Page 75 of Desire Me
The smell of the ocean hit Saint’s nose as they exited the Warehouse. The back of Rae’s business was a mess of trucks, forklifts, storage containers, and miscellaneous junk used for their work, scattered across a massive yard between the building and the docks not far away. The slap of water and the sound of boats moving against their moorings could be heard but not seen, the landscape lit with only a few well-placed streetlights. Not nearly enough to illuminate every shadow, much less the harbor beyond. Saint stood for a moment, surveying the chaos, getting a feel for the land, then turned to Rae.
“Where to, cariño?”
Rae pointed to the left along the docks. “This way.”
He admired the smooth way she moved as they jogged toward their destination. The blow of her memories had taken a lot out of her, but his woman didn’t let that stop her. She’d begun a mission the night she’d confronted Conté and Di Angelo, and her determination to see it through was evident in the rigid control she exerted on herself now. “Where are we going?”
“Vernon’s.”
“What’s Vernon’s?” Elliot asked from Rae’s other side.
“You mean, who is Vernon?”
“Okay, I’ll bite,” Elliot said. “Who’s Vernon?”
Saint listened with half an ear, the rest of his attention on the darkness surrounding them. Ten, maybe fifteen minutes had passed since they’d run into the security guard, plenty of time for the man to contact Di Angelo, Rae’s uncle, or both. How long before any of them showed up at the storage facility?
“Vernon is a friend of mine. Well, anyone on the docks, really.” Rae grinned. “He’s older than dirt but still runs a trucking company just down the road.”
“Trucking company?”
“Yeah.”
“And…”
“In addition to the men who drive for him, Vernon still takes out his own truck for local loads every day.”
Saint had a bad feeling he knew where this was going. “You hid a million dollars in diamonds in a truck that’s still in use every day, by a man too old to protect them?”
“Better than trying to find a place that never went anywhere, that no one else would think of, in the spur of the moment.” Rae waved a dismissive hand. “Besides, he has no idea they’re there.”
King swore behind them, the curses strangled with laughter.
“Oh, it gets worse than that.” Rae actually sounded like she was enjoying this part of her story.
“How’s that?” Saint dared to ask.
“Vernon is known for only two things: being the oldest living human anyone around here has ever known to still be driving—ninety-two, if you can believe what he tells you—and keeping his truck unlocked at all times.”
Saint actually did a face-palm. “You’ve got to be fucking with us.”
“Nope.” They came to a chain-link fence, and Rae moved along it until the gate came into view where the fence met Vernon’s building. “Doesn’t lock his truck yard either.”
They went through the gate, Luka closing it behind them. “I can’t believe all those diamonds have been sitting, unsecured, in an unlocked truck for six months, and no one knew.”
“At least I hope they are,” Rae said. “I hid them under the passenger seat.”
Saint shook his head. King snickered. “Goddamn, girl,” Elliot said, high-fiving her.
Rae shrugged, a hint of uncertainty finally reaching her. “It was the only thing I could think of.”
“You didn’t go to the police,” Luka pointed out.
“Not after what Di Angelo told me about the police chief. I didn’t know who to trust.” They circled back to the rear, where Rae stopped.
“Feds?” King suggested.
“Tried that.” Rae stood for a moment, her gaze distant. “I wasn’t certain who to talk to, so I called the resident agency in Bangor, the farthest office from Di Angelo’s territory—or so I hoped.” She shrugged. “The person I got on the switchboard said they would only agree to speak with me if I interviewed with them in person.” She blew out a shaky breath. “That was the first time Di Angelo’s men tried to grab me.”
