Page 62 of The Boss

“It bears repeating! I’m not hooking up with Vinny. I barely had a chance to check my messages at all before you stormed in here.”

“I’m not sorry.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“Boss,” Not-Mac says.

“Time to go, the cops are coming,” I sing-song.

“Aye,” Quinn stands and offers me his hand up.

I reject his hand and mutter, “Unbelievable.”

I stand and gather my things. I sling the ugly bag over my shoulder and my relief evaporates.

Oh yeah, I’m actually in grave danger right now.

Quinn is clearly monitoring my texts but did he see my phone screen? The notes app? How long will it take them to solve my cipher and see it’s four addresses?

And!

I have to toss the USB transmitter into the trash. It was one of the points Vix made clear. For the same reason she had me stash the thing in my damn crotch.

How am I going to toss it? I have no trash, no napkin, nothing. I should’ve bought a coffee!

Chill, Luna. Focus.

First, phone still in my hand, I power it off. Maybe they haven’t gone through all my activity yet.

Next, I relax my shoulders, trying to seem relatively calm as I follow Quinn’s huge back out of the store, both of his men behind me. I decide to put both hands in my back pockets. It’s not a natural stance for me, I feel awkward and probably look it too, but as we walk quickly to the cars out front, it allows me to pull the little device into my left hand. I move that hand to my hip.

“Had to shoot off a gun? Couldn’t just, you know, talk to me?” I rant, nervous as hell. I hope my acting, playing that I’m annoyed, is convincing enough for the hand-on-hip stance.

Quinn opens the door for me. As I step to climb in, I stomp my feet dramatically and drop the transmitter at the same time, praying like hell that they don’t hear the noise as it lands on the gravel parking lot. At least I hope it lands in the gravel and not in the carpet that lines the SUV floor.

The incoming sirens cover the noise.

I look down. No metal pieces on the carpet.

The device is gone.

I’m in the clear.

At least until someone on his team digs into my notes app. My cipher is a simple letter replacement. It’ll take less than a second for AI to unscramble it.

I’ll have to deal with that when the time comes.

Right now, I need to regroup. Watch. Absorb all I can while we’re in the city.

“I would’ve thought you’d been around gunshots plenty,” Quinn says with a brow raised.

“I have.”

“You’re shaking.”

Shit! I am shaking. Breathe, Luna.

I lean into the irritation angle and sneer, “Well, it’s not normally around a bunch of innocent bystanders. Where to now? Any other cafes you want to shoot up?”