Chapter 31
“This is actually a really solid plan,” Cormac said as Apollo pulled up to the closed gates. On top of either brick column were creepy-looking lions. “Can’t believe we’ve never used anything like this before. So simple.”
“Of course it’s solid,” Micah called out. “I came up with it.”
“Pipe down, we’re here.”
Apollo rolled down the driver’s side window and pressed the gate’s buzzer.
“Can we help you?” a curt female voice came over the comm line. There was a camera so whoever was talking could also see them.
“Delivery from Thistle Do Nicely for Eric Morrow and family.” Apollo managed to sound properly bored as he spoke.
“Just leave it at the gate.”
“Ah, you sure? It’s a lot of arrangements.”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I’ll need someone to come down here and sign, but no problem.” Without waiting for a response, he and Cormac got out.
Cormac smothered a grin as he started hauling out the different arrangements.
If this didn’t work, they had another, messier way to get in.
But as he set the eighth arrangement against the gate, a blonde woman in a golf cart pulled to a stop in front of the other side of the gate.
A man wearing a pastel blue polo, who was absolutely carrying a hidden weapon, was in the passenger seat.
Blondie got out, her energy a little manic. “Wait, wait, wait. What is all this?”
Cormac didn’t stop pulling out the bright arrangements as Apollo strode to the gate.
“Delivery from a Bunny Ferguson,” Apollo said as he read the fake order on his tablet. Then he held it out for the blonde to look at.
According to Maeve the Fergusons were family friends who had sent close to a hundred arrangements over the years. With Maeve being kidnapped, she’d told them it was a safe bet Bunny would send something.
The blonde looked at the order, then looked at the growing number of flowers with a frustrated sigh. “Would you hold on please?”
“Come on, lady, I’ve got a schedule to keep.” Apollo held his hand out to take the tablet back. “You said to drop these off. We’re doing it.”
“She asked you to hold on.” The security guy finally slid out of his seat and stalked toward them. “Five to ten minutes won’t kill you.” His expression said he might though.
Or more likely, he was just a wannabe tough guy given the files Micah had dug up on the security team. They’d gotten their asses handed to them when Maeve had been kidnapped so Cormac wasn’t impressed by their skills.
“What are we doing, boss?” Cormac set another arrangement down, this one a cluster of bright tulips.
“Hold tight.” Apollo’s tone was absolutely beleaguered. He really did that well.
They waited as the blonde called the official number of Thistle Do Nicely—a fake florist company that Micah had set up online.
The phone number went directly to one of Micah’s burners.
Taryn would answer and give them all the information they requested on who’d sent the flowers and basically confirm that yes, these guys really were here for a delivery.
Exactly four minutes later, Blondie slipped her phone into her jacket pocket.
“Sorry about the confusion. We didn’t realize how many flowers you had.
I’ll need you to reload these into the van, then follow me to the back of the house.
But first…” She motioned to the security guy, who was already opening the gate with a small clicker.
“I’m checking the van.” And he wasn’t asking.
They both hung back as Mr. Tough Guy visually scanned the van—by this point it was mostly empty save for a few potted plants and flowers. Then he crouched down and visually inspected underneath the van. Once he was satisfied, he stood and nodded. “Load everything up.”
Cormac bristled at the guy’s tone, but reminded himself that this was just a job. And if they did things right, a woman was going to be free of her abusive family and the world would be a slightly better place for it.
After reloading everything, they slid into the van and followed after the golf cart down a winding driveway.
“Might be tougher to pull this off than we expected,” Apollo murmured even though the others couldn’t hear them.
“If it is, we go to plan B. Or C.” He really hoped they didn’t have to enact plan C, which would involve restraining the security guys and any others who worked at the estate.
Too much room for error. And it would give them away.
Maybe not exactly what they were doing, but it would alert the parents that something was off.
Right now part of the plan hinged on them being blindsided by Maeve’s recordings.
They deserved that and more. Cormac still couldn’t wrap his head around what her parents were doing.
He’d seen a lot of shitty things in his life.
Some seared into his brain no matter how much he wished he could forget.
This was a different kind of evil. Quiet, but no less horrifying.
“Right through here,” Blondie ordered once they’d parked and popped open the back doors. “Let me show you before you start lugging everything in.” She walked them through a pristine, huge kitchen that smelled faintly of lemon to a decent-sized solarium.
The glass-enclosed space was warmer than the kitchen and there were various herbs, potted lemon trees, and a bunch of other vegetables in various states of growth.
“See this wall here?” The woman pointed to a row of empty racks. “Please place the flowers there and the potted plants in front of them. I’ll deal with this later,” she muttered to herself as her phone rang. She answered without another word to them and hurried from the room.
As they stepped back into the kitchen, the security guy was there, leaning against the countertop as he watched them closely.
Cormac ignored him, figuring they were going to have to go to the next plan. Which didn’t sound so bad because then he’d get to wipe the smirk off the security guy’s face. Not too bad at all.
