We were only a hundred yards down the main road when we saw headlights approach and a blinker indicate someone was planning to turn into Drakes Farm.
“Fucking Christ,” Riggs said on an exhale, sinking down further into the driver’s seat.
“That was close,” Elvo agreed.
“Take us to Champion Security,” I said. “We need to figure out how to get into that safe.”
Hux popped his head up from the back seat. “Who spends a hundred grand on a motorcycle?” he asked nobody in particular. “Does he have a death wish? That bike… that’s the one everyone tries to get closer to get a picture of. People with that bike sell it because they fear for their fucking lives. He’s asking to be hit by a damned car.” He drew in a deep breath before muttering, “Fucking idiot.”
“Dude,” Elvo said, craning his neck to get a look even though it was too dark to see the motorcycle. “That shit is sex on wheels. Admit it.”
“Mpfh,” Hux grunted.
Elvo sucked his front tooth. “Whatever. I’d let him take me for a ride, just sayin’.” I could practically hear his eyebrows waggle.
“Hey.” Hux shoved his shoulder. “No. Just… no. We don’t do sexy-talk about Kev the Civilian, understand. He’s practically Riggs’s little brother.”
Riggs shrugged, completely unconcerned. “I’m going to see if Kev’ll let me take it out. I knew he had something in his second garage bay, but it’s separate from mine.”
Elvo thumped Riggs in the shoulder. “Are you even listening to yourself? You’re talking about your new Richie Rich life now like it’s no big deal that you each have multiple separate garages at your estate.”
“It’s not my estate. It’s Carter’s. And his grandfather purchased it for him as a gift.”
Elvo cackled. Riggs defending the mansion he lived in always cracked Elvo up. “Poor baby. And you’re forced to live there.”
“We do share it with others,” Riggs reminded him. “It’s not just the two of us.”
Elvo laughed even louder. “Kev lives in the basement, and the servants live in the guest house. Jesus, Riggsy. Listen to yourself.”
Riggs turned to me, and I knew before he even said it what was going to come out of his mouth. I shot him a look, but he mouthed off anyway.
“Why don’t you give Champ a hard time if you’re going to piss on rich people? He’s from obscene money.”
Before I could remind him that I’d sunk most of my money into our business and my money pit of a house, Hux interrupted. “Wait, so you’re saying Kev’s grandfather bought him the bike?” He laughed scornfully. “Fucking figures. I need me a rich granddaddy.”
Riggs laughed. “Uh, no. Their grandfather’s old money. He invests in houses, not motorcycles. Not to mention, he’d probably have a heart attack if he saw that bike. He’s the protective sort, you know? Especially about Kev.”
Hux scowled. “So you’re saying he bought it himself? How?”
“Kev made his own money from selling some kind of patents or something.” Riggs shrugged. “I’m not really sure. He keeps that shit close to the vest.”
Somehow, this seemed to make Hux even more pissed off.
I tried ignoring them so I could focus on the work we still needed to do tonight. Finding the vault was a huge step in the right direction, but that was half the battle. Now we needed to figure out a way to get inside it without alerting Tommy so that Quinn wouldn’t fall under any suspicion.
As if I’d summoned him, my phone vibrated with a text, and I pulled it out to see Quinn’s name on the screen.
My attention scattered again when I read the message.
Quinn (Gorgeous, blue eyes, drinks Howling Turtles): FYI, you’re an asshole.
I ground my back teeth together to keep from biting out a curse.
Me: I’m sorry I had to leave. We had to take advantage of an opportunity. I knew you’d understand.
He knew how important my work was. How important Champion Security was. How important keeping the business afloat so I could take care of my team was.
Quinn (Gorgeous, blue eyes, drinks Howling Turtles): Oh, I understand the mission comes first. Hopefully it’ll keep you warm in bed tonight because I sure as fuck won’t.
My stomach pitched. Quinn was obviously pissed, but was it annoyance that I’d left early, or had I really hurt him?
I felt out of my depth, and I hated that.
Riggs yanked open the van door. “Alright, people. The faster we get this done, the faster we can get back to our lives.”
I clenched my phone tighter.
I wasn’t sure whether I had anything to get back to after I was done tonight. And for the first time in a while, I felt a tiny kernel of doubt, like I’d made the wrong call somewhere along the line.
“Champ?” Hux stuck his head back into the van. “You coming, or what?”