Page 67 of Addicted in Blood
“Average middle-class.I’m thinking an old shopping cart filled with miscellaneous crap and a couple trash bags of empty soda cans and water bottles.”
I nodded.“Walking the streets picking up recyclables for change.”
“He can keep the car close for our getaway if we can’t get back to Roxie’s van.It won’t be the first time he’s dumped a shopping cart in someone’s driveway.”
“At night?”
“What better time for a homeless person to go through a neighborhood without someone calling the cops?”
“And with the vamps on the perimeter, he should be safe.”
“It would be best if we can get in and out without worrying about that.”
“Call Roxie and have her start working on the security.”
“What about the vamps?”
“Our plan divides the team into areas of specialty.We know how to break and enter, they know surveillance and manning the perimeter.Devon will go for it, so will Lyra.”
“What about Simone?She seems to be the one in charge.”
I shook my head.“She’s used to driving to a solution.But make no mistake—Devon and Lyra will have the last word.”
“And where will you be in this plan?”
“I’ll be in the van with Roxie.While she keeps an eye on you and the security, I’ll be the liaison with the vamps.If Gheata gets anywhere close, I’ll let her know.It’s best there’s only one person in your ear.”
“And what will your boyfriend think of that?”
I breathed in the scent of freshly mown grass.It reminded me of childhood days and building forts that Christopher made the gardeners break down the minute he got home.Well, partially memorable days.I pushed the thought of him aside, along with how hard the police were searching for me.
“I think Devon will be happy I’m not going in, and he won’t be able to argue me playing intermediary.”
“Intermediary for what?”
We both spun around to find Devon standing at the top of the path.Lyra, her arm still woven through his, smiled at us before turning her gaze to the lake.
I couldn’t have planned it better, and quickly filled them in on our plan without the cadre there to interrupt.But I should have known, after we laid it all out, what Devon’s first question would be.
“And what do Simone and Sergi think?”
“They want to send a vamp in with them.”
“It makes sense.”
I shook my head.“They think a vamp would be the only one capable of spotting evidence of Boretsky’s murder or Magic Poppy.But this crew has seen it all.We’ve stolen from all kinds of people, most of them dirty of something.Even drug lords.Not often, but they make a good mark and don’t live as securely as they think they do.”
“We never mess with what we call the street lords,” Harlow chimed in, the stem of grass hanging on his bottom lip.“They have a constant flow of thugs in and out twenty-four hours a day.The ones higher up in the food chain prefer a more quiet lifestyle, but they all go clubbing.Sometimes they don’t leave anyone behind.I agree it’s not smart considering the risk.Our goal is typically to retrieve a single item, not steal them blind.Most of the time, we’re given enough information to know exactly where our target is.Every so often, there have been times we almost gave up the search.Fortunately, Trudy has a knack for finding hidden compartments.”
“Still, it seems having more bodies to search makes sense.”Devon’s observations were valid and were the same arguments his cadre made, but he didn’t seem as impassioned about them.I glanced up at him, then at Lyra.Whatever their stroll had been about, Lyra seemed uneasy.
I nodded.“Sometimes, that might be the case.But the cadre and Harlow’s crew have never worked together before.It was easy to see from the planning session that no one is going to listen to Harlow.And when on a job, Harlow is the word.Not even I argue with him.”
Devon gave us a skeptical glance.
“It’s true.”Harlow stuck his chest out and gave his tiny beer belly a good scratch.“Everyone has a voice during planning, but once I’ve made my decision, that’s that.There can only be one leader on a mission.”
After several moments, with his focus on the lake, once again either distracted or simply happy to be seeing things through his own eyes, he nodded.“I’ll inform the cadre.When can you be ready?”
