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Sarah could tell Pete was going to step over the line again sometime soon, like he’d done before when he’d shot her father, and then Jackman was going to get rid of him.

“Counting this is straightforward, and we’re doing it ourselves,” Jackman said, his gaze flicking to her and Jerry. “You can send your little workers back up to their rooms.”

“Sure, Jackman. Sure.” Robby held out his palm and flicked his fingers up, in a silent order for them to stand, and Sarah got to her feet and turned to help Jerry up.

“I’ll see them up,” Jackman said, stepping close to her when Robby started for the door. “It’ll be good to see your setup.”

“No problem.” Robby stepped back, but Sarah saw the suspicion on his face. She’d already planted the seed that Jackman might be planning on running some of the jobs on her father’s list on his own, or with a different crew, and excluding him and Pete. Robby might just be wondering if Jackman was going to ask her about some of the notes privately.

She let Jerry go first, and started up the stairs ahead of Jackman, not liking how close he was behind her. They reached the top of the narrow, steep staircase, and Jackman glanced into Jerry’s room and the tiny bathroom, and then her room.

“I see they’re putting you up in style,” he said, looking at the mattress on the floor and the lamp without a lampshade.

“What do you want, Jackman?” Sarah asked, not trying to hide her dislike.

“Ooh. Grumpy, are we?”

She stared at him without speaking for so long, he eventually moved a little, suddenly uncomfortable.

He cleared his throat. “What’s the next job on the list?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I haven’t got the list.” She kept her voice bored and dismissive.

“Here.” He pulled it out of his pocket and held it out.

She took it, walking over to her window to find a better light to read. Not that she planned to say a single thing to him about what it actually said. “It’s a manufacturing jeweler job. They bring diamonds in every fortnight, and while the quality and carat size of the diamonds are low, there’s a lot of them, and it’s also easier to sell the smaller diamonds after they cool down a bit. The bigger the diamond, the hotter. There’s a much higher chance someone’s on the lookout for it. The small engagement ring size stuff is much more invisible.”

“Address,” Jackman demanded. “Plan.”

She made up something that she thought her father might possibly say if he’d ever had to stoop so low as to hit diamonds of this quality, and told Jackman where to find the workshop, and he smiled as he took the paper from her.

She felt really bad about sending these clowns to the workshop, but hopefully it would put an end to them, and get her and Jerry free.

“Good girl. You might survive this yet.” He tapped the side of her cheek, and then whistled as he went back down the stairs and closed the door behind him.

She hated the bastard. He was the brains behind the absolute clown show that was Robby and Pete, and he made sure to keep his distance, keep his hands as clean as possible, although she guessed he was the driver when they needed one.

Robby was frightened of him, Pete was too stupid to be frightened, but both of them were also suspicious of him and the possibility that he’d cheat them.

All she had to do was make sure they thought it was way more than just a possibility.

But she had to be careful about it. Robby and Pete were one thing, Jackman was another. He was not someone to cross unless you knew you could get away with it. Because if you didn’t, he would never stop coming for you.

chapter

twenty-four

Gabriella got to the King’s Arms early, because she didn’t want to have to rush, and being in a warm, brightly lit place seemed like a real treat after the flickering light and dripping leak of her tiny bedsit.

The others all arrived together, and Gabriella enjoyed falling into their comfortable habit of teasing each other and hearing stories about their jobs and lives since they last met.

“So Lady Gabs, how goes life as a nob?” Trev asked her with a grin.

“Pater refuses to recognize me as his own, don’t ya know?” Gabriella put on her best posh English accent.

“Really?” Trev lost the cheeky expression. “I’m sorry, Gabby. That’s got to sting.”

“I expected it.” She shrugged. “He’s stalling now, and Ben’s boss says he’s probably running around like a headless chicken wondering how he’s going to get out of this.”