Chapter Twenty-One
Twenty-One
“E veryone buckle up.” Jack’s voice was cool, calm, and authoritative, with none of the lightness I’d come to associate with Jack and all the steel of the man who’d delivered a beating to two bodyguards outside the Sawmill without breaking a sweat.
“Who are you and what have you done with Jack?” With the truck camper in back, I couldn’t see anything in the rearview mirror, but I caught a glimpse of not one but two cars in the sideview.
“I’ve always been here. You just weren’t looking.”
Maybe he was right. I’d spent so much time trying to uncover Jack’s secrets, I hadn’t been looking at what was right in front of me. It was easy to keep lighthearted, easygoing Jack at a distance, but this man, dark and dangerous, confident and commanding, could do some serious damage to my heart.
“Everyone take a gun.” Gage grabbed the bag from the floor as Jack hit the gas.
“Not everyone knows how to use a gun,” I protested. “I’ve never fired a weapon, and Chloe…” I trailed off when I remembered that my bestie did indeed know how to use a gun, thanks to Gage and the lessons he’d given her so she could defend herself from Kyle. “What about you, Emma?”
“I learned to shoot when I was three,” Emma said. “I lived in a rough neighborhood.”
Jack made a sharp turn onto a dirt road that led into the forest. As soon as we were well hidden in the trees, he and Gage jumped out of the truck and ran back toward the highway. A few moments later I heard the sound of cars zooming past, the roar of engines echoing through the air. “I think they passed us.” I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart.
Gage returned to the vehicle, his face grim. “It was the fucking dudes from the mountain,” he said, holstering his weapon. “I don’t know if we saw something we shouldn’t have seen or they’re after the truck, but they’re looking for us. They slowed down up ahead. Pretty sure they’ve figured out we turned off and they’ll be heading back this way.”
“Where’s Jack?” I had a few words for “friendly” and “curious” Jack who had brought the wrath of the mountain men down on our heads.
“He climbed the hill to get a better view of the lay of the land.”
“I’ll get us turned around,” Emma said, opening her door. “If they do come back, we’ll need to move quickly.”
Emma turned the truck around and drove back to the main road, where Jack was waiting. He climbed into the truck beside me and we resumed our journey.
“There’s another turnout in a few miles,” he said. “We can exit if they come back.”
I looked over at him and glared. “I have things to say.”
“I’m sure you do, sweetheart.” His focus stayed on the side mirror.
“Don’t sweetheart me,” I said. “Your curiosity might do more than kill the cat.”
“Damn.” Jack gritted his teeth. “They knew we turned off and they’ve played the same trick. They’re behind us again. Hit the gas.”
“I can’t go any faster without risking a tip over,” Emma said. “There’s too much wind resistance up top. We need to lose the canoe. Someone needs to get up there and cut it loose.”
“This isn’t the movies,” I said. “People don’t climb on moving vehicles in real life.”
“People also don’t get chased by sexy sedan-driving drug dealers in real life,” Emma shot back. “And if we don’t lose the canoe, you won’t have a life to lose.”
Gage pulled a knife from his boot. “I’ll go.”
“No.” Chloe grabbed his arm. “You can’t. It’s too dangerous.”
“Those guys aren’t messing around.”
I heard the swish of a window, the thud of boots on metal. Seconds later, only Jack’s feet were in view.
“Jack. No.” I leaned out the window and looked up. Jack had a knife in his teeth and was clinging to the top edge of the truck camper, legs dangling over the side.
“Emma, slow down,” I shouted. “He’s going to get killed.”
“They’re gaining on us. If I slow down, they’ll catch up.”
“Someone’s going to call the police if they see him,” Chloe said. “Turn onto a back road.”
“Not at this speed and not with Jack hanging from the roof.” Emma shook her head. “He’ll get thrown if I even switch lanes.”
With an incredible show of strength, Jack managed to haul himself onto the roof of the truck camper. “Tell Emma to keep it steady,” he called out. “I’m going to drop the canoe when they get close and slow them down.” I heard the sound of sawing, the squeak of the roof. The truck swayed and something cracked overhead.
“Jack? Everything okay?” I leaned out the window again and heard the scrape of metal.
“Hold on,” Jack yelled. “Here it goes.”
An ear-splitting groan echoed in the cab as the canoe slid off the roof. I heard the screech of tires, the sound of breaking glass, and the unmistakable crunch of metal hitting metal.
Gage leaned out his window and whooped in delight. “We got them both. The canoe hit the front of the sedan and the blue truck hit it from behind. Two for the price of one.”
Chloe grabbed his sleeve. “Was anyone hurt?”
“Doesn’t look like it,” he said. “They both veered onto the shoulder. Four dudes got out. Fender bender for the truck. They might still be mobile.”
“Stop the truck so Jack can get in.”
