Page 38 of Captured Pawn
“Got it, boss,” Stevie answered. “I’m pulling the van closer and will pick you up.”
The last remnants of dusk had set while we were inside. As we approached the brick perimeter wall, shouting could be heard from near the front door.
“We need to make this a quick exit. Hand me the backpack,” Nick ordered.
Once I handed it to him, he threw it over the wall to land with a thud on the other side.
“You’re next,” he said, cupping his hands for me to put my foot into. He lifted me effortlessly, almost throwing me to the top of the wall where I had to pull myself up the last few inches.
Once I was on top, I had to reach down to grab the container with the drugs. It was so heavy, I had trouble pulling it up. In the distance I saw movement and knew at least some of the Bishops’ security team were searching the grounds.
I yanked hard, finally managing to get the container to the top.
“Hurry,” I called down to Nick. “They’re coming!”
“Keep going to the van. I’ll be right behind you,” he called.
“I’m not leaving without you,” I answered before dropping the box of illicit drugs to Pops’ waiting arms below.
Nick was pulling himself up the wall using the rope, but I could see a guard approaching fast. I knew I wasn’t strong enough to pull him up, but I did the next best thing I could think of to help.
Grabbing onto the rope at the top, I jumped down outside the wall. Nick weighed more than me, but the velocity of my fall combined with my weight helped vault Nick up faster.
I looked up in time to see him jumping down right next to me. Relief flooded me that we’d managed to escape, but hearing the shouting getting closer, I knew we weren’t out of the woods yet.
The three of us took off running toward the waiting van. Stevie was behind the wheel and Pops jumped into the passenger side. Nick and I dove through the open cargo sliding door, me carrying the backpack and him carrying the container.
“Go!” he shouted as I heard what sounded like firecrackers going off outside.
Nick pulled the sliding door closed as Stevie hit the gas. The sudden movement threw my body against Nick who didn’t waste any time taking advantage of the situation by holding me tight against him.
As Pops and Stevie cheered our success from the front seats, I finally acknowledged how risky tonight’s jaunt really had been. So many things could have gone wrong. As the adrenaline rushed from me, I was left trembling, grateful for Nick’s steadying arms.
There were no real seats in the back of the cargo van, so he sat on the floor, his back against the side wall, and then pulled me to sit in his lap.
I’m not sure how long he held me before I finally stopped shaking. He released me so he could take off his gloves and mask before helping me take off mine next.
Only after he’d removed my mask did I realize I should have left it on. The covering had been doing a good job of hiding the rollercoaster of emotions I was currently riding. Once he’d removed my mask, I could no longer hide the dichotomy of my excitement for our successful mission and my spiraling despair at knowing I’d broken the law.
But those weren’t the only emotions that weighed on me. What worried me more than anything was that now that Nick had retrieved what he needed to in order to keep me safe, I no longer had any reason to stay with Nick at his family’s compound.
That knowledge should have made me happy.
So why did I have to choke back tears at the thought of leaving?
CHAPTER16
Nick
As we drove back to our compound, it wasn’t lost on me that even though I’d successfully retrieved the critical items from the Bishops’ safe, that wasn’t the highlight of my day.
I was certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I would have never retrieved the items from the safe had Sophie not been helping. Matt had been good with more traditional systems, but I doubted he would have even known there was a hidden safe behind the wall, let alone how to break into it.
Once again, my moral dilemma reared its ugly head. We’d been in real danger tonight. If not from being physically hurt, at least from being apprehended.
I could almost hear Matt yelling from the beyond, but honestly, I didn’t need Matt’s voice on my shoulder anymore.
I would never put Sophie’s life in danger again, not because of my promise to her brother, but because she was truly a special person who deserved to live her life fully without getting dragged into the kind of trouble that followed me around.
