Chapter Nine
CAM
I told Mars’ boss everything I knew about Josiah, not leaving anything out.
When I finished about ten minutes later, it was almost a relief to have all of it out in the open.
I hadn’t realized until after I’d finished how much guilt I’d been carrying around with being part of his organization.
I’d started out as a cool car thief, a bit of fun, a challenge, and somehow, now, it had become a way of life rather than a choice I made only once in a while.
It actually felt really good to tell someone everything.
“So, Mr. Sterling told you he’d have guys at your place to move you the day after tomorrow in the morning?” Candy asked.
“That’s what he said,” I replied. “But Mars and Mickey got me a room at the Flamingo for tonight.”
Mars leaned toward the phone. “We wanted to talk to ya before deciding to take ‘im back to ‘is place tonight so ‘e can pack. We weren’t sure what ya wanted us to do.”
Several seconds ticked by before Candy said, “Do you have a way to contact Mr. Sterling, Cam?”
“If it’s an emergency,” I replied. “He’s made it very clear that he doesn’t like me calling him.”
“All right. Call him and tell him that your sister called you. She’s flying in tonight and wants to spend the day with your mom tomorrow.
She does this. Just turns up. You can’t stop her.
Sound exasperated and anxious. A little annoyed.
Let him know you can’t pack up your place tonight because you’re not feeling good.
But his guys can come by in the late afternoon the following day, so you have time to pack that morning. ”
I frowned at Mars. “I don’t have a sister, though. And should I just go home tonight then?”
“No, I agree with Mars and Mickey. It’s best you stay at the hotel and go home tomorrow.
The sister sounds plausible. A reason to delay things slightly.
Now that I’ve spoken with you, I’d like a little extra time to put some things in motion, and by pushing your move date back by even a few hours, it’ll give me time to get that done. ”
I looked at Mars who nodded. I sighed. “Okay, I’ll call him, and what do I say about ‘my sister’ if he asks more questions?” This was starting to feel crazy and a mess.
“We’ll be with ‘im when ‘e makes the call, Candy,” Mars said, giving me an encouraging nod. I stared into his kind eyes and realized he possibly wanted to listen to the call, so he could gauge Josiah’s mood. Hopefully, I could make the call sound believable.
“Good,” Candy replied. “Thank you for being so open and honest with me, Mr. Demarco. I look forward to everything going well with your move.”
“What about my mom?”
“I don’t want you to worry about her. I’ll get some agents to watch over her at the care home tonight and the delay you put in place with your phone call will help facilitate her safety.”
Mars smiled at me, and though I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was, his expression made all the difference. Mickey and Mars exchanged a knowing look.
“Thanks, Captain,” I told him. “I really appreciate that. No one means more to me than she does.”
“We’ll take care of her. Don’t worry.”
“Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome. Will you excuse me? I’d like to speak to my agents alone.”
“Sure.” I stood, and so did the others.
Mars reached into his pocket and pulled out a room card, holding it out. “You’re in five-thirteen. When I’ve finished talking to the boss, I’ll come down and ‘ave a chat with ya.”
I took the card and smiled at him. “And you’ll explain why Captain Sorensen wants me to delay Josiah’s guys?”
Mars clapped me on the shoulder. “Course.”
I nodded, offering a smile as relief washed over me.
“Thanks, Mars. That means a lot.” He patted my shoulder again, and I took that moment to move away from him as quickly as possible.
I wasn’t sure what it was about Mars, but every time he’d touched me, I got a tingle of excitement.
I really hoped I wasn’t telegraphing my emotions.
If he knew what even that small physical touch from him was doing to me, it’d be mortifying.
I left and walked down a few doors to my room. It had a large bath/shower combination, and I could do with just washing the day off.
I showered, using the shampoo and bath gel from the bottles attached to the walls.
Once I’d washed thoroughly, I stepped out, already feeling a lot better.
I wrapped a towel around my waist and finger combed my hair in the mirror.
A knock sounded at the door, and I eyed up the clothes on the bed.
I’d sweated through my T-shirt in the heat and another knock made me abandon the idea of climbing back into them.
I opened the door and found Mars leaning against the door jamb with one arm raised.
He looked unbelievably sexy in his loose-fitting jeans, casual Henley, and leather bomber jacket.
In any other place and time, I would’ve welcomed a handsome man into my room while I was wearing only a towel, but right now, the very sight of him made me nervous.
