Page 14 of Redd

Chapter Two

Redd

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With my headlightsoff, I pulled onto the side of the road as the black suburban turned up a long driveway. I couldn't see the house in the distance as I tried to look between the foliage, but a driveway like that meant something big was hiding at the other end.

Tall bushes created a higher fence line to the stone wall surrounding the property. A thick iron gate was secured at the entrance, operated by a small box attached to a large pillar of ornate stone chunks, all puzzled together perfectly.

Sitting in the dark, I watched the suburban disappear behind the gate. I knew the two guys were going there as a form of protection, so that meant someone else would be leaving. Whoever the owner of that place was, with high end valuables inside, he had reason to protect his castle.

Reasons like me.

Turning the radio off and shutting down the engine, I tugged the handle on the side of my seat and lowered myself back. I could still see just above the trim of my door, enough to keep a good eye on who came and went.

I was trying to stay hidden the best I could, away from any cameras that might be spying from the shadows. Looking around, I could only see one camera. It sat high on a metal post, spearing into the sky in plain sight.

That can't be the only one. Where there's one, there's usually more.

That was something I had learned over the years, no place that was worth breaking into went without virtual eyes.

Someone with this kind of money would definitely have more than one camera watching their castle. And if the man who owned that place was involved in some illegal shit like I suspected, he was going to have a hell of a lot more tucked away.

Just go home.A small voice chirped in my ear, calm and assertive.You said no more, don't do this. Go home, Redd.

Her voice ricocheted around my brain, doing its best to sink in to every crevasse it could find. I knew if she was here, she'd flash those big doe eyes of hers, then pout her lower lip and blink ever so slowly.

And I'd probably give in, because she knew how to tug on my heart strings, and she was damn good at it.

I know what I said. But this. . . I can't pass this up.

This is it, I promise.

Last one and I'm done for good.

Batting away her whispered pleas, I focused on the driveway again. Resting my head against the back of the seat, I folded my hands in my lap and just watched. It wasn't going to matter how long I had to sit, or how many minutes or hours would pass before the time was just right for me to make my move.

I had the patience of a lion, and that's why no one had been able to catch me so far. Most people just make the knee-jerk decision to go for it, but I didn't work that way. That's how you get caught.

I didn't have to wait too long, the motor for the gate whirred to life, releasing the latch and opening after twenty minutes. A black Lincoln pulled to the end of the driveway, lighting up the vacant street.

Slinking down in my seat, I watched it take a left and drive in the opposite direction of where I was parked.

Lady luck hasn't left me yet.

Waiting until the taillights had faded into the distance, I carefully popped open my door and slipped out. Crouching down behind the hood, I scanned the tops of the bushes and everywhere in between.

Is that really the only camera?

I was trying to figure how stupid this guy was. I couldn't see any faint red light of any other camera lenses, no tiny glass surfaces peeked out or shimmered from any of the bushes.

Maybe he doesn't have any reason to be worried.The thought made me pause, a blip of second guessing what I was about to do fluttered through my head. But I pushed it away, ignoring my gut and letting my ego lead.

I've got this. There's no need for me to worry.

If he was a high profile man, someone with connections perhaps, then he'd have no reason to expect an asshole like me breaking in.

But Iwasan asshole, and in my eyes—this guy didn't know me and I didn't know him; there was nothing to fear.

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