Emma slowed and pulled over to the side. Jack climbed down the back access ladder and detached the bikes. I jumped out and helped him load them into the truck camper. When we were finally back in the cab and on the road, I threw my arms around him and held on tight. “That was awesome.”
Jack gave a contented growl and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “If I knew I just had to climb on a moving truck camper to get some affection, I would have done it long ago.”
“Don’t do anything like that again,” I warned him. “You scared me to death.”
“Scared means you care.”
“Of course I care. I don’t want you to be dead.” In those terrifying moments, my feelings about Jack had become crystal clear. I couldn’t lose him. I wanted him in my life, even if he couldn’t be there every day.
We finally reached the container terminal around midafternoon. A vast industrial peninsula reaching into the Harbor Estuary with channels on either side, the shipyard seemed to be a world of its own. Huge warehouses surrounded by wire fences flanked mountains of tires, gravel, lumber, and empty shipping containers. Except for the constant stream of semitrailer trucks going back and forth, the area seemed deserted. The sea breeze carried the sound of the waves lapping at the dock, and in the distance, we could hear the crash and bang of the giant cranes as they loaded and unloaded the endless sea of metal containers.
“I counted four truck campers so far,” Emma said as we pulled up beside Clare’s Elantra in a discreet corner of yet another vast concrete parking lot. “We fit right in.”
Anil came to greet us with the bad news that Clare and Milan had gone ahead to scout out the shipyard. “She says security is very tight during the day. We need to wait until after dark.”
“Why didn’t you go with her?” I couldn’t believe he would let Clare go off without someone watching her. “You had one job.”
Anil shrugged. “She said it’s easier to get in with just two people.”
“I’m sure it is. Now they’re free to find the diamond and disappear. We’ll never see her, the diamond, or the necklace ever again.”
“She’ll have Vito take care of us if she does find it,” Gage said, reaching for his weapon. “That’s why she told him to stay with us. She’s probably texting him right now. I say we shoot him before he shoots us.”
“Do you always have to be so negative?” I asked him. “Maybe it really is easier to get in with two people. Maybe she thought Anil was a liability.”
“Maybe Angelini is going to call you up and say it was all a big joke and invite us all to his birthday party, where we’ll be served a cake full of lead,” Gage said. “The world is full of possibilities.”
I decided to be optimistic and operate on the assumption that Clare would come back. Gage, Anil, Emma, and Vito squeezed into the Elantra and went to buy supplies. Chloe stretched out in the back seat of the truck to have a rest. Jack and I decided to stay with her in case Clare showed up with the diamond and tried to steal our vehicle. Trust, once broken, is very difficult to repair.
After everyone had gone, Jack and I inspected the truck for damage and then pulled out the bicycles to check the interior of the camper.
“You’re not an ordinary thief,” I said after the door swung closed behind us. “You’ve got some mad skills.” I wanted to tell him how I felt. I wanted to tell him that I believed him about Clare. I wanted to tell him that I wanted this to work even if we couldn’t always be together. Something had changed inside me when he’d climbed on the roof of the moving truck to keep us safe. My fear of losing him forever had overridden everything else. If he could risk his life, how could I be any less brave? How could I continue to hide behind the wall that I’d built to keep my heart safe?
“What skills?” Jack picked up some fallen dishes and put them back into one of the cabinets.
“Fight skills. Gun skills. Off-roading skills. Take-command-of-a-dangerous-situation skills. Climb-on-top-of-a-moving-truck-camper skills…” I sucked in my lips and leaned against the camper door. “Which one is the real you? The charming rogue slash professional thief or the highly trained secret undercover agent?”
Jack walked over and leaned his forearm against the door above my head, his gaze never leaving mine. “Which one do you want?”
My pulse kicked up a notch and a white-hot heat shot through my veins. “I want the real you.”
Jack cupped my jaw, tilting my face back as his lips came down on mine. “You have the real me.”
I melted against him, drowning in his kiss. I wanted to go back to the time when there was trust between us and life hadn’t gotten in the way.
He lifted my hand and brushed his lips softly over my knuckles. “I never saw a more beautiful sight than you hanging out the window of a speeding truck, screaming my name.”
“You didn’t answer.”
Slowly, carefully, he kissed my hand, claiming every inch of bare skin with a gentleness I didn’t know he possessed. “I had a knife between my teeth.”
“I suppose that’s a good excuse.” I tipped my head back for another kiss. Alone for the first time since the chase, knowing he was safe, I felt overwhelmed with the need to have him close, to feel his body against mine. His smell, his taste, his heat, his desire—I wanted them all.
His lips met mine and I explored the depths of his mouth, tangling my tongue with his as I slid one hand under his shirt to feel his warmth and the firm, steady beat of his heart beneath my palm. When we broke apart to take a breath, I pressed a kiss to his throat, licking the saltiness from his skin.