He was so much taller than me that I had to crane my neck to look up.
“Come on in.” I turned and stepped back.
“We ‘ad a conversation with Candy after you left,” he said, dragging his eyes to my face as I shut the door and turned around. With surprise, I realized he’d been checking out my ass, and it sent the smallest thrill through me.
I nodded, crossing my arms over my chest, trying not to notice how he’d been staring at my nipple rings.
He dragged his gaze away from them with what seemed to be great effort and gave me an up and down, slow perusal.
A shiver ran through me at the scrutiny and not for the first time all day, I sensed his interest. He wasn’t the type of guy who usually checked me out in the bars I frequented.
Mars was much better looking and taller than any of the guys who usually hit on me, but definitely the kind of man who got my attention each and every time.
“What’s the plan with my mom?” I asked, desperate to change the direction of my thoughts. After all, her safety should be foremost in my mind. The idea of playing the puppet to Josiah Sterling for the rest of my life was just now sinking in…and pissing me off.
Mars seemed to ponder how to answer my question for a few seconds before his shoulders relaxed.
“Candy will send agents to keep an eye on ‘er care ‘ome tonight and then early tomorrow morning, ‘e’s gonna ‘ave one of our agents pose as ‘er daughter so we can move ‘er before Sterling’s goons show up the day after.”
I frowned. “Won’t the FBI moving her alert Josiah’s guys?”
“’Ow would it?”
My stomach roiled as fear suddenly coursed through me.
I stepped forward. “He’s gonna know the FBI is involved then.
You met Mr. Ranger. He’s a motherfucker who hates me.
He’ll do whatever he can to put me squarely in their crosshairs.
” I began to panic as I thought about the implications of it, balling both hands into fists.
“If that happens, you won’t be able to count on my help with your auto theft operation or whatever you need me for because I’m gonna be dead! ”
He held up both hands, taking a step forward until we were only inches apart and put both hands on my shoulders.
“Don’t worry. Candy ‘as that all worked out. ‘E’ll make sure Ranger won’t say anything about it being the FBI ‘oo took ‘er.
The instructions will be that your sister ‘ad plans to take ‘er on vacation for a couple of weeks.”
“Shit! That won’t work.” I reached up and ran a hand through my hair, gripping it for a second before letting go.
“First of all, I don’t have a sister, remember, and second, Josiah is going to know that whole scenario is a ploy to keep his hands off her!
As if I suddenly remembered, ‘oh yeah, wait, I forgot she’s going on vacation!
’” I shook my head, feeling fear settle in my belly.
“That’s not gonna work, Mars.” I hated the plea I heard in my own voice, and the way it trembled when I said it.
He squeezed my shoulders and I went still, trying to breathe evenly so I wouldn’t have a full-blown anxiety attack.
Something about his calm, confident demeanor was soothing, but the peril Mom was in wasn’t lost on me.
“Listen,” he said quietly. “Try to be calm, Cam. Sterling doesn’t know whether ya ‘ave a sister, right?”
I shook my head. “No. I mean, I never told him anything about me. I never trusted him. I thought I explained that to you guys. The only reason he knows anything about Mom is because I let it slip one time.”
Mars frowned. “’Ow’d that ‘appen?”
I stared at him, remembering the day I’d made such a stupid mistake. “One day two of his guys were going on and on about the women they were dating. One of them mentioned meeting a nurse who works at a facility for someone with memory issues, and I asked which one.”
Mars nodded. “And they wanted to know why ya were asking?”
I nodded. “Yeah. It was so stupid. I just blurted out that my mom lived in a care home for Alzheimer’s patients. I realized almost immediately how badly I’d fucked up.”
He shrugged, finally dropping his hands. “That wasn’t wise, but what’s done is done, Cam. Don’t worry. We’ll ‘andle it.”
I sucked in a big breath, trying my best to calm down as I nodded.
“Ya ‘ave to know we want to protect ‘er as much as you do, Cam.”
The way he said my name made my heart skip a beat.
I could feel it pounding in my chest. All of a sudden, I felt slightly weak in the knees.
I looked up at his face, taking note of the placid expression in his eyes.
“I don’t know. What if he finds out? He’s gonna suspect I asked my sister to take her out of his grasp, if he even believes I have a sister at all.
” My heart was racing. I laid a hand on my chest, trying not to hyperventilate as I took slow, deliberate breaths.