Punching the jerk in the face had been fun. “He called her a whore.”
Jacqueline’s head lifted. She slowly pulled away from Remy and settled back in her seat. “That’s why you went after him?”
“Sweetness, I had plenty of reasons. That one just pushed me a little too far.” His gaze didn’t leave her. “No one gets to talk to you that way. Pour on the fact that he was the bastard who laid hands on you, and the way I see it, the man deserved one hell of a lot more than I gave him.”Don’t worry. I plan to give Preston exactly what he has coming to him.
Constantine leaned forward and gave orders to the driver. Then he raised the privacy screen. “Well, while you were playing the pissed and protective lover…”
Oh, he hadn’t beenplaying.
“Did you learn anything useful?” Constantine continued as he crossed his arms over his chest and lounged back against the seat.
Lots of useful things. “According to Preston, the safe is in his French Quarter house, on the second floor. It’s hidden behind a bookshelf that actually leads to a hidden room. Very Scooby Doo-like.”
“The safe with twenty million inside it.” Jacqueline’s voice was small. Quiet. “Your CIA friends told you about it? That’s how you knew why he wanted me so badly?”
Constantine stared straight at Remy. Obviously, he was waiting for Remy to lie.
Remy opened his mouth… “No, sweetness. I knew the truth as soon as I learned you were Fabian’s granddaughter.”
Constantine gaped.
Sonofabitch.He’d just done that thing again. That thing where he fully intended to lie and tell Jacqueline some BS, but instead, he’d offered up the truth.
“Oh.” Even softer. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”
He could feel Constantine watching them.
Remy ignored his friend. His hand lifted, and the back of his knuckles skimmed over her silken cheek. “There was a chance I could have been wrong. Most people think the story of the safe is just legend. Hell, I believed that, too, until recently. I needed to get all my facts lined up. I tossed out my suspicion to Preston, and his reaction was the confirmation I needed.” Remy forced himself to stop touching her. “Somehow, Preston recovered the lost safe. He knew it had been Fabian’s, and he foundyouso he could get inside it.”
“Uh, yeah, hate to mention the obvious here,” Constantine interrupted. “But there are tons of ways to open a safe. He doesn’t need her. I mean, seriously, grab a blow torch or a drill and just get to work.”
“Preston does need her, if he’s afraid the safe is booby trapped.” A roll of one shoulder as the limo cut through the city. “That’s the other part of the story, you see.” A part that Constantine clearly hadn’t heard before. “Fabian was reputed to be a suspicious, secretive bast—uh, man. Word was that he’d put a few little tricks in his safe. If someone tried to force it open, the contents were supposed to be destroyed.”
Constantine laughed. “That is clearly bullshit.”
“Maybe. Probably,” Remy allowed. “But Preston believes it to be true. That’s why he wants her. Could be that he’s afraid Fabian rigged the safe with a dye pack.” That was the most likely scenario for Remy. “If someone tries to force the safe open, all that wonderful cash will be stained a bright, bright red. Howis untraceable cash supposed to be any good to Preston if the money is permanently stained? Easy enough to rig a dye pack with a magnetic plate. I’m certain Fabian had the know how to do it. Preston is probably sure of that, too. So he’s not taking chances.” His lips twisted. “With twenty million on the line, I can’t say I blame him.”
“Oh, no.” Quiet. Horrified. From Jacqueline.
Remy narrowed his eyes. “There a problem, sweetness?”
“He showed me how to disarm it,” she whispered in a rush.
“What?” Constantine barked.
“When he was so sick at the end, my grandfather said he had a science experiment for me. Wanted to show me something…something special.” Her hands pressed to the top of her thighs. “There was this red dye that exploded in a small safe he had in his office. It was a glass safe, so I could see straight through it. I could see the dye exploding. And you are right, it was on some kind of metal—magnetic?—plate. After you opened the safe, a transmitter was instantly activated. He told me that he’d made it himself, a little gadget that he was so proud of creating. I would only have five seconds to deactivate the transmitter…”
“Or?” Constantine demanded when she trailed away.
“Or the red dye exploded.” Her hands clenched into fists.
So this part might not be just a legend, either. Remy tucked a lock of hair behind her left ear. “And can you disarm the little transmitter in five seconds?”
A nod. “When we practiced before, I could do it in four.”
Of course, she could.And now I know why Preston will not stop until he has her.One wrong move by some amateur—or even another professional safecracker—and the money would be ruined.
Remy blew out a hard breath. He needed to get into that safe. Get the cash. As long as Preston had the money, he would want Jacqueline.