Chapter 22
Twenty-Two
Grant checked the timer on his phone and smiled at the moment the barn exploded. There was no way Damien Joseph managed to get to Harmony Gibbs and get her out of there before the barn blew up. Which meant they were all dead.
He chuckled softly. It was a good day. Even though his brother almost fucked the whole thing up, Grant managed to salvage the day and was going to have everything he’d ever wished for.
“What are you laughing about?” Kiernan asked.
“Poetic justice.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Nothing. We’re here.” Grant parked on the street, not wanting to end up trapped in a garage after their meeting. If anyone saw the buyer go down, it was possible they’d be noticed. That couldn’t happen.
Kiernan was on the sidewalk when Grant made his way around the SUV.
Ever the dutiful brother. Grant smiled at Kiernan, seeing the little boy he once was.
The boy who curled up next to Grant when things got bad.
The boy who always did what Grant said, no matter what. The boy he would protect forever.
Grant nodded at Kiernan, then turned toward the casino. The buyer wanted to meet on the casino floor, but there were too many cameras for that. They needed privacy. Somewhere that wouldn’t be surrounded by a ton of people who might catch a video or picture of their exchange.
Thankfully, the buyer didn’t balk at that. He didn’t want to be caught either.
Grant saw the man out front, smoking a cigarette near the entrance. When he saw them approaching, he shoved his butt into the disposal container and walked toward them.
“Let’s make this fast,” the man said.
Grant nodded. “Agreed. You have everything?”
“Do you?”
Grant glared at the man. He retrieved his phone and tapped in his passcode, then pulled up the picture he had taken of Harmony Gibbs before they left the barn.
“She’s still alive,” the buyer hissed through clenched teeth.
“When this was taken, technically, yes. I had to give her boyfriend a little hope so he’d take the bait and try to save her.”
“What the fuck does that mean? I told you she would talk. She needed to be dead for me to take this deal.”
Grant sighed heavily. Dealing with people who didn’t have his vision was exhausting. “She’s dead, and so is he.”
“How do you know that?”
Grant pulled up another view, this one of a camera set up in one of the trees not far from the barn. He smiled when he saw the flames had engulfed the entire structure. “This is what it looks like right now.”
The buyer stared at the screen, narrowing his eyes. “And she was in there when it went up?”
Grant nodded and locked his phone, sliding it back into his pocket. “She was. And so was her boyfriend. No one knows anything about us, and we are free to do our business and get out of here.”
The buyer hesitated for a second, then nodded. “Good.”
Grant smiled. “Good.”
The buyer turned and started down the street. He stopped next to an SUV parked a little behind Grant’s and opened the back.
Grant walked up next to him as the buyer reached in for the case with his money.
The buyer opened the case and stepped back so Grant could look through it and make sure all his money was there.
Grant didn’t trust anyone, so he flipped through all the stacks to make sure they were legit bills, then closed the briefcase and snapped the locks shut. “Looks good.”
“I know.”
Grant turned to the buyer, loving that the man was such an idiot. Blind trust that everything was going to be fine. He clearly didn’t have a lot of experience dealing with criminals. Otherwise, the idiot wouldn’t have shown up on his own.
“Where’s the product?”
Grant retrieved a small bag from his pocket and set it in the trunk. He took the briefcase and stepped away.
The buyer moved to examine the diamonds, and Grant handed the briefcase over to his brother.
Grant nodded to Kiernan, trusting Kiernan to keep the money safe while Grant took care of the buyer.
Grant pulled out a gun and fitted the silencer onto the end with a few quick twists of his wrist.
The buyer emptied the small bag of ‘diamonds’ onto the back of the SUV.
He pushed a few of them around, examining the stones that were little more than glass.
The real diamonds were safe in a secret compartment in Grant’s SUV, nowhere near the asshole who didn’t know the difference between real diamonds and fake ones.
Grant pulled the trigger, hitting the man in the center of his back. He fell forward, his top half in the back of the SUV.
“You actually shot him,” Kiernan breathed.
“I told you I was going to.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t think you would.”
“Well, I did. Now help me get him into the SUV.” Grant moved toward the slumped figure, shoving him into the trunk.
He grabbed one leg, and Kiernan grabbed the other.
They shoved until the man rolled into the back of the SUV.
Grant slammed the trunk closed, then picked up the briefcase and turned toward his SUV.
“We’re just going to leave him there?”
