20. Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Time to get into the holiday spirit… Gin, vodka, whiskey.
“You expecting a call?” Theo’s tone was neutral as he and Dante tailed the Santa thief through busy streets.
Dante had glanced at his phone about a hundred times so the question was fair. “Nope.” Lorna had placed a tracker in the decoy purse so it was easy to tail the guy without getting too close. They were trying not to let him get too far away in case he ditched the purse. If he did, they’d still have eyes on him at least.
Theo simply grunted, then Hudson came over the comm line. “I’ll take over at Laguna Street.”
“Copy,” Theo said. “We’ll pick back up in a couple miles.”
When following someone it was always better to have multiple tails so the same vehicle wasn’t doing all the following. Sometimes that was unavoidable, but a lot of their neighborhood had stepped up today to help out. Everyone loved Aileen so of course they had.
Dante refused the urge to glance down at his cell. Barely… okay, lies. He looked again, wondering if maybe he’d forgotten to turn the volume back up.
“She’s not going to call. She’s too stubborn,” Theo said as he took a left, veering away from the direction of the mugger and Hudson.
“She’s not too stubborn. She’s perfect.” And she’d been ignoring him since yesterday morning.
Theo snort-laughed in a similar manner to the way Aileen did and Dante sighed at himself.
“You were also a little heavy-handed,” Theo added.
“Says the man who kidnapped his now-wife because she was in danger.”
“True.” Theo gave a casual shrug. “But Elli’s different. Tougher—physically. My parents, and myself to an extent, have kept Aileen in a bubble for a long time. She needed a bubble, but she’s been bucking up against it and…we need to let her live her life.”
“I don’t want to stop her from doing anything—except running into danger.”
“She wasn’t running into danger though. She wasn’t trying to go off and be a hero all by herself. She had a good plan, one that involved all of us backing her up, and you shot it down before even really thinking about it. Aileen knows her limits and has a good head on her shoulders. You should have respected her idea. And at least listened to it.”
“You’re annoying.”
“I’m right.”
“You’re annoying when you’re right.”
Theo simply grinned. “True enough.”
“You think she’ll forgive me before Christmas?” Which was only a few days away.
“Have you actually apologized?”
Dante paused…then opened his phone up again. He scrolled through his texts, which were just requests for her to call him. In his head he’d apologized, but… “I really am a dumbass.”
Theo snorted again. “I’ll be sure to tell Elli you said that. And no, you’re not, you’re just in love.”
Same difference.
A few moments later, Theo glanced at him as they pulled up to a stoplight. His expression was…difficult to read.
“What?” Dante growled .
But Theo simply shook his head slightly and turned back to look out the windshield.
Dante’s finger hovered over his phone for a long moment as he debated typing out an apology. This was something he needed to do in person though. Not over the phone like some teenager. Still…
“I feel like I should give you some big brother talk about how if you hurt my sister, I’ll throw you into a pit of gators. But I’m glad you guys are finally doing this thing,” Theo said into the quiet. “She’s lucky to have you and I’ll be happy to officially call you my brother.”
Theo’s words made Dante freeze, his thumb over his phone. “Oh… I… We’re…” He cleared his throat. He wanted everything with Aileen. A real future that involved more kids if she wanted them. Things he’d never even dared to dream of. He wanted to be a dad to Nessa, not just her favorite uncle, but the man she called when she needed help. But… “I don’t know where Aileen stands…but thanks.”
Theo had started to respond when Hudson came over the line. “Looks like he’s starting to slow down for a stop. You guys want to take over?”
“Yep,” Theo said without pause. “I see you both on the map. Moving in on Lakeview Drive.”
***
Dante knew that waiting was part of any hitman’s job. Or anyone in any sort of intelligence gathering. But it would never not be boring.
“You’ve gotta get off the phone,” Dante finally growled. Because he was close to tossing Theo’s cell out the window.
His friend looked at him in surprise, then said into the phone, “I’ll call you later, love you.”
Dante could only assume Elli said the words back before Theo hung up.
“What’s up? Did you see something?” Theo followed Dante’s gaze across the street where the man who’d been dressed as Santa, but was now wearing regular street clothes, sat on a bus bench .
The man—who they now knew was Vance Hull thanks to Elli’s hacking skills—had taken them on a merry chase around the city all day. Though Dante didn’t think it was to avoid being followed. Nope, the man had gone grocery shopping, dropped some bags off with an older woman they’d later discovered was his aunt. Then he’d met up with some friends to play pool, had strolled out of the bar and grill definitely buzzed, and proceeded to make a few more stops that all involved alcohol. Finally, he’d parked his vehicle at a shopping center a few blocks away and was now waiting at a bus stop, clearly looking for someone. Or waiting. This guy was just some loser who’d been brought in on suspicion of B&E’s a handful of times. Another throwaway someone had hired.
“No, just got tired of hearing you two have phone sex.”
Theo popped a jelly bean in his mouth and let his head fall back. “That’s not even close to what we were doing.”
“It was headed that way.” He cleared his throat. “So how did you get Elliana to forgive you after kidnapping her?”
“Why? You planning on kidnapping my sister?”
“What? No.” Probably not.
Theo shrugged and ate another disgusting jelly bean. “Sex was involved, which is something I’m sure you don’t want to hear about. So you ready for the big song debut? My mom’s got the karaoke machine ready to go for Christmas Eve.”
“I hate you both,” he muttered, but straightened when an older model blue Cadillac slowed in front of the bus stop.
Dante pulled out his long-range camera, started snapping pictures as Vance stood, glanced around, then reached into his backpack. He pulled out the stolen purse, then leaned down to talk to whoever was in the car. When he stood a few moments later it was sans purse, but he was holding an envelope. He shoved his hands and envelope in his jacket pockets and headed south as the vehicle drove north.
Theo waited a moment and they both watched as the dot headed off in the same direction of the car. As soon as the driver made a right turn, Theo started up and headed out .
“I’m sending the license plate to Elliana,” Dante murmured. They already had the name of the mugger and knew his address. That guy wasn’t going anywhere. He was simply a thief who’d been doing a job. And if Dante had to guess, he was headed to the nearest bar to keep the party going the rest of the night.
This Caddy driver was the one who’d hired him.
They followed the driver until the Cadillac pulled into a Publix parking lot. By the time they caught up, Dante figured the person must be shopping. But… “Do you see the vehicle anywhere?” It was a packed parking lot, but not so big that a giant blue Caddy wouldn’t stick out.
“No.” Theo’s voice was tight as he cruised down another aisle of parked vehicles. “Shit, look.” He chin nodded to one of the built-in garbage receptacles at the end of the aisle.
The purse lay tossed on top, whoever had done it not even bothering to shove it inside fully.
“You see anyone watching?” Dante asked, glancing around.
“No, but just risk it anyway,” Theo murmured as he slowed in front of it.
Dante moved fast, snagging the purse before sliding back into the vehicle in moments. But there was nothing inside. The burner phone they’d used as a decoy was gone and so was the faux wallet.
“Elli’s calling,” Theo said, putting his phone on speaker.
“I found the owner of the car.” Her voice came through the vehicle’s Bluetooth loud and clear. “That rude bitch from the store today, Linda True.”