“I keep telling you, dude, I’m not sweet.”
They might call him Cupcake, but he was no less dangerous looking than Kade and Viper. “How’d you get here so fast?”
“Better not to ask that, darlin’,” Viper said. “Deniability and all that.” He winked.
“Bring me up to date,” Kade said.
Parker showed them the money. “We don’t know how much this Grant person expects, but this will get Skylar in the door. She had a great idea to put a dye pack in the briefcase.”
“It would be the perfect diversion when it exploded, but there’s a problem.” She told them how it was triggered by a sensor at the bank’s door. “We were hoping it could be set to go off when the briefcase is opened, but I guess that’s out.”
Kade shook his head. “Not necessarily. Cupcake, you think you can rig something up?”
“Affirmative, but I’ll have to go to the bank and disarm the trigger. Then I can bring the pack back here and rig something up. How much time do we have?”
Skye glanced at the clock on the wall. “I’m going to have to leave in about thirty-five minutes to get there by the deadline.”
“No problem,” Cupcake said.
“The three of us need to beat feet in twenty, so we can get set up before Skylar arrives at the target house.” Kade put his hand on Parker’s shoulder. “Take Cupcake to the bank while Viper and I go over with Skylar how this is going to go down.”
After the two left, Kade said, “Here’s the plan.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
Where were they? Skye resisted searching for Viper, who was supposed to be set up in a tree with his sniper rifle. The small log cabin set back in the trees was cute. She could imagine honeymooners sitting in the swing on the front porch as they enjoyed a glass of wine. Normally, she’d like this kind of isolation if she was on vacation, but not today when knowing who was waiting for her inside. Kade said he’d be somewhere near the front of the house, and Cupcake would be at the back.
She grabbed the briefcase, then exited the car. Fuzz followed her out. Cupcake had attached a thin blade to the bottom of his pink collar, the color intended to catch Tristan’s attention. Kade said the collar would tip off Tristan that he was here because he had once, as a practical joke, painted Tristan’s fingernails and toenails pink while he slept. How Cupcake acquired a pink collar in such a short time was a mystery. The plan for Fuzz was that he would go straight for Tristan as soon as he saw him. Hopefully, Fuzz was onboard with that plan.
In the photo Grant had sent of Tristan, his hands weren’t visible, so they didn’t know if they were free or cuffed. Kade said if Tristan’s hands were bound, he’d be able to free them. She hoped that was true and that he’d manage to find the blade hidden in Fuzz’s collar.
Because they knew her weapons would be taken away as soon as she arrived, she wasn’t carrying her gun or the Taser. She sure missed having them, but along with the knife she’d put in her boot, the boys had given her a clever necklace that had a long turquoise tube. One end of the tube was a nozzle and inside the cylinder was pepper spray. Another Cupcake invention.
She was also wearing comms in her ears and one of her shirt buttons had been replaced with a listening device, both of which she greatly appreciated since they could hear what was happening inside the house and she could hear them if they needed to give her direction. The comms were the smallest she’d ever seen, and she was also wearing her hair down. Hopefully, no one would think to look in her ears.
Parker and two of his EMTs were in an ambulance a half mile away. She hoped they wouldn’t need them, but this could easily go south. She also understood Parker’s need to be close to his brothers should one of them get hurt.
It was showtime.
You got this! She took a deep breath, steeled her nerves as she headed for the door. All she had to do was follow the plan and this would be over in a matter of minutes.
Drake stepped out of the house. “You’re late.”
“Three minutes is barely late. It took time to get the money.”
He eyed the briefcase. “I’ll take that.”
“No, not until I see the police chief with my own eyes.”
“You think I can’t take it away from you?”
“I’m sure you can, but do a girl a favor and let her feel she has some control over this situation.”
He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. The dog stays out here.”
“The dog’s a big baby, and he suffers from separation anxiety. He’ll raise hell trying to get to me. I doubt you want that kind of attention from the neighbors.” Not that there were neighbors close enough to worry about, but it was what they’d decided to say, knowing Fuzz would be objected to. Hopefully, they wouldn’t want to chance getting any attention.
“If he tries anything, I’ll shoot him. Come up here.”