Page 92 of Taken As Collateral

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

My hand shakes as Itake Rafe’s phone because I know where the Morelli is, finally. It’s at the self-storage facility. I’m sure of it.

“If your brother has a unit,” Rafe tells me, “tell her you need to get something from there and that you’ll be sending your boyfriend on your behalf.”

“Who’s my boyfriend?”

“James.”

“He looks like he’s barely legal.”

Rafe looks at me sternly. “You have a problem dating younger men?”

“I guess not.”

Calling, I get through to Maria, who confirms that Peter has rented a storage unit. I nearly squeal with joy.

“Hey, um, there’s some old stuff that Peter keeps in that storage unit,” I say, “and my boyfriend said he’d take it off Peter’s hands. But Peter’s out of town right now, and we’d like to get into the storage unit sooner rather than later.”

“He didn’t leave you the key?” Maria asks.

“He forgot. Any chance you could open the unit for us?”

“Technically, I’m not supposed to without, like, a signed affidavit, but you’re lucky I know you guys.”

I release a sigh of relief.

“What kind of stuff is it that can’t wait?” Maria asks.

“I don’t know,” I reply dismissively. “I wasn’t paying that close attention when he and James were talking. Maybe some old baseball cards or something. James is an avid collector of just about anything. His family runs an antique shop.”

Losing interest on the storage contents, Maria turns to asking about James. “So tell me more about your boo. He must be pretty special because I don’t remember youevermentioning a boyfriend before.”

I blush because she’s on speakerphone, and Rafe can hear everything. “He’s younger than I normally go for, but he, uh, won me over with the food he serves.”

“He’s a chef?”

“He’s in the hospitality industry. Hey, um, I have to run, but what hours do you work?”

After I get the necessary information from Maria, I hang up and hand Rafe back his phone.

“I’m pretty sure the Morelli’s there,” I tell him. Caught up in the excitement of finally figuring out where the painting is, I didn’t think through what might happen once Rafe gets his hands on it. “When are you sending James over?” I ask nervously.

“As soon as possible,” Rafe answers before calling James to fill him in.

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