7. Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Brody slid into the booth across from them, wearing different clothing than Berlin had seen him in before. The entire time she had been watching Chance—and essentially the Uptown Street Kings, Brody and his guys were almost always wearing their biker vests.
But not tonight. Instead, he’d trimmed his beard and had on a casual-looking sweater and jeans. He looked…normal enough. Which was probably the point. He didn’t want to stand out. Though to be fair, in a place like New Orleans the biker vest wouldn’t have made him stand out necessarily. But people might remember it more easily.
“Just you?” Chance asked, glancing around the crowded pub.
All the seats at the bar were filled and most of the booths were packed as well, but Berlin didn’t recognize anyone from his gang. Music blasted from a nearby speaker that was way too loud. But it would certainly help if someone was trying to listen to their conversation—and that was why Chance had picked the booth, she realized.
“Johnny’s waiting around the corner.”
“What’s this about?” Chance asked, slightly raising his voice over the din of laughter, music and even the televisions on the wall.
“After looking at your résumé, so to speak,” he said, looking at Berlin, “we want to work with you, but starting with a tryout first.”
She made a scoffing sound as she leaned back in her seat. “I don’t need to try out for anyone.”
“I’m not saying you do. But if we’re going to trust each other, then we need to know you’ve got the skills you say you do. Supposedly you’re good with security.”
She simply nodded.
“Okay, then. We’ve got an easy place to hit tonight. Owner’s out of town.”
“Where?” she asked.
“No way. Once you agree, we’ll head there, but no details until then. I still don’t know if I trust you. I trust him,” he said, looking at Chance. “But you’re an unknown.”
Berlin looked at Chance, shrugged. “It’s up to you.”
He paused for a very long moment, then looked at Brody. “How much is the take?” he asked.
“Not sure yet, but they’re supposed to have some valuable art and jewelry.”
“And the owners definitely are out of town?” Chance asked.
Brody nodded.
Berlin didn’t like this at all, but she was more annoyed than anything. They needed to set up these guys though. Once they did that, they could use it as leverage to get them to finally talk about Enzo. She already had dirt on Johnny—so much—but he wasn’t the president and didn’t make the big decisions. Maybe she’d go after him later, but only as a last resort. “Okay.”
Brody nodded again, looking pleased. “Let’s go, then.”
“Right now?” Berlin asked, hiding her surprise. Though she shouldn’t be. This asshole wanted to test her so of course he was springing this on them. “I don’t have any of my gear.”
“We’ve got what you’ll need.”
Yeah, she really didn’t like that. “This is bullshit,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t need the work and we’ll find someone else for our job.”
“I’m not trying to screw you over. I know what kind of safe they have and have the tools to open it.” After glancing around, he held out his phone, showed her a picture of the front of a safe, then a set of tools that would do the trick.
She still didn’t like it, but… “Fine, but I’ve got to pee before I leave.”
He held out a hand. “Phone.”
She blinked at him. “What?”
“Give me your cell.”
Rolling her eyes, she pulled out her decoy phone and slapped it in his palm before heading to the bathroom. And this was why she always had a backup.
Once she was in the bathroom, she waited in one of the stalls until the room cleared out. Then she called Detective Camila Flores, who was supposed to be off tonight. But she was the only person close enough to what was going on who might be able to help.
“Hey, hon, what’s going on?”
“Hey,” she whispered. “I’m working a job right now and can’t say much. I just wanted to give you a heads-up that I might be pulled into something with the Uptown Street Kings.”
“No. No, no, no. You’re not doing anything with them, do you understand? They’re currently being watched by the Feds and one of our local task forces for a whole mess of stuff, including murder.”
“Too late. I’m in—”
“Is Adalyn with you?”
“No. Everyone’s out of town on a job.”
Camila cursed. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Berlin quickly relayed what she could, then said, “I’ve gotta go. I’ve been in the bathroom too long. I’m silencing my phone but I’m sending you a way to track me. I’ll ping you if you should send the cavalry in. But don’t do anything too soon.”
“Damn it—”
Berlin hung up, even as she questioned her decision. But no, she had this. And it wasn’t like she was going in alone. She had Chance by her side and the man was as trained as everyone else she worked with.
When she stepped out of the bathroom both Brody and Chance were waiting in the little hallway outside the restrooms.
Chance slid an arm around her, tugging her close. “You good?”
She nodded and she wrapped her arms around his waist as they made their way through the crowd of late-night revelers. A blast of cool air rushed over them as they stepped outside, and to her surprise an SUV was waiting at the curb for them. Johnny was driving and Brody slid into the passenger seat. “I’m gonna need your phone too, Chance,” he said as they strapped in.
Chance handed over his cell as he said, “So it’s just the four of us?”
“Yep, this is a small job.”
“Now can we get some details?” Berlin asked, turning her recorder on. Her phone was tucked into a hidden pocket in her jacket and she’d done this before, was ready for it. If they patted her down, they’d feel it, but they had no reason to at this point.
“Three-story mansion in the Garden District. Owners are almost never home. It’s not their main residence and they’re up north this month. They’ve got a ton of art just waiting to be taken. Wall safe too, not sure what’s in it but I’m guessing jewelry. Maybe cash.”
“How do you know this info is good?” Chance asked.
Johnny snorted. “I’ve been banging one of the cleaning girls—”
“Enough,” Brody snapped.
“How are we splitting this?” Berlin asked, because it was the first question any self-respecting thief would ask. “Because I don’t work for free.”
Johnny started to respond, but Brody held up a hand. “We’ll see what the take is.”
Yeah, that wasn’t an answer, and Berlin had a feeling that these guys were going to screw them over. She squeezed Chance’s leg and he squeezed her back. She hoped that meant he was on the same page.
She wanted to set these guys up, but was worried that maybe she and Chance were being set up instead.