Page 79 of Cosmo

There was an alley without a camera in it at all a few blocks from the restaurant. They’d stop there and set the huge placard in place and get the sticky vinyl covering that would be placed on the hood, cab, and fenders and could be easily pulled off, revealing the real color of the truck below it.

They were like a well-oiled machine, but Liam worried about that. He wasn’t one of them yet. He was learning the moves for the weekend shows but working a new crew in a high-stakes theft, that was different.

Still, all he really had to do was drive the fucking car into the back of the box truck.

When they left, Murphy and Haze were in coveralls with the fake business name embroidered on the front. They all wore caps on their heads, and Liam wore glasses that were fake too. Anything to throw off anyone that might be a witness.

Hippy was already at the restaurant, ready to clog the toilets, when Murphy called to give him the okay. It was ten minutes of driving through the city, taking the long way around to avoid as many cameras as possible.

In the alley between a closed clothing store and a condemned former apartment building, Liam pulled in, getting to the center and then exiting the cab of the truck, heading to one end of the alley as Mims headed to the other to watch for cops or other cars that may want to turn into the alley.

It wasn’t a fast job, getting the vinyl on the cab of the truck or getting the big business logo on the box of the truck, but after half an hour, it was done, and Haze whistled for their watchers to head back into the truck.

They sat together quietly, waiting for the calls. Hippy to tell them the job was done and the next call to the prepaid phone for their fake business.

Liam worried the second call would never come. For all they knew, they had a plumbing contract with a real company and would call them in the event of an emergency. There were a million things that could go wrong, but Murphy had given them ways around all of them.

For instance, if they didn’t get the call for the plumbing job, they’d go in any way. The valets likely wouldn’t be the wiser asto the plumber’s company name. They’d have to work faster, but they didn’t plan to doddle in the first place.

Then, Hippy called, and Murphy told him, “We’re set to get over there.”

Liam’s hands were clammy, and he rubbed them over his jeans, but his nerves were welcome. The anxiety he’d recently experienced, friends that were turning into family, a guy that was really working into his heart, that kind of anxiety made him wish for meds or a drink to get through.

Working a job, however, was where he thrived. That anxiety was like waiting for a long-awaited orgasm, edging, edging and finally shooting a load that could make a person pass out cold.

“Ready, Cosmo?”

“Yup. Let’s do this.”

“We’re just waiting on the call.”

Sure enough, not two minutes later, the call came to the prepaid phone and Murphy answered with his best business voice. “Emergency Plumbing, open twenty-four hours a day. How can we help?”

Liam, Haze, and Mims waited for him to listen to the caller, then they each sighed silently when Murphy said, “We’ll be right there. Off Cedar and 18th, right?”

Liam started the engine as soon as Murphy hung up the phone. “Damn, this is…insane.”

“We’re good, didn’t we tell you?” Mims asked, laughing.

Murphy had Haze get in the back of the box truck and as soon as the door was shut, they headed out of the alleyway and on toward the restaurant. Liam and Mims were both hyper, and Mims put on music from his phone.

“Thank goodness it’s you and not Hippy. I can’t say I’m a fan of the blues.”

The upbeat song he often heard during their shows matched his heart rate, fast, happy. He’d missed doing this. “I don’teither, but I love Hippy, so I deal with it. You’ll love him too, eventually. He’s not the kind of guy to take to others easily. He was standoffish with us, too.”

Too…which meant he’d been that way as well. “Sorry, uh, about that, Mims.”

“I don’t blame you. You’ll love us when you’re ready.”

He sounded so sure about it that Liam was convinced too. “I’m sure I will.”

They pulled up to the front of the restaurant, and Murphy jumped out of the back, speaking quickly to the valet, who told Murphy to have his guy drive around to the back of the restaurant. Murphy did and Mims was on the phone as soon as he spotted the Bentley in the valet parking area. “Goldie, it’s here. We’re here and you are about to be.”

As soon as he hung up the phone, Liam parked the truck and got out, speaking to Haze quickly. “While you’re helping Murphy, Mims will watch for me. If you see anything, call him.”

“The ramps coming out of the back of that truck are pretty telling, Cosmo. Work fast, brother.”

Brother. That shook him a bit, but he shrugged it off, unwilling to let anything get in his way. “I’m backing up over there as soon as Goldie gives us the word he’s got the keys.”

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