Grant turned slowly to face his brother. “Did you really think this was going to be a happy ending for anyone but us? I’m doing this for us, little brother. For you and me. So we never have to worry about anything ever again.”
“Except getting caught.”
“Yeah, well, that’s not going to happen.”
“It’s not? How can you be so sure?”
“Because I’ve been pretending to be Grant Pickens for years. I’m a local hero. People love me. And because they love me, I’ve made a lot of friends. People who are willing to do anything for me. Do you know how little it takes to pay someone off?”
“More than you gave Ms. Gibbs,” Kiernan muttered.
“That bitch was… She’s gone. She doesn’t matter anymore. Other people? They require much less than she did. I have more people in my pocket than you’ve ever met.”
“And you’re walking away from all of that.”
“For you, Kiernan. For us. When we got those diamonds, we knew it was going to come to this. I don’t know what the hell happened to you in the last few months, but we’re in this together. But right now, we need to get the hell out of here.”
Kiernan hesitated for a second, looking down the road as if waiting for someone.
“Who are you looking for?” Grant asked, his spine tingling. “Did you set me up?”
“What? No. Why the hell would I do that? I just feel bad that you shot that guy, and he’s going to die in the back of his SUV. No one will know what happened to him.”
“If you want to stick around and call the cops, go right ahead. I’m sure they’ll want you to tell them all about everything you’ve ever done in your life. About the woman in college who disappeared. Or the single mom who hit the tree. What about the old man who—”
“Okay. I get it. I get it. Let’s go.”
“Good answer, little brother.”
Kiernan looked back at the SUV, but he followed Grant.
Grant retrieved the diamonds and their unused passports and stuffed everything into the briefcase. Their new life was all right there in one place. Ready for them.
He pulled away from the curb and turned toward the Rainbow Bridge. A few more minutes, and they’d be in Canada and free. With the diamonds and the money and the new identifications that would let them escape without anyone knowing who they were. New names, new lives, and no one to stop them.
Grant waited at the stoplight to turn toward the bridge.
A blue sedan pulled up behind him. Grant realized the roads were quiet.
The sidewalks were quiet. It was a sunny May day and had turned into a warm night.
A beautiful night for enjoying the city.
For going to the casino or a bar or out to fucking dinner.
But the city was quiet.
“What the fuck is going on?” Grant wondered aloud.
“What do you mean?” Kiernan asked. Nervous. Anxious. His leg bounced and rocked the entire SUV gently.
“Why is the city so quiet?”
Kiernan shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Really, little brother? You didn’t notice that no one walked by us on the sidewalk when we were talking to the buyer? No one saw us shove him in the back of his SUV? No one is out right now? The city is usually buzzing this time of day. And there’s no one here.”
“Maybe things closed early.”
“Yeah? And why the fuck would they do that?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what the city does.”
Grant looked in his mirror at the car behind them. It was a plain car. Perfect for either a hit or a cop. Whichever it was, he couldn’t stick around and find out.
Grant hit the gas and turned away from the bridge. There was no traffic to worry about, but the car behind them followed him.
“Fuck.”
“What the hell are you doing?” Kiernan asked.
“I don’t know, little brother. What am I doing? Did you set me up?”
“What? Why would you ask me that? Again.”
“Not a fucking answer.” Grant took a turn and lost the sedan, but he knew they wouldn’t be lost for long. He took the next turn and circled back around to the bridge. He hit the gas and sped forward.
“Shit!” Grant shouted as he saw the spikes in the road. He slammed on the brakes, but he was going too fast. The darkness concealed the spikes too long, and he rolled right over them, all four tires going flat in seconds.
“What was that?” Kiernan asked.
“It’s the fucking cops. Let’s go.” Grant grabbed the briefcase and got out of the car, running toward the bridge.
Kiernan was slower than Grant, but he caught up in a minute, then passed Grant. “Stop, Stu.”
Grant froze, looking up at his little brother. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Kiernan pointed a gun at Grant. “This has to end, Stu.”
“You’re working with the fucking cops?”
Tears fell from Kiernan’s eyes. “The CIA found out about the diamonds. They came after me.”
“And you handed me over? We’re blood, Kiernan. Family.”
“That’s why I asked to be the one to get you to stop. They will shoot you, Stu.”
“Don’t fucking call me that,” Grant growled.
“Please put everything down. Turn yourself in.”
“And what? I get a nice cell to live out my days in?”