He backed away, one step, then two, leaving me bereft.
“What’s wrong?”
“Chloe is in the truck.”
“She’s a very heavy sleeper.” I trailed my fingers over every hard ripple of his abdomen, following the soft trail that disappeared beneath his belt. I reached for the buckle, but Jack caught my wrist, holding me still.
“Do you want this?”
“I need this,” I said. “I need you. I thought I’d lost you today.”
He caught me around the waist and lifted me to his hips. With my legs wrapped around him, he walked me to the camper bunk that jutted over the top of the cab.
“Up you go.” He hoisted me onto the bed and then climbed up beside me. The bed was wide but there was no more than three feet between us and the ceiling overhead.
Jack put a finger to my lips. “You’ll have to be very quiet.”
“So will you,” I teased.
With quick, efficient movements, he stripped off my T-shirt and bra, releasing my breasts for the sensual slide of his tongue. Shivers ran down my spine as he sucked my right nipple. I wanted his lips, his hands, his mouth on every part of my body. His gaze never left mine as he took in my responses. When I moaned, he turned his attention to my other breast, and when I closed my eyes, his mouth moved slowly downward, trailing little kisses over my belly.
“Jack…” I urged him lower, my hands reaching to undo my jeans. He stopped me with a gentle touch.
“What do you want? Tell me.”
“I want you,” I said.
He hooked his fingers into my jeans and panties and slid them down over my hips. “How do you want me?”
“Your mouth,” I whispered. “I want your mouth on my clit.”
“I want that, too.” He tossed my clothes aside and settled between my spread legs. “Maybe you should give me more details…” His face was pure innocence when he looked up at me, but his gaze was teasing.
“Jack.” I threaded my hands through his soft hair and pulled him down where I needed him to go.
With a satisfied growl, he sucked my clit into his mouth, swirling his tongue until I was almost boneless with pleasure. My hands dug into his hair, pulling him down for more. Then suddenly he stopped.
“Do you trust me?”
I would have said anything to have his mouth back on me, but I didn’t have to lie. Not after he’d shown me through his actions more than he’d been able to say in words. “Yes, Jack. I trust you.”
His eyes warmed and his mouth returned, along with two fingers that he pumped inside me. My body tightened and trembled, my fingers tugging his hair, my back arching off the bed. It took almost no time to reach the peak, my heels digging into the soft blanket, my skin hot, his name a moan on my lips. Jack held me down with one firm hand and tipped me over the edge with a coordinated thrust of his fingers and a swirl of his tongue.
And then I was falling, soaring, breathless, as I was swept up in a tidal wave of ecstasy. So good. So beautiful. My legs went limp, and I closed my eyes and succumbed to sensation.
I was vaguely aware of the clink of a belt, the rustle of clothing, the crinkle of a condom. I opened my eyes as Jack climbed over me, his body hot and hard and so, so ready. Taking my hands in his, he wove our fingers together and pulled them over my head, pinning them to the bed. Then his mouth found mine, and he kissed me slowly and gently, like he had all the time in the world.
“Look at me,” I whispered. Our gazes met, locked, and then he pushed deep inside me.
“Fuck, you feel so good,” he muttered, and his eyes briefly closed before he began to move in and out, slowly at first, and then faster, harder. Everything faded away except the rasp of our breaths, the heat of our bodies, and the intensity of his gaze.
I climbed quickly, matching his rhythm with my own. His hand tightened around my wrists, and I moaned.
“Simi. Fuck. You’re killing me.” He quickened his pace, and I climaxed with an intensity that grabbed me and pulled me under.
With his eyes still on mine, Jack followed me, burying himself deep as he groaned his release.
Shuddering, he dropped down on top of me, holding his weight on his forearms as he pressed a soft kiss to my forehead.
“What happened to quiet?” He nuzzled my nose with his own.
Languid, I curled my arms around him, pressing his heavy body against my own. “I couldn’t hold back.”
“This is how I want you,” he murmured. “I want all of you. I never want you to feel like you have to hold anything back with me.”
Clare didn’t return until early evening. By then, I’d almost resigned myself to the possibility that she had found the diamond and taken off, leaving us at the mercy of Vito and his supposed mandate to slit our throats.
“You’re pretty visible out here.” Clare walked out of the shadows like the wraith she was. “If you weren’t all so badly dressed and the truck wasn’t so run-down, people might get suspicious.”
“Is that your way of apologizing for disappearing for hours?” My hands found my hips. “You had a phone.”
“Give her a break. She’s doing her best to help,” Anil said, throwing a simpering look at Clare.
Emma and I shared an incredulous glance. “She’s helping herself,” I said. “She’s the one who wants the diamond. She’s the reason we’re standing in a vacant shipyard parking lot at sunset. We were just happy living our lives until she came along.”
