Page 6 of Parker

Justin grinned, smacking his hands together in anticipation. “You realize, we’re about to change our lives forever, right?”

You have no idea.

Pulling the keyboard close, Quinn drew in another steeling breath and began to type. A few minutes and clicks of the keyboard later, the screen directly in front of her lit up with a spreadsheet filled with account holder information.

Names, account numbers…

“I’m in.”

“Hot damn!” Justin slapped his palms onto the table, the unexpected noise making her jump. When she didn’t make a move to proceed, he turned to her and frowned. “Well? What are you waiting for? Click that shit so we can get the ball rolling.”

Quinn’s fingertips hovered over the mouse. This was it. Once she opened that first account, there was no going back.

She moved the curser up the screen to the first group of blue numbers. With a slight tremble in her hand, she held her breath and closed her eyes…and clicked. “There.” Her lids lifted, her chest tight from the unstoppable events she’d just put into place. “It’s done.”

“Oh, nothing’s done, babe.” Justin began entering his own name into the card printer he’d gotten from Monty. After that, he began typing in their first unsuspecting account holder’s credit card number, expiration date, and three-digit security code.

The new card—the one with Justin’s name on it—was completed and activated in less than two minutes.

“You did it!” Looking more like a kid at Christmas than a twenty-six-year old man, he grabbed her face and brought her in for a hard, rough kiss. “You fucking did it!”

Oh, she’d done it all right. Quinn just prayed he’d somehow find a way to forgive her.

“Well.” Justin’s stare turned expectant. “What are you waiting for? Let’s hit the next one on the list.”

She turned her attention back onto the screen in front of her and waited. When nothing happened, Quinn had no other option but to continue on with his plan.

She opened the next account and repeated the process, her pulse throbbing painfully with each terrified beat of her heart. A stretch of silence passed between her and Justin as they each continued with their assigned tasks.

One-by-one, they worked together. She accessed the individual accounts, and he transferred the information on the screen to the physical cards. And with each new account Quinn clicked open, the more overwhelming her fear and doubt became.

It should be over by now. Why isn’t it over?

The cryptic thoughts had just passed through her racing mind when the front door to the closed-down deli burst open, and all hell broke loose around her.

“FBI! Step away from the table with your hands up!”

Quinn’s entire body jolted as she jumped to her feet. Throwing her hands high into the air, her lungs froze as five men and two women—each wearing matching coats with bright yellow lettering announcing they were with the Federal Bureau of Investigations—moved toward them with swift, purposeful steps.

“Get down on the ground!” one of the women yelled. Like her co-workers, she had her arms outstretched in front of her, a black pistol pointed directly at her and Justin.

“Don’t shoot!” Quinn shouted back, her quivering legs folding beneath her as she dropped to her knees.

Justin followed her lead, shock and fear leaving his eyes wide and his mouth slack jawed. Confusion twisted his face as he swung his stunned gaze to hers. “How the fuck did they know we were here?”

“I—”

“Stop talking and lace your fingers behind your heads!” One of the male FBI agents ordered, cutting off her confession.

Clamping her mouth shut, Quinn did exactly as she was told. With her next heartbeat, she found herself being pushed chest-first to the floor, her left cheek pressing against the cool tile as one of the agents brought her arms down behind her back before slapping a pair of metal cuffs around her wrists.

Stay calm, Quinn. You knew this was how it would play out. Remember, it’s all part of the plan.

The mental reminder was desperately needed. Forcing herself to listen, she slowed her breathing and did her best to remember why she’d agreed to this in the first place.

Justin.

Quinn looked across from where she lay to find him staring right back at her. His expression had changed, the fear that was there before replaced by a cool, calculating stare.

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