Luciano rolls his eyes. “You’re a child.”
Josey continues to pull weapons out of the bag. Knives, more handguns, even a few smoke bombs.
“There’s plenty more where that came from,” Luciano tells us. “I’m assembling a team to back us, and I’m sure Franklin has already done the same. He’s ruthless, but he’s predictable. That will work to our advantage.”
Claire reaches forward, hovering over the smaller guns and picking one up.
The rest of us stay quiet as she examines it.
She confidently thumbs a button near the trigger, dropping the magazine into her other palm. She grips the slide and pulls it back, eyeing the barrel and then releasing it. Claire shoves the magazine back into the gun and sizes up the weight of it in her hand. She narrows her gaze along the rear sight and then lowers it, finally looking at the rest of us. “I’ll take this one…if that’s okay?”
Luciano chuckles and splays out his hands. “By all means.” He latches onto a smaller, more compact one and extends it to her. “This one will conceal nicely, too.”
Claire takes it from him, repeating the same motions she had done on the other one. “Thanks.”
“You didn’t tell me you were dating a badass.” Josey brings his coffee to his lips, reminding me that I have one of those, too. “Although, I should have known when she slapped the shit out of me.”
I catch Luciano raising an eyebrow out of the corner of my eye.
“Is that so?” Luciano seems intrigued.
Claire shrugs, blowing it off like no big deal. She tucks the bigger of the guns into the back of her waistband. “Don’t expect an apology out of me. You had it coming.”
I can’t help but be proud as hell. Claire is a remarkable individual, continually surprising me with her resiliency and loyalty.
A grin spreads across Josey’s cheeks. “I did, didn’t I?”
“If you need to make any further preparations, now is your time to do so. I’ll be back for you at the top of the hour.” Luciano checks his expensive-looking watch. “You have roughly twenty-two minutes.” He stands and focuses on Josey. “Come on, you buffoon.”
Josey slaps Luciano’s shoulder. “Lucy, you know I’m your favorite nephew.”
Luciano straightens out his shirt. “You’re myonlynephew, Joseph.”
The banter between them is a welcomed distraction from the clock ticking down, a steady reminder that the end is coming. My only hope is that we’re the ones who get to call the shots.
The two of them exit through the front door, leaving me and Claire alone.
“Are you ready for this?” I ask her.
A wildness flickers in her eyes, telling me all I need to know without saying a word.