Page 96 of Forbidden Wish

“Wait,” she said, pulling back. “Isn’t our job to report on what happens? To find the story and share it?”

A broader smile slunk to Sersha’s lips. “Sometimes you have to make the story, be the story.”

Be the story. That was one option. Shit. This was getting real.

THIRTY-FOUR

“YOU CAN ONLY stand on the sidelines for so long,” Sersha said as they drove toward the Carlyle. “Sometimes we have to take matters into our own hands.”

The car they’d commandeered at the garage didn’t belong to a Jagg’s Auto customer, she didn’t think. It had been there a while, and the keys were on the board. Despite her hesitation, Sersha persuaded her it wasn’t stealing if they intended to bring it back. True. And they wouldn’t damage it. Also, they may need a quick getaway vehicle.

God, how did she get into this?

Real was right.

They stopped in the street, facing the entrance. Deep breath.

“How do we distract them?” she asked. “You want me to go in and make a scene?”

“We need something more unexpected. I’d bet they’ve dealt with crazy before.”

Wives, pimps, drug dealers. Yeah, and they probably had little patience for the shit that drew attention to their business premises.

Extracting her phone from her pocket, Sersha tapped the screen. “Stay close and keep your head down, hood up.”

As her hood went up, Sersha propped the phone on the dash, video recording, and reached into the back to grab her tote.

“Why are we recording?”

The woman tossed her a sly, almost sinister, smile and got out. Together, they crossed to the other side of the street with purpose. Women on a mission. Thankfully, at that moment, no one was outside to spy their approach. Sersha put on a ball-cap and pulled it down over her eyes, then her hood went back up.

Getting to the corner of the building, her newest friend produced the bottle of liquor and ripped off a section of the tote.

The plan was a mystery. Sersha stuffed the fabric into the bottle and wrapped the rest around the glass. When the woman retrieved a lighter from her pocket, clarity hit.

“Oh my God, you’re not going to—”

“Walk past the front,” Sersha whispered. “Keep going if there’s no one there. We don’t want to hurt anyone. No one innocent anyway.”

“And if there is someone there?”

“Keep walking, but look back here, I’ll wait.” Sersha breathed in then murmured, “Damn, it had to be the good stuff…” She got a push. “Go on.”

After another prod, she got on her way. Casual. Walking. Going past the hotel like it was just a building on her route. This was a new kind of terrifying high. Adrenaline filled her fired heart. Checking the coast was clear wasn’t so bad. No one hung around. The reception woman wasn’t even at the desk, as far as she could see. This was on her; all she had to do was walk.

Opening her lips to get more air into her lungs, at the opposite corner of the hotel, she spun around to hug the edge of the building. Sersha was there. The spark of a flame started small but quickly grew.

“Oh, shit,” she whispered to no one as Sersha, calm as anything, walked toward her, flame in hand.

In a languorous split second, Sersha lingered at the edge of the doors just long enough to lob the bottle into the lobby. An instant smash and the woof of a flame came before a scream. Sersha was already running toward her, grabbing her, pulling her into the shadow of the side of the structure.

“Come on,” Sersha hissed, trying a door to find it locked.

She even had the presence of mind to wipe the prints with her sleeve before going to the next one.

“My brother is in there with his best friend, I—”

“They’ll be fine.” She tried another door. “They’re smart enough to get out when—”

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