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“Why not just go out the front?” Be
“Too many photographers out that way now. If anyone notices Laney, we’re in trouble.”
“All of a sudden you don’t want the crowd?”
“I know you don’t have a gun. That was the point.”
Which you think I’ll read as an amateur’s overconfidence, since of course I don’t need a gun to take care of the two of you. So now I’m supposed to feel so pleased about the fact that you’re willing to walk into a deserted alley with me that I never stop to wonder if you have a gun yourself. Kinda slim, brother. You should respect your opponent more. Be
“Die screaming.”
“I guess that covers the formalities. Shall we?”
“I want your word that you’ll leave us alone afterward.”
“I promise.” Be
One of the neat things about people: hold out your hand long enough, the person opposite will take it. Daniel stared at him with disgust. But after a long moment he returned the shake.
The moment their hands touched, Be
“You don’t mind if I hold this, though, do you?”
Daniel’s mouth fell open. The blood rushed from his face.
“There are enough people here that I can shoot you both and walk out while everyone is busy panicking.” He kept his face calm, the mask of ease that hid everything. “But I don’t want to do that. Okay?”
“What.” Daniel coughed. “What do you want?”
“First, I want your beautiful wife to give me my necklace.”
Laney had gone pale. Slow as a reluctant bride, she reached up, unclasped the necklace. Held it out to him. “Here.”
Be
Laney hesitated, then moved up beside him. He felt her hand steal into his pants, felt the sharpness of the stones. Hello, Mexico. With Laney’s hand still in his pocket, Be
Laney started to protest. “But you said—”
“Easy, sister. I’m not going to kill either of you. I only want a few more minutes of your time.”
Daniel said, “Maybe you should just leave.”
“Sorry. I can’t trust you not to run to one of the bouncers. No, the three of us are walking out together. Once we’re outside, we’ll go our separate ways.” He released his grip on Daniel’s hand, stepped back. “It’s almost over. Hold it together for a few more minutes, and then everything will be fine. I promise. Here.” Be
Maybe it was the words. Maybe it was the action. Maybe it was desperate, animal hope. But Daniel and Laney looked at each other, and then Laney picked up her purse. With what must have been a heroic effort, she turned her back on him and started for the alley door. Daniel followed, and Be
Every detail was crisp and sharp. The constellation of freckles spilling up the décolletage of a girl raising a martini glass. Each star in the crystalline heavens above the dance floor. The texture of Hayes’s suit jacket and the safety pins serving as temporary hems on the cuffs of his pants; the tension in Laney’s bare shoulders and the sweat beading her neck. The beat was thoom-thoom-thoom and it was the beat of his heart, the strike of his footsteps. Half a million dollars in his pocket and a gun tucked in his belt and the pure sure rush of victory.
If there was another reason to be alive, he couldn’t think of it.
5
Laney’s heart hammered a hundred beats a second. Her breath came shallow. The dancers seemed warped and slow, their motions twitchy in the flashing light. She could feel the music but couldn’t hear it.
It’s going to work. The plan is going to work.
There had been a moment, at the bar, when she had thought everything was coming apart. Daniel obviously suspected her. Had he remembered what had happened? The truth behind what drove him so close to the edge?
She didn’t know. But he had been fishing for something, and the war inside her had raged fierce and brutal. Half of her had desperately wanted to tell him the truth, no matter what it would do to him. The other half remembered how very close the truth had come to destroying him, and argued that every moment spared that pain was a victory. In the end, it had been a pragmatic decision—she couldn’t risk him coming undone. Not now. They just had to get through.
Laney glanced over her shoulder. From five feet back, Be
She’d been afraid that Be
Daniel walked half a step behind her. Once they’d made it out the door, she would be in a perfect position to reach into the bag, find the snub-nose revolver, and pass it back to Daniel. That was the plan.
Only, she had a modification in mind. It was her mess. She was the one who had brought Be
Somehow, her heart managed to beat even faster.
This is right. Daniel has done enough. It’s time you did your share.
Fast, too fast, they had crossed the crowded floor. The door was painted black and partly hidden by velvet curtains. Laney glanced over her shoulder again. Daniel wouldn’t meet her eye. He knows you lied to him.
It doesn’t matter. In a few seconds, it will all be over. She pushed open the door. Night air poured over her sweating skin. The loading dock was broad and bright, a sodium lamp on the building casting remorseless light down on concrete stained and pitted. Two huge Dumpsters ran along the wall, the metal rusty. The air smelled sour.
Let them both get outside. Then finish it.
She took a few extra steps, ears straining. She could sense them behind her by the way they blocked the sound. Wait until—
The heavy door banged shut, turning the music down.