Chapter 47
Chapter Forty-Seven
FINN
Sol and Zane load the bags of money into Sol’s grandmother’s van. It’s one o’clock in the morning, and everything in the world is extremely still.
Other celebrities live inside the gated community, so there aren’t any close neighbors, but I still look over my shoulder as they fill the car with money bags.
We’ve never had this much liquid cash before.
At least it’s not a body.
Goosebumps roll over my skin, and I inhale shakily. What if I’m making the wrong decision? Should I let Ren and Hayato do what needs to be done? Like Sol said, the blood won’t technically be on my hands. What if…
J’s soft fingers touch mine, and just like that first night we met, it pulls me from the darkness.
“You worried?”
I look away, refusing to admit it out loud when the truth is, I’m more keyed up than the time Sensei had me learning how to fall. I couldn’t get the tuck right and kept running and freezing right before the drop.
Back then, I couldn’t name what I was feeling, but my body was screaming that I shouldn’t attempt anything Sensei was teaching me or I’d break my neck.
“It’s okay to admit that you’re nervous,” J advises. She leans in to whisper, “I won’t tell.”
“Feelings have nothing to do with this. I’m doing what has to be done.”
“Feelings have everything to do with this.” She scrunches her nose. “Being nervous means it matters. Being scared means you’ll be cautious. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Let me guess. Your grandmother taught you that?”
“Gran told me to trust my gut.”
“And what’s your gut telling you?” I look through the window again. Zane and Sol have finished loading the money bags, and Dutch is walking out to meet them.
“My gut is saying… nothing will go wrong.”
I swing back to face her.
J tosses her hair over her shoulder. “Because I’m here.”
I slip my finger over her shoulder and tug at the laptop bag strap. “I didn’t know computers could stop bullets.”
“Maybe not yet, but someday…”
I smile.
Dutch catches sight of us from the driveway and waves both arms.
I stiffen again. “Let’s go.”
J and I meet my brothers at the car.
“Everything’s ready,” Dutch says, giving me a loaded look.
I nod.
On the drive to the warehouse, no one speaks.
Dutch’s eyes are glued to the floor, and Sol keeps flicking his lighter nervously while he drives.
“Can you stop that?” Zane hisses. “What if you drop that thing and this entire car explodes?”
“That’s not how it works,” Sol responds tensely. “It takes a significant fuel-air mixture and a source of ignition in the right place to start a fire.” He flicks the lighter again. “At worst, if I drop this, it would be a small upholstery fire.”
“I don’t want to test that theory, okay? So, cool it,” Zane grumbles.
Sol curses him under his breath, but he tucks the lighter away.
I stare through the window, noting the change of scenery as we leave the city behind and approach the port. The houses get smaller and smaller until they resemble shacks. On the opposite side of the road, dark, inky water spills out, bleeding into a pitch-black night.
Sol parks the car in front of the warehouse.
Ren walks out to meet us.
“Everyone, stay here,” I grunt. “Let me talk to him.”
“Whoa, whoa,” Zane protests.
Dutch unzips his seatbelt and leans forward, his amber eyes glowing in the dark. “I thought we were going together.”
“I’ll assess first.”
“And then what?” Zane asks. “Aren’t we going to offer them money?”
“I don’t need all of you there for that.”
“Says who?” Sol shakes his head.
I frown at their insistence. “What if Ace and his buddies start marking faces?”
“We’re your brothers. They already know our faces,” Zane argues.
“It’s too dangerous.”
Sol stares at me with a frown. “I’m here, Finn. I know what I’m signing up for.”
“No solo acts,” Zane adds.
Dutch speaks firmly, as if the decision is already done. “You can talk to Ace alone if you want, but we’re going to be close enough to storm in if we have to.”
Ren knocks on the glass window at that moment. He hands the phones over. “As you requested.”
I offer them to J in the back seat and give her a stiff nod.
“I’m on it.” She opens her laptop and connects the first phone.
I climb out of the car. The sounds of three other doors opening and slamming shut echo after me. Footsteps smack against mud and loose stones.
Dutch is the first to round the hood of the van. “Why’d you take their phones? I thought you rejected J’s plan?”
“I did.”
He arches a brow.
“She’s working on a contingency.”
Dutch backs off, but his jaw clenches as if he’s holding himself back from arguing.
I walk over to Ren. “Have they said anything?”
The sliver of moonlight fighting to break through the clouds illuminates Ren’s dark eyes and stern expression. “No. We left them food and water as you instructed, but they haven’t eaten.”
“How long have you had them locked up?” Dutch asks me.
I check my watch. “Fourteen hours.”
“Ten more hours and someone could report them missing,” Sol muses.
“They could have already been reported missing,” Dutch says darkly.
Stomach churning, I return to the van and knock on the window close to J.
The van door creaks open, revealing J wearing my hoodie over her hospital gown. It’s long enough to cover her knees.
Even with my mind racing, I give her an appreciative skim. I can’t explain why, but I like seeing her in my clothes.
“Don’t ask,” she says, worrying her bottom lip. “I haven’t found anything yet. It’ll take my algorithm thirty minutes to organize all this data.”
I check my watch. “We don’t have that kind of time. You’ll have to do it manually.”
“Manually?” Her eyebrows climb.
“You have your phone?”
She nods.
“I’m going in. I’ll stall long enough for you to find something I can work with.”
“What exactly am I looking for?” she sputters.
“When you see it, you’ll know.”
“Finn—”
I slam the door shut and speak firmly to her through the window. “No matter what, you do not leave this van. Not for any reason.”
J’s silence is stifling.
“Not for any reason.” I repeat myself in a low, hard voice.
“Okay,” she squeaks. “I get it.”
I stalk back to the group waiting by the shed. Hayato and Ren have joined my brothers, though they aren’t speaking to them.
“You two.” I point to my bodyguards.
Both of them stand at attention.
“Wait out here.”
Ren and Hayato bow.
I stop right next to Ren’s bowed head and dart my eyes to the van.
Ren peeks that way and nods his understanding.
I move forward. “Sol, Dutch, Zane… you’re right outside. Make sure no one comes in. Or out.”
My brothers and Sol flank me on both sides as I approach the door.
“What about J?” Dutch whispers.
“J’s watching the money,” Zane jokes as we near the front door.
Sol eyes me with gleefulness in his expression. “What did you ask her to do? Blow up their phones? Rig up a surveillance camera?”
“She’s doing something only Jinx can,” I answer.
“You want access to their secrets,” Dutch says, understanding my plan immediately.
Zane looks impressed.
Sol’s eyes widen. “Jinx will find everything these guys want to stay buried.”
“Will she be able to do that with their phones alone?” Zane asks, stopping right outside the door.
“Yes.” I have no doubt about that.
“Even if there’s something incriminating on there, there’s no guarantee she’ll find it in time,” Dutch warns.
“Then I’ll give her some time,” I say.
And with a deep breath, I push the door open.