Ricky?”
He shrugged. “Like I said, you hand over the drive and let me deal with the mess.”
I didn’t like his implication, that these young men were expendable, something to be swept under the rug. I held my ground, one hand pressed protectively to the right pocket of my hoodie, making sure Charlie noticed. I nodded toward the front window as a black SUV with tinted windows rolled up behind Charlie’s Cadillac.
Feliks Zhirov had finally arrived.
My poker face was flawless when I asked, “Were you expecting company?”
Charlie swore, his voice suddenly urgent. “Put the dog on the floor and your hands in the air. Both of you.” I set Kevin carefully on the peeling linoleum. He scurried to Cam, tail thumping as he crawled into Cam’s lap and licked his wounds.
Vero and I slowly put up our hands. Charlie kept both eyes on the front window as he reached inside my right pocket for the key fob and the thumb drive and stuffed them into his coat. He took a carefully measured step back, giving himself a clean line of sight through the living room to the front door. He stared at it, knuckles white, a sheen of perspiration beginning to glisten on his brow. His jaw tensed as someone knocked.
This was it, the final reveal. I had played the ace up my sleeve, and it was up to Charlie to fold or double down.
Cam pulled his knees in tight, making himself small, curling himself protectively around Kevin Bacon as Feliks knocked again.
“Fuck!” Charlie muttered. He lowered his weapon and went to unlock the front door.
Feliks stepped inside, his commanding presence shifting the balance of power in the house. He straightened his cuffs, his crisply tailored suit cutting a slow, silent path through the living room as he assessed the situation. He strode confidently to the kitchen, his cold, dark eyes making a smooth pass over each of us.
Charlie glanced anxiously at Feliks’s driver, who stood sentry by thedoor. The man was built like a Russian tank, dressed all in black, his pistol openly displayed on his hip and his eyes trained on Charlie.
