She walked to where five benches formed a circle around a fountain and sat at the one nearest the sunglasses kiosk. Just like she’d told Kevin. Not that he wouldn’t recognize her. She certainly wasn’t in disguise.
Directly across from her she saw a man with gray hair, a ball cap, jeans and a garish button down flowered shirt reading a newspaper. A cup of coffee sat next to him on the bench. Was that Wyatt? She hoped so. Not wanting to stare, she glanced around, not for the rest of the team, but for signs of Kevin.
The minutes seemed to tick by slowly, endlessly, but after she looked at her cell phone she realized only five had passed. Taking a deep breath and steeling herself for this confrontation, she leaned back against the bench and tried to exude the attitude of someone in complete control. Of someone not afraid. Unfortunately, her quaking insides weren’t listening to reason.
* * * * *
Jay didn’t have to glance at his watch again to know that Murrell’s time was almost up. If he didn’t show, they were getting Ellie the hell out of here. He hated this plan even if it made the most sense. He also hated being so far away from her. But Iris and his brother had convinced him being the farthest away was the smartest place for him.
If he was in Wyatt or Vadim’s position, he’d be too close to her and more likely to react if Kevin pulled anything. Which would blow her cover and ruin everything.
Jay had no doubt this asshole would try to see if Ellie had a backup team, if she was setting him up. It would be standard procedure for anyone with half a brain. Even though this guy was scum, he wasn’t stupid. Jay had read up on his file early that morning before Ellie had woken up. The guy had gotten a bachelor’s in engineering while in prison. It was a good degree and his grades had been decent enough. Either way it showed that he hadn’t squandered his time. He’d also gotten out of prison far too early for his sentence. Which told Jay he’d likely snitched on someone higher up the food chain and cut a deal for a reduced sentence. That was just a guess since V hadn’t been able to find out more.
“He’s here,” Iris said over their secure channel.
“Alone?” Jay immediately tensed, but didn’t move from the shadows of his hiding spot. He’d chosen to use one of the four bell towers of the shopping center. Right now the sun was at his back so he’d have no distractions. From his angle he had a perfect visual of Ellie and the two exits. And the other three towers—which were just for show anyway—had been locked down so no one could gain access.
“No, Bejar’s with him. Not sure if they brought more backup yet, but they’re walking through the east side entrance. Doesn’t look like they’re carrying any weapons.”
“I see them.” Jay looked at the two men through binoculars, both casually dressed in jeans and plain, long-sleeved T-shirts. Nothing about them stood out. He couldn’t see the outline of a weapon on either of them. Considering they’d just gotten out of prison, it was unlikely they’d be carrying anything. Too risky.
Without speaking to each other they split up, Bejar heading to one of the juice kiosks. He stood in line while Kevin looped around the entire place, not entering any stores. He just casually scanned people and the surroundings as he strolled. Yeah, he was looking to see if Ellie had backup.
Jay quickly glanced at Ellie. She was stiff against the bench, her gaze on Kevin as he loitered outside a shoe store. So she’d seen him. God, Jay hated that he couldn’t be there with her. Even with just audible support.
“It’s okay, baby,” he murmured even though there was no way in hell she’d be able to hear him. After last night he was a hell of a lot more secure in what they had together. She’d made it clear she wasn’t letting him go. He loved every second of how she’d shown him what he meant to her last night. And he wasn’t letting her go either.
After a full loop of the place, Kevin made his way to the benches and sat two feet from Ellie. Her entire body went even more rigid. Neither of them looked at each other, but Jay could see Kevin saying something.
“I think it’s just Bejar as his backup but can’t be sure,” Iris murmured.
“You guys ready for this?” V asked before anyone could respond. “I wasn’t sure if it would work so didn’t say anything before.”
Jay frowned, not sure what he was referring to when the sound of Ellie’s voice came over the channel. Her words were tinny and distant, as if they were listening to a recording. V must have a recorder under the bench which explained the low quality.
“So you have what I need?” Murrell asked, his voice tight.
“Yes, but I need to know when you’re planning…everything.”
He snorted. “Why, so you can turn me in to the cops?”
“Are you stupid? I need to know so I have enough time to get out of town. Kevin, what you’re planning is stupid. Why don’t you just take your cash and forget t
his whole thing. You don’t need this score. Christiansen will eventually figure out it was me who helped you.” She sounded desperate, just like they’d planned.
Kevin scooted a foot closer, his hand landing on Ellie’s shoulder. Ellie didn’t push him away, but she looked annoyed. “And here I thought you might care about me but you’re just looking out for yourself.”
“I’m looking out for both of us. You don’t know what Christiansen is like. If he discovers you’re involved he’ll come after you hard. And he won’t use the law to do it.” Now she sounded terrified.
“What do you think De Luca will do to me if I back out? I don’t have a choice at this point,” he muttered.
Ellie jerked, her reaction so realistic it made Jay smile. “What the hell? You’re working with De Luca?” she whispered the last part. “Are you insane?” Kevin hadn’t told her about De Luca before so she had to appear truly shocked at this revelation.
Kevin watched her for a long moment before he scrubbed a hand over his face. Shrugging, he looked away from her, glancing around the center. People milled around the kiosks and in and out of the stores. It wasn’t too busy, but steady enough and with enough people for Jay’s team to blend in. When Kevin seemed satisfied he turned back to Ellie. “He doesn’t know anything about before. And I didn’t originally plan to work with him. It just happened that way.”
“How?” Ellie demanded.
“I might have been bragging to someone in his crew about how I knew you and that if I wanted I could get my hands on…the collection. With your help.” His inference to the jewels was understood, but he wasn’t coming out and being specific. It was clear he trusted Ellie enough, obviously because he thought she was alone. And it also stood to reason that he didn’t have backup listening since he’d brought up the subject of De Luca to her.