Thom laughed as we walked back into the other room.
As we reached the office, I heard a click. “Fuck yes, baby,” Tim said, his voice sounding thick and heavy. “That’s what daddy likes.”
I quickly went inside. Tim looked up at me and smiled, his mask pulled off. The door of the safe stood open.
“Good job,” I said as I stepped up behind him.
The moment of truth.
If the safe was empty, we were fucked.
I looked inside.
Stacks of cash.
Stacks on stacks of cash.
I laughed. “Jackpot.”
Tim shifted out of the way as I began to load it all into my duffle bag. There had to be thousands of dollars in there, all wrapped up in rolls of hundreds. It was shoved deep into the safe, nearly overflowing out of the front.
“Let’s go,” I said once it was emptied and zipped the bag back up.
I moved out into the main room as Tim shut and locked the safe, moving behind me. All three of us quickly walked across the room, opened the back door, and were out into the night. Thom shut the door behind us.
We took off our masks, the money slung in the bag on my back as we made our way back to the parking lot. Once there, I let myself lean up against my car and take some deep, calming breaths.
My heart felt like it was going to explode.
I had done it. I had just robbed the mob, apparently of a lot of money.
It was going to be more than enough. Way more than enough.
“Now gentlemen, payment time,” Tim said. “Five grand.”
“Five grand?” I glanced at Thom.
“Pay the man,” he said.
I reached into the duffle and counted out some money. I handed it off to Tim and he slipped it into his briefcase.
“Well,” he said, “it’s been fun. Forget you ever met me. Take care, gentlemen.”
And then he was off, striding across the lot and into the night.
“What the fuck?” Thom said.
“Weird dude.”
“I was his ride.”
“Apparently he’s got other plans.”
Thom looked at me and laughed. “Fuck yes, Climber. We did that shit!”
“And your ten grand is in here. Let’s count it all back at your place. You’ll get your cut and we’ll go from there.”
“Sounds like a fucking plan.”
I stood up. “Good job in there.”
“Fuck yeah. You too, man!”
I laughed at the sheer insanity of what we had just done. We climbed back into our cars and headed out, Thom in the lead.
I had just robbed the mob. That thought should have scared me, but instead it only made me feel elated.
My plan was coming together. I was going to fucking do it.
Tonight I’d pay Thom. Tomorrow I’d hike out to Canada and pay them.
Soon I’d be free. Soon Becca and my mom and Jack would be out of danger.
I gripped the steering wheel.
I was almost there.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Rebecca
I was running through the woods. Men were chasing me, or maybe they weren’t men, I couldn’t tell. But I knew they could smell me and could follow me anywhere I went. I breathed in deep, my lungs burning as I jumped over thick roots and fallen trunks.
The woods were dark and there weren’t any stars in the sky. My pulse was hammering. I knew I had stolen something from them and they wanted it back, but I couldn’t remember what I had taken. I was desperate and terrified.
But I knew they’d kill me if they caught me.
Up ahead, I saw Reid’s van. It was like an oasis in the desert. It was safety. I ran as fast as I could, but they were gaining on me.
Fifty feet. Twenty. I could hear their jaws snapping on my heels.
I slammed into the van, trying to rip open the door, but it was stuck. I couldn’t get it open. I couldn’t do it no matter how hard I tried. I banged and screamed but nobody answered, nobody was coming.
I turned around. The men weren’t men. They were more like wolves, but not exactly. Saliva dripped onto the ground. Their eyes were glowing.
I don’t have it,
I said over and over.
They lunged.
I woke up with a start.
I was sweating slightly and it took me a second to realize why I had woken up. My phone was vibrating like crazy on the table.
My clock said it was five in the morning as I grabbed my phone.
“Hello?” I said groggily.
“Hey, it’s me.”
I sat bolt upright. “Reid? Are you okay?”
He laughed. “I’m totally fine. You’d be getting a call from prison if the cops had me. Or no call at all if the mobsters caught me.”
“What happened?”
“I got it.”
“What do you mean?”
He laughed again. “I got it, all of it.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m at the van. Remember how to get there?”