Page 13 of Entwined With You

I ease back. Just a little. “What do you mean?”

“She had a radio, too. No interference between the van and my position. I could hear her clear. We were on radio silence that day, but we’d run scenarios before the actual operation.”

“And?”

“And she and I had decided that if we had to abort or adjust, we’d go against protocol and use the radio. The odds of someone monitoring the frequency were slim. The odds of someone digging up a text later…well, still slim, but a slightly greater risk.”

“And you’re saying that she texted you anyway.”

“I thought she did. But now I’m certain it wasn’t her. Someone spoofed her number. Someone wanted me on the sidewalk. They wanted me watching.” I hear the break in his voice, but he goes on, the words heavy and shaky. “Someone wanted me to watch the van explode with the love of my life inside it.”

The pain I hear in his voice is almost unbearable, and I have to steel myself against it. Of course, he feels pain. After what he did, the fires of hell are probably already burning his feet.

“You saw her? In the van, I mean. You actually saw her when it—when it happened?”

Slowly, he shakes his head. “The street was slightly angled, so I saw more of the passenger side. Plus, with the way the sun hit the windshield, I couldn’t see inside the van at all.”

Once again, he puts his face in his hands, and I can hear the scratch of beard stubble against his palms as he rubs, as if trying to wash away sin.

“Sometimes, I wish I had seen her in there. Maybe then it would feel real. Maybe then I could move on. But I can’t. It’s been fifteen years, and it feels like yesterday. Her life ended when that van exploded. And even though I’m still here—even though I go to work and have friends and pretend to have a life—the truth is that mine ended, too.”

My heart should break for him. Except it doesn’t. Because I don’t believe him. I know too much about him. About that night. I know now that there was a plan to take out most of the team. That only a few of the players ever intended to walk away with the Sisters. And Brax was one of them.

But now the Sisters are about to be displayed again. And I happen to know there’s going to be another attempt to steal them. Only this time, it will be successful.

I know, because I’m the one arranging it. I’m getting Sabrina’s old team back together again. I’m going to get revenge.

And this man is going to help me.

I tilt my head to the side, biting my lower lip as I study him. “Sabrina died for nothing. The heist was botched. The Sisters never even left the building.”

“You think that matters to me? She’s dead. I don’t give a fuck about the stones.”

“I do.” I scoot closer to him on the sofa. “They’re about to be displayed again. Help me steal them.”

He looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Think about it. Who would know to send you a text about holding off approaching the van? Some random hacker? No way. It was someone on the team. Someone who had a reason for killing her off.”

His eyes narrow. “I thought you believed that I killed her. That I’m bullshitting you about the text.”

I shrug. “I do think that. But I’m willing to be proven wrong. All I want is justice for my sister.”

“And stealing the Sisters will get you that?”

I smile. “If we get the same team together, then yeah. Or it’ll get me closer, anyway. I’ve already reached out to Darrin. Turns out he already had the Sisters on his radar. Great minds, and all that. I have a meeting set.”

“You want to work with him on this new heist in the hopes of figuring out what happened on the first heist. You really think that’s going to help us figure out who Sabrina’s real killer was?”

“I think it’s better than doing nothing. And so do you.”

His brows rise. “Do I?”

“You said us,” I point out. “Help us figure out who her killer was.” I tell myself that was an intentional move on his part, not a check in the He Didn’t Do It column.

“I do want to help you. I’m just not sure that stealing the Sisters is the best way to go.”

“You have a better plan?”