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“Oh sweetie,” I said. “I forgot to mention this earlier, but if anybody sounds like a whiny bitch…it’s you.”
Sixty-One
Maximus
“You get that?”Joyner looked me over.
“Yes.” Flicking a look at Gianni, I tapped the earpiece.
She gave Joyner a confident nod.. A few seconds later, we were alone.
“You’re all set. You can do this,” she said.
“Yeah, fucking right.” I would do anything for Tina’s safety.
“Okay, just make sure to breathe.”
“Shit, Gianni. I can’t stand thinking about Tina and that asshole.”
“Don’t worry,” she said confidently. “This will be over soon. You’ll have cops all around you. Plus me and my team. Now, let’s run through everything one more time.”
“Yeah, okay. We get to the truck stop located at the address they gave me. I wait by the concrete picnic table.” I ran over the plan that had been drilled into my head. “I wait for them to approach. Hold on to the money.”
Blowing out a hard breath, I finished.
“What if they bring Tina?” That was yet another variable outside our control, and my brain threatened to shut down every time I thought of her being hurt.
“We’ve already walked through this, James.”
I shoved a hand through my hair and turned away. “It’s not theplanI’m worried about. It’s my girlfriend.”
“I know.” Eyes solemn, she said, “Trust me, James. Joyner’s a great cop. She’s got good people under her. And I’ll be there.”
* * *
“Jamie, stop looking over here.”
The flat words came through the discreet, cordless earpiece Gianni had pushed on me earlier.
The spot Simone had picked for the drop-off wasn’t off the beaten path, but the truck-stop outside of Houston wasn’t a place where plainclothes cops could easily blend in, either.
I couldn’t remember ever being this scared in my life.
Maybe the day my mother died, but other than that, nothing came close.
“Breathe, Jamie.”
I scowled and rubbed the back of my neck, looking at the ground. “Stop bitching in my ear, Gianni. The chattering isn’t helping.”
“Okay. But stop looking over here.”
Biting back the urge to snarl, I turned away from where Gianni and her team were watching. There were other cops around, but I didn’t know where—maybe the two guys working on their truck’s engine. Or the woman picking up litter and dumping it in the bag she carried.
The skin on the back of my neck prickled, but I didn’t turn and look for Gianni or her team. Moving to the picnic table a foot away, I leaned against it, tracking an old red sedan as it neared the turnoff for the truck stop.
Is that them?
I stayed by the concrete table, curling my free hand around the edge while gripping the briefcase with the other. A turning signal came on. My chest was tight, but I didn’t understand why until Gianni spoke again, her voice soft and steady.