Page 9
I was breathing so hard it was the only sound in the van. When I glanced back at the monitor, Tom was nowhere in sight and Margot was ripping open another box with stilted, angry movements.
I grabbed Cade’s wrists. “Two minutes. Just let me go in there for two minutes. That’s all I need.”
He scoffed and shook his head. “Court, do I need to fucking tie you up or something? You’re not going in there right now. Ten more minutes and that’s it. Then you can…do whatever you want, you goddamn psycho. Say hi, get her number. I don’t fucking know.” He leaned closer. “But if you go in there right this second and fuck up everything we’ve been working on, I will fucking break your legs. We have to make sure Tom will be gone for a while.”
I said nothing, knowing he was right.
“Ten minutes, Court. Fucking breathe and wait. She’ll be fine. She’s always fine, she can take care of herself.”
I knew I was acting out of character and on the verge of destroying everything we’d done.
But having to watch that piece of shit touch her made me feel like there were sharp, tiny insects clawing at my insides, pinching at my skin and piercing through my organs.
I wanted to smash Tom’s head into the concrete floor and let those insects feast on what little brains he had.
Cade shook me again. “Tell me you’ll wait.”
I pressed the back of my head into my headrest, flexed my fingers, and expelled a long, deep breath.
“I’ll fucking wait.”
“Good. Ten minutes, Court.”
I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t go crazy in that short amount of time.
FOUR
The back room was two times the size of the front of the store and loaded with boxes and pallets that were part of Thorne’s side business, whatever it was.
I looked over my shoulder to make sure the doors behind me had swung closed and that Jay hadn’t followed me. I waited for a moment, then rounded the corner and headed straight for Mr. Thorne’s office.
Although there were four cameras in the front of the store, there was only one camera back here, and it was angled away from the office, toward all the crap near the loading dock. It was probably drugs or some other illegal shit, and while I could probably steal some of that and make a pretty penny off of it, I didn’t fuck around with drugs.
The bathroom was right past his office, so if he looked at the footage, he’d just see me heading for what he’d probably assume was the bathroom, just like I’d told Jay. Once he figured out his money wasn’t where he’d left it, I’d be long gone and none of this would matter anymore.
The square of glass looking into the office was almost completely dark. There was a faint green glow, and when I cupped my hands around my face and peered in, I could see a screensaver on the computer monitor blinking in the darkness. To the right of it was a dull green light that I knew was the keypad of the safe.
I gave the door a try, not surprised to find it locked. Snatching a pin from my hair, I got to work.
When a loud bang sounded past the double doors leading to the front, I froze, tilting my head to listen. Did a box fall? I could have sworn I heard Jay shout, but when no other noises came, I turned my attention back to the lock. Another twist, a turn, and—
Click.
I slipped into the room and quietly shut the door, locking it behind me, then crouched and crept toward the safe. I licked my lips, staring at the glowing numbers, remembering how Thorne had punched in the code.
I put in the first combination I’d written down when trying to figure out what the last number was.
It beeped and the light blinked red.
Fuck. How many times did I have until it locked me out completely? Would it send some kind of alert to Mr. Thorne? I honestly didn’t know much about safes or things like this, but I really hoped not.
I put in the second number, the beeps uncomfortably loud in the quiet. There was a longer beep as the green light flickered. Something clicked, and then the door popped open.
Holy shit.
“Fuck yes,” I whispered, grinning as I pulled the little door open.
Another loud, muffled bang sounded from somewhere in the store and I stopped smiling.
