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Loretta couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so low. But she knew what to do about it. She went out to the garage and set to work tinkering with Edna. Keeping busy was the best way to handle things for the time being. She just wasn’t up to thinking about Jordan and the bank and men who wouldn’t take no for an answer.
She got the new fuel gauge out and wiped everything down ready to fix it in place. Then more thoughts of Jordan jumped into her head and she nearly dropped it. “Bloody idiot!” she shouted at herself. She put the gauge down before she did some real damage. It would take weeks to get hold of another one of those.
She was on edge again and she didn’t trust herself to do much more than tidy up and cover Edna over with the tarpaulin. Now what?
She wasn’t hungry, but she had to eat something. Shower first.
As she got undressed, she could smell Jordan on her skin. Memories of his body, his touch, his lips all came flooding back and kindled heat between her legs. In spite of everything, she still wanted him.
But that was her hormones talking. She had to stay in control and do what was right. Jordan was a criminal. He’d told her as much himself.
What chance had he stood though? Anybody could have ended up in that situation. Drawn into the wrong crowd and in too deep to walk away.
She just hoped that wasn’t what was happening to her now.
After her shower, she heated a bowl of soup in the microwave and sat at the kitchen table with it. But she kept thinking of Jordan sitting across from her and pouring his heart out. In the end, she had to go and sit in the living room.
She switched the television on, but she couldn’t concentrate on any of the programmes she turned to. Her mind kept wandering back to Gina. She was so different to her – it was bizarre to think Jordan could be interested in both of them.
Perhaps he wasn’t. Perhaps he was still lying through his teeth and he had no interest in her beyond her connections at the bank.
She remembered the way he’d kissed her. Even that first time in the safety deposit room had carried some meaning. It simply didn’t fit with a scenario where he was playing her.
Dating the boss’s daughter. That was never a good idea. But it didn’t sound like it had been Jordan’s brain doing the thinking. Her mind just wouldn’t leave Gina alone, no matter how much she tried not to think about her.
When she’d finished her soup, she stopped for a moment and followed the direction her brain wanted to go in. Couldn’t Gina talk to her father about the situation? No. She’d hardly want to plead Jordan’s case when he’d left her for another woman.
But if she really cared about him... Would she be happy to see him dead because he didn’t want her any more? It had to be worth talking to her at least.
She pictured the scene in her head. She went over it several different ways, but she couldn’t imagine an outcome that didn’t involve Gina kneeing him in the crotch. Everything she’d read about the woman online after Jordan left confirmed her first impression – volatile, crazy bitch. Not surprising coming from that family.
But she didn’t know Gina. Maybe she was projecting her own feelings onto her. There was no way to guess what she’d do without actually talking to her.
She pulled out her phone, glad she’d made Jordan give her his number. He answered on the third ring.
“Loretta, I’m on my way over.” He slowed down and checked the road for cops. It would be just his luck to get pulled over for using his phone while he was driving.
“I’ve had an idea.”
“Me too. We’ll talk when I get there.”
It only took another ten minutes to get to her door. He pulled onto her drive and strode up to the front door. She must have heard him arrive because she opened the door almost instantly.
“You need to talk to Gina. She might get her Dad to back off.”
“That’s not going to happen.” He followed her through to the sitting room and flopped down on the sofa. “She’s sleeping with one of the other guys in the crew.”
“Oh.” She took a seat in an armchair.
“But I’ve already spoken to Ursino.”
She worried at her bottom lip with her teeth, looking at him with wide eyes. “What did he say?”
“That he wants his money. How I get it doesn’t particularly bother him.”
“So it doesn’t have to be the bank?”
He sat forward, feeling like shit. “I don’t have another way to get hold of that sort of cash. If you don’t help me, I’ll have to try it without you.” With all the surprises she kept throwing his way, he didn’t know how to play her any more. But he had to get Ursino his money.
“Then rob another bank. It doesn’t have to be mine.”
If only it were that simple. “Bill’s in charge of this one. He’s not going to agree to another target.” If he as much as hinted that he wanted to change things, Bill would just dig his heels in. “I’m so sorry about all of this, Loretta. It’s going to happen. Be glad everything’s insured.” But he knew that wouldn’t give her any comfort. She’d already explained how she felt.
“You could run.” She looked him in the eye, her expression serious.
He shook his head. “He’d find me. And then it would be ten times worse.” Ursino had been known to get his hands dirty when it came to traitors. The last guy he’d gone after personally had been found diced up small enough to go into a cooking pot. Rumour had it that he’d still been alive when Ursino had started chopping. As deterrents went, it would be hard to come up with a more effective one.
She sat silently for a long time, looking at the floor.