As they started hauling in the plants and flowers—one by one to go as slow as possible, thank you very much—an older woman with salt-and-pepper hair stepped into the kitchen carrying a big brown bag.
“What are you doing just standing there?” She glared at the security guy and literally shooed him away from where he was holding up the countertop. “I’ve got six more bags. Go make yourself useful.”
Cormac smothered a grin, then froze when the woman looked directly at him.
She shook a finger at him. “You better not be messing with my herbs.”
“No, ma’am,” he murmured as Apollo stepped by them, head angled down. “We’re putting them right where the blonde woman ordered us to. I never caught her name.”
The woman whose name he knew was Eunice, thanks to Maeve’s intel, shook her head and headed for the solarium as she muttered to herself about no one having any sense. As she did, Apollo stepped back into the kitchen carrying another arrangement.
“Go, now,” Cormac ordered, taking the flowers from him before hurrying back to the van. They still might get caught, but this was the opening they’d been waiting for and they couldn’t waste it.
He ducked into the back of the van, popped open the panel. “We’ve got a small window,” he whispered.
Micah groaned slightly as he crawled out of the space. “Security videos are on a loop. If someone realizes that, we’re going to have to improvise.”
“How much time do we have?”
“Twenty minutes max.” Micah slid on the same blue and white ball cap Apollo and Cormac were wearing with the faux logo on the top.
Cormac was impressed with how much his brother had already had ready to go for this. He thought he’d understood what Micah did but his brother surprised and impressed him.
Exactly eight minutes later they’d dropped off the rest of the flowers and were heading back through the kitchen when Eunice stopped them.
His heart rate kicked up a fraction. Had she realized that Apollo and Micah had switched places? People usually ignored staff or hired help and Eunice hadn’t gotten a good look at Apollo.
“Would either of you like a snack for the road?” She looked over her shoulder, then lowered her voice. “I know how Veronica can be, so consider it a peace offering,” she said conspiratorially. She held out a tray of some kind of lemon bars. “They’re called lemon bliss. Do you have any allergies?”
Cormac could tell that Micah wanted to say no but he grinned and nodded. He wasn’t going to turn down free food. “No, ma’am. And I would love one.”
Micah just sighed and headed for the van.
Cormac took the napkin stacked with lemon bars but stilled at a man’s voice.
“Hey.”
He turned around to see the same security guy from before. “Is for horses.”
The man frowned. “What?”
“Hey is for horses.” Something Micah used to say to him when they were kids to make him crazy. Apparently it worked on grown men with no manners.
The guy frowned. “What?” He still looked confused, but angrier now. Clearly the kind of guy who should be on a security team. As Micah would say, what a tool.
The guy’s response made Cormac grin. Probably not the best response because the guy’s face flushed even more red.
“Where’s your friend?” the guy snapped.
“You’re being rude,” Eunice snapped.
Cormac smiled at her. “Thank you again for the treats. And my coworker is in the van.” He looked at the man as if he was stupid.
Which yeah, got him more red in the face. Guy really needed to learn to regulate his emotions.
The man stalked after him, obviously trying to intimidate him.
Unfortunately for him, he’d grown up with four siblings who knew the value of revenge.
Not to mention all the time he’d spent undercover and in triple canopy jungles trying to stay alive when humans and the elements were trying to kill him in equal measure. So there was that.
“Wait,” the guy muttered more to himself as they stepped into the sunlight and spotted Micah behind the wheel.
Still wearing his ball cap, his brother motioned impatiently to get a move on.
Cormac didn’t say anything to the man, just let him stew in his confusion as he jumped in the passenger seat. “Get out of here now,” he murmured.
“He suspect anything?” Micah asked as he kicked the van into reverse.
“Nah, he just didn’t see you leave the kitchen and his tiny brain is going into overdrive.”
“Hold on…” Micah slowed and reached out and tapped something on his laptop. “Cameras outside are live now so anyone watching will see us leaving.”
Apollo would get out even with the cameras. Or that was the plan.
Cormac opened Micah’s burner when it buzzed. “You’ve got a message from Clover,” he said as his brother pulled through the slowly opening gates. “She says the parents are getting antsy per Sinead.”
“Tell her to go inside the station. At this point, either Apollo gets the recordings or he doesn’t. I think Maeve has enough to get her freedom without them.”
“Maybe,” Cormac muttered, but sent off the text anyway.
He’d seen the legal system fail more than one person and had no faith in it anymore.
Or very little faith. He knew that people still cared, but far too many people slipped through the cracks because of bullshit and technicalities.
It was part of the reason he’d left the DEA.
That and Daniela. Someone he didn’t want to think about at the moment. “Clover gave a thumbs-up.”
Micah simply nodded, but Cormac could see the hint of worry in his tight expression. They’d done their part. Now it was up to Clover to work the Feds in their favor.
And hope Apollo didn’t get caught and blow their cover.