“I’ll figure it out when we get there.” Sending Darcy back to that shithole apartment with his strung-out roomies was not happening, but I didn’t have an alternate plan. I would worry about it later.
“What’s going on inside?” Tallus asked. “Can you see?”
I diverted my attention back to the café. Darcy waited at the counter. The barista seemed busy making drinks. I was too far away to log an adequate description of the girl, but she seemed to be about college age, with dark hair and a white top. It might have been part of a uniform, but I couldn’t tell.
Although I had a direct view of the counter, I couldn’t get an accurate read on how many customers were inside. The seating was arranged with too many blind spots. From what I could see, three other people occupied the café. It could have been more. Two sat at a table near the window, a young couple holding hands with their heads close together. The third stood a few feet from Darcy, a scrawny boy of about thirteen or fourteen, sporting a 90s hip hop flare I hadn’t seenin ages. Colorful pants ten sizes too big, a jersey made for a 300-pound linebacker, and a sideways ball cap. He wore enough bling around his neck that it gave him a stooped posture—or maybe he was going for a street-rapper stance. I didn’t fucking know. He looked ridiculous.
And harmless.
I wrote him off and surveyed the parking lot again, looking for new arrivals or anyone who stood out. Everything was calm and ordinary.
The barista returned with a take-out cup and slid it across the counter.
“He’s passing off the envelope now,” I said.
Darcy accepted the cup and pushed the envelope to the girl before turning to the door.
“He’s heading out.”
Darcy had an easy escape to Tallus’s vehicle. No roads to cross. No barriers. In less than a minute, he would be safe inside the Jetta, and we could wait for Luke. I was about to comment on how smoothly it went when movement in the window caught my eye.
A man in a dark coat appeared beside the barista. In one smooth move, he took the envelope from her, tucked it inside his jacket, and rounded the counter, aiming for Darcy.
“Shit.”
“What?” Tallus asked.
Before the kid made it to the door, the man grasped Darcy’s arm and tugged him against his side. I jolted forward, my seat belt locking at the sudden pull as the man spun Darcy around and shoved him toward the back of the café.
Then, I lost sight of them.
It happened in a matter of seconds.
I fumbled with the locking mechanism on my seat belt. “Shit, shit, shit.”
“What’s happening? Where is he?”
“Is there a back door?”
“What? Probably.”
“He’s got him.” I reached for the door handle and was halfway out of the Jeep when I cursed my idiocy.
“Who’s got him?”
“Fucking Luke, or whatever his name is. Grabbed him as he was walking out.”
“Shit. On it.” A door slammed, and I didn’t process the meaning behind Tallus’s words right away since I was dealing with my own stupidity.
I needed to get the fuck across the busy street without getting hit by a car, and I couldn’t chase this guy down on foot if he was heading for a car. I needed to drive.
Revving the engine, I screamed out of the parking space but immediately faced an impossible merge onto Lake Shore Boulevard, traffic streaming in both directions. I punched the steering wheel and cursed, scanning for an opening.
When one appeared, I Hail Maryed it and punched the gas.
“Hold on, girl.” I lay on the horn and shot across four lanes of traffic, weaving toward the side street where Tallus’s Jetta was parked.
Horns blared. Tires squealed as people jammed their brakes to avoid collisions. I held my breath and clenched my teeth as I avoided ramming the bumper of a red minivan by mere inches. Someone shouted, but their voice was muffled by my closed window.