“To be fair, you’d all run out of money.” Anil gave an apologetic shrug. “Emma was back to driving for Uber. You were planning funerals. Jack and Gage were heisting. Cristian had spent all his money on unwanted TV pilots, and Chloe unwisely put all her money in a savings account. If you’d all just listened to me about how to invest your money, you’d realize that sometimes you have to make short-term sacrifices for long-term gains.”
“Is there a point to this friend-bashing exercise?” Emma asked. “If you’re trying to tell us you’re switching sides, we got that message long ago.”
“You never take me seriously.” Anil shuffled over to Clare. “You always make fun of me. Clare listens. She thinks I have good ideas. She sees me for who I really am.”
Emma made a show of doubling over and retching. “Here come the chili dogs. I knew I should have stopped at three.”
Clare gave Anil a warm smile before turning back to me. “I stole some gear and went in dressed as a longshoreman. They have an advanced security system with at least a dozen CCTV monitors in the control room, which are watched by two guards. Their foot patrol varies between two and four guards plus two dogs.” She turned to show us a nasty rip on her jeans. “There is no way we can go in until it gets dark, and even then, if Chloe can’t locate the container, we’re going to have a tough job finding it with a manual search. There are hundreds of containers, and we won’t be able to use our flashlights without attracting attention.”
“Do we even know if the container is here?” Gage leaned against the camper, thick arms crossed. “Could be the driver stopped for a break.”
“It’s here.” Chloe looked up from her laptop. “I still have access to the consolidator’s system, and they were notified when the container was delivered to the terminal. You just need to lure the guards away from the control room so I can loop the CCTV cameras and hack the computer.” She shot a look at Clare. “Lure, not kill.”
“I’ve got something that will do the trick.” Vito held up a metal jar. “It’s sexy and spicy with a lot of heat. I call it ‘the Vito.’?”
“Of course you do.” Emma patted his arm. “Every good narcissist needs something named after him.”
When the sun finally set, we made the long trek to the dock, keeping to the shadows of steel warehouses, towering rock piles, and abandoned heavy equipment. Clare had cut a hole through the wire fence in a camera blind spot, and we slipped inside one by one. Vito stayed near the entrance, where he planned to set off a series of small explosions to draw the guards away so we could get into the control room.
“There’s no way…” Emma surveyed the endless rows of shipping containers. Between them, twenty-foot gantry cranes on rubber wheels stood motionless, waiting for daybreak, when they would start lifting the containers onto terminal tractors, which would take them to the massive cranes that would then load them onto the cargo ships berthed at the dock. “If Chloe can’t find a location, we’re screwed.”
“How do we know we’re safe here?” Chloe asked, looking around.
“I went into the control room pretending I was new and had lost my way,” Clare said. “I got a quick picture of the screens and then checked out the cameras until I identified a blind spot.”
“I hope this is a blind spot for the dogs, too.” Anil fiddled with the drone he’d bought during the supply run. He’d been disappointed we’d left his bulk pack of ski masks in the camper, but there had been no takers when he offered them around. “I’ve got to sit still to operate the drone, and dogs don’t like me. I told you once about the bad experience I had as a child.”
“I remember you wet your pants,” Emma said. “Or was that some other childhood trauma?”
“Emma…” I shot her a warning look.
“What?” She shrugged. “Clare needs to know what she’s getting herself into.”
Anil opened his mouth to respond, but his words were cut off by a series of explosions near the front gate. Vito had worked his magic. Moments later the door to the control room opened and two guards ran into the yard. Chloe and I quickly slipped inside, and within minutes she had looped the camera feed so we could move around the shipyard undetected.
“Can you find the container?” I asked after she’d uploaded her hacking software into their system.
Chloe’s fingers flew over her keyboard. “It’s a lot more complicated than I expected. I’ll need more time. I also think you should get people started on a manual search in case I can’t get in.”
I sent a quick message to Vito asking for more explosions and then returned to the group to explain the situation. “We need to split up and start a manual search. You all have the number. The container is twenty feet long, so you can eliminate any forty-foot containers. Jack and I will have the bolt cutters, so when you find it, let me know. Communicate on the server and set your notifications to vibrate. Jack and I will take the northeast quadrant. Emma and Vito, when he’s done, can search the northwest. Clare and Milan, you’ve got the southwest, and Gage and Anil—”
“Not leaving Chloe unprotected,” Gage said. “Someone needs to run interference when the guards come back. If she can’t crack the system by that time, we’ll take the southeast corner.”
“I need to stay here and operate the stealth drone,” Anil said. “I’ll be able to track the security guards and send out warnings if they are in your area. I can also try to search the southeast quadrant by drone until Chloe and Gage are done.”
“We’ve got six hours until daylight,” I said. “On your mark. Get set. Go.”