Snatches of memory from their encounter in the barn interrupted his train of thought. It had been happening all day. He wanted to talk to her about it. But this wasn’t the time. “Say something.”
“What do you want me to say? I shouldn’t give a damn, but I don’t want you to get hurt.”
He gave her room to get her words straight.
“I don’t know what to do, Jordan.” She shook her head.
He hadn’t known her very long, but he could see how torn she was. Watching her triggered his guilt again, churning his guts like he’d eaten three day old takeaway. He tried to beat the nausea down with anger – if it came down to a choice between his life and the belongings of a few rich people, shouldn’t she choose him? “We’re going to hit the bank whether you help or not. I don’t have a choice.”
“But I do?”
“Yes.”
She gave him that look he’d come to dread. It said she was keeping him at arm’s length until she had time to evaluate all the information. Of course, that was the right thing for her to do, but it didn’t make him feel any better. “Give me something useful.”
She shook her head. “No way.”
“If I don’t get Ursino his money, he won’t just kill me, he’ll have to make an example of me.” He couldn’t bring himself to go into any more detail than that.
She looked down at her hands and picked at her fingernails. “If I agreed to help you, what would I have to do?”
He started at the beginning. She absolutely would not have to be there. Her posture softened slightly when he told her that.
“In fact, you should go and visit someone – make sure you have an alibi.”
She nodded. He pictured her going to stay with a sharp-suited ex. Probably an accountant or a management consultant. Pushing the image away, he got back to the matter at hand.
All she had to do was tell him exactly who would be notified when the alarms went off and the easiest way to get into the safety deposit boxes without making it look like an inside job.
She chewed on her bottom lip for a long time, then looked up at him. “The alarm is linked directly to the police and to the security firm.”
He didn’t realise he’d been holding his breath until he let it out. She was going to help. He wanted to jump off the sofa and sweep her out of her chair. But she was sitting so far away with her arms crossed like she wanted to ward him off.
From what she said, it would be safest to spend no longer than two minutes in there. Bill should accept that – there’d be three of them with Danny along for the ride so two minutes would be plenty of time to gather up a nice haul.
“Just take the boxes with you. You won’t have time to do anything while you’re there.”
It was what he’d been thinking, but it didn’t hurt to have her confirm it.
The security arrangements were the easy part. After that it was going to get a lot more complicated. She seemed to accept her role in the plan. Pulling it off would be something else.
“You don’t have to do this. I can still leave town.” Well, he could try anyway.
“No. I’ll do it.”
It was impossible to tell what was going through her head. She was so closed down. Completely different to how she’d been before. He held a clear image of her in his mind’s eye. They were back in that big, empty barn and she was looking at him with dreamy lust in her eyes. He wanted to see that look on her again.
Maybe he would, but not that night.
The optimistic part of him said it would happen, though. After all, she’d agreed to go through with the plan.
“But I want to talk to Ursino first.”
“What? No. You can’t.” Why the hell would she want to?
“Then I’ll call the police and tell them what you’re planning.” She stared him down, her brown eyes hard. “I mean it, Jordan. Non-negotiable.”
Shit. He didn’t like this development one little bit. “Ursino is seriously dangerous. Trust me, you don’t want to get in a room with him.” The less involved she was, the better.
“I see Ursino or I call the police.”
“Why? What are you going to do?”
“That’s my business. Can you arrange it?” The set of her jaw didn’t invite an argument.
It was a crazy idea. But he didn’t have much choice. “I can talk to him. I can’t promise any more than that.”
“That’s plenty.”
His imagination went wild trying to come up with an explanation for her request. What did she think she could achieve?
“You have to go in as normal tomorrow.”
“I know. But I don’t know how normal I’ll seem when I get in there. I’m not used to this sort of thing.” She got to her feet.
He looked at his watch. “I didn’t mean to keep you up so late.” It seemed likely assistant bank managers would have to get up earlier than bank robbers. He got up to leave.
“I appreciate that.” She looked so tired all of a sudden. He took a step towards her and she edged away.
The movement was very subtle. And very wounding. “I’ll be in touch.” He went to the door. Leaving like that – with her so distant – felt like a mistake, but he had too much other stuff to deal with.
If he got through the rest of the week without being shot or arrested he’d sit Loretta down for a serious talk. Not that she was likely to want anything to do with him after he’d emptied the safety deposit room.
She walked him to the front door. Her face was blank – not angry, not sad, not anything. He hoped she could handle this. She gave every impression of being a tough cookie, but appearances could be deceptive.
“I’m going to talk to Danny – the third guy on the job. I’ll give you an update tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
He wanted to ask her if she was alright. Of course she wasn’t. Who would be, in her position? He walked down the drive to the car and got in. By the time he looked up at the door, she’d gone.