But I do need to get out of here.
“And my payment?” I ask. His eyes snap to mine. “I’ll take cash or a handful of diamonds. Your choice.”
His smile turns cold, chilling me. I’m not surprised in the slightest when he reaches into his desk drawer and pulls out a gun, which he raises to point straight at me.
I don’t waste time. Don’t wait for him to make some lame-ass apologies for why he has to do this.
I merely peel open my jacket so he can clearly see the vest below.
Mercier’s eyes flare, then bulge in their sockets as he gapes at the C4 strapped to my chest. Smoothly pulling the trigger from my pocket, I hold it up for him to see. I have to admit, Cage did a damn fine job of creating the vest for Cruce to bring to me. I owe them both several drinks at some point.
“I anticipated you’d do something like this,” I say blandly. “Never did trust you.”
Mercier growls, but he lowers the gun.
“Smart man,” I commend. “Because if you kill me and I drop this trigger, I’m packing enough explosives to level this chateau. I figured if I’m going to die tonight, I’m taking you with me.”
He snarls, seemingly at a loss for words.
“Now… come here,” I order, waving my trigger hand.
Mercier reluctantly comes around the desk, his eyes pinned to my chest. The C4 is genuine and legitimately wired block to block. I couldn’t afford for the vest to not look authentic. It is not, however, connected to the trigger. I don’t want to inadvertently blow us up… I value my life too much.
As Mercier approaches me, I shrug out of the jacket, keeping the trigger firmly in my hand. Carefully, I hold it out to Mercier. “Put it on.”
If looks could kill, I’d be dead. The man glares, his eyes promising retribution at some point, but he takes the jacket and puts it on ever so slowly.
I have to sell this to him—my sincere desire not to kill him, but not to die myself.
“Sin and I just want to be left alone, Julian.” I move over to a bag and grab a handful of diamonds, dropping them into the side pocket of the black utility pants I’m wearing. “I’m sorry it has come to this, but I promise… once I’m out of here, we are disappearing. You have nothing to worry about from us. You stay quiet. We stay quiet. Live and let live and all that.”
He doesn’t respond. I can tell he’ll never give up searching for us simply for the fact I’ve humiliated him. I’ve gotten the drop on the supposed kingpin, and it has shamed him.
“Move,” I order, gesturing toward his office doors.
He walks gingerly, clearly afraid of the explosives that are now on his chest. When we reach the top of the stairs, he calmly orders his guard, “Stand down. Whatever you do, don’t harm him. He’s got the trigger for the explosives on me.”
The guard’s eyes widen. He takes three steps back, clearly not wanting to be anywhere near Mercier right now.
“Out the front door,” I say, waving Mercier that way.
I follow him out of his chateau. When he hesitates at the bottom of the porch, I give him a tiny push in the back toward my car. His entire body clenches up tight, clearly expecting the C4 to explode, and I have to bite my cheek to stop from laughing.
He stops near the driver’s door, and I open it. Turning to look him in the eye, I say, “You will leave Sin and me in peace. I get wind you’re coming after us, then I’ll be coming after you. You understand?”
Mercier locks his jaw tight, but he eventually nods.
“You have my word that I’ll deactivate this trigger once I’m down the road a bit.”
“How am I supposed to trust that?” he snarls.
Smiling, I shrug. “I guess you don’t. But you have no choice but to comply.”
We engage in a staring contest before I wink and drop into the driver’s seat, closing the door on him. I start the car and pull out, carefully watching him in the rearview mirror as I drive away. He stands perfectly still, