Page 81 of Cosmo

Liam was good at this. He gently left the restaurant, driving smoothly, though finally, Mims was fidgeting with nerves. “Can’t you go faster?”

“One thing you can always count on, Mims. People noticed vehicles going too fast or too slow. A big truck like this driving fast and Karens are out in force with their cellphones worried we could hit their BMWs and shit.”

“Smart. Okay. Just don’t go too slow, then.”

“Can I get off the block first? Mellow out.”

“Wait a minute. I was chill and now you are. So…you are into this part of it.”

Liam agreed, “Must be. Okay, so we all have our things.”

Liam watched Mims grab his computer. “Anything from the GPS?”

“Not a damn thing. We’re good.”

“We’re not there yet.”

Once Liam pulled into the alley, they both breathed sighs of relief. Liam and Mims hurried to let Murphy and Haze out of the back of the truck, then they got busy stripping off the colored panels and business logo, which took too long, in Liam’s opinion, but once it was done, Goldie and Abs pulled into the alley and picked up Mims and Haze, and Murphy crawled into the truck with Liam. “Okay, the fence is across the city. I’ve begged the fucker to get a location closer, but he said it’s tooexpensive anywhere near town and the motherfucker is cheap. He’s going to haggle with me for an hour, but I’ll get a good price.”

“I’m thinking of, uh…giving the proceeds, mine, that is…nah, you’ll think I’ve lost my mind.”

“Charity.”

Liam’s neck almost broke as he spun it to stare at him. “How’d you know?”

“You love that damn cat. Eazy said it, and I didn’t believe him, but the second you said that, I knew he was right. He’s always fucking right. He’s got a list of cat charities all ready for you.”

Liam smiled as he got on the highway. “I cannot believe it. I thought I was so mysterious.”

“Eazy is like that. He knows things with no way of knowing them.”

The sound of Murphy’s voice when he spoke about his husband made Liam long for that kind of connection. They knew each other inside and out, but they were amazed by one another.

That kind of relationship, the kind that kept the other guessing while still providing comfort and security. It was rare, and Liam found himself envious again of the kids. How wonderful it had to be for two parents that were so in love, so amazed with each other and so…together.

“I’m gonna need to find a way to thank your husband.”

“He loves Mercedes,” Murphy said flatly, then laughed with Liam.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Murphy’s phone went off and Murphy looked to see who was calling. “Speak of the devil.” He answered, “Hello, dear. Are they finding the car gone?”

The phone was on speaker, so Liam could hear him say, “The police are heading to the restaurant now. They have no APB out on any plumbing truck yet.”

“Thanks, baby. That’s great news.”

Liam switched lanes on I25 and asked Eazy, “Did they say anything?”

“Just that a car’s been stolen. You know, with the keys missing from the valet, I have a feeling they’re going to blame one of the valets.”

“They have no proof, and if they’re arrested, I’ll send the lawyers to defend them.”

“Well, four cars came in after you guys left, and both valets were there to take them, so they’d have to be magicians. They’ll figure out about the truck soon enough and have to rely on witness identification to even get you guys on the radar. We all know a witness testimony is iffy at best.”

“Okay, babe, well, we’ll be where we’re going soon. See you in a couple hours, we hope.”

After the call ended, Murphy was grinning. “You are so in love with him.”

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