Page 68 of Bitter Arrangement

My shoulder aches from the damn gunshot wound as I drive slowly toward the Pomegranate House. I have a meeting with my new crew to discuss a few jobs we’re planning, but my head’s somewhere else entirely.

Mantis’s money.

I doubt this is the only copy of the watch. I’m sure there are backups and fail-safes. But right now, I can use the passcodes stored on the encrypted hard drive to access those crypto wallets.

I could drain away over half a billion dollars instantly if I wanted.

That would bring down the full force of the Mantis organization. Every single one of them would be after me, instead of just Iron Head. Sooner or later though, that’ll happen anyway, when Iron Head’s superiors realize how badly he fucked up.

No wonder he wants it back so badly. I figured it was something serious, but this is even worse than I could’ve imagined.

I slow at a stop sign and rub my bandaged arm. Riley wanted me to take the pain pills, but that stuff always dulls my head, and I need to be sharp right now. I can survive pain, but I can’t live if I make a mistake all messed up on oxycontin.

I keep seeing Riley running across that parking lot. The fear on her face. Her determination. Her body, glorious and strong. There was no way she was going to make it over that fence in time, but she was so damn impressive. The way she maced that fucker. How fast she went.

It was all my fault. I shouldn’t have tried to do two things at once. That situation is exactly why most heists are split into multiple team members. If I weren’t trying so desperately hard to keep this watch thing a secret, I could’ve brought in some help to cover my ass while I was hacking Iron Head’s laptop. I needed all my concentration, and that nearly got Riley killed.

I’d take a thousand more bullets for her. I knew it the second she came running out of that side door. I saw the fear on her face, and instinct took over.

I’ve never been protective or possessive, but it was like I became a different person.

I had to save her or die trying.

We got lucky. The two guards that saw her are both dead, so they won’t be talking. The security system was under my control, so none of the cameras were recording. There’s a vanishingly small chance that Mantis will be able to identify either of us.

But Iron Head knows someone broke into his office now.

If the heist had gone down the way I had planned, nobody would’ve ever realized we were in there. I’m good at covering my tracks.

Hard to hide all that blood.

I’m distracted as I head over to the Brotherhood restaurant, enough that I nearly don’t notice the van following me again.

But they make a little mistake. Instead of staying a few cars back, they drift right up behind me at a light when I’m about to turn right. When they have a chance to go around, they don’t take it. Instead, they wait for me to move, and then they follow.

Blatant as hell.

I don’t know why I do it.

Normally, I’d ignore the tail like I have been recently. Except there’s something about it now.

An implicit threat.

And the threat isn’t only aimed at me—it’ll extend to my wife too, even if they don’t know she’s involved in all this for sure.

I lead the van away from Brotherhood territory. I take the long way toward a neighborhood the McGraths control. It’s a heavily Irish area with lots of people out in the middle of the morning.

I make a quick turn down an alley, roll forward, and quickly kill the engine.

The van follows and only realizes that it’s a narrow dead end when it’s too late.

I get out of my car. My gun is held loosely in my hand. I stare at the tinted front window and wait for them to make a move. Maybe they reverse and drive off, or maybe they get out and we talk. I don’t know what I want to happen, but I feel a sudden surge of anger.

“You want to know what I’m up to?” I call out, taking a step forward. I keep my gun down and aimed at the ground. “Then come and find out.”

Still nothing. Just the van rumbling.

Then abruptly the engine cuts off and a man gets out of the front driver’s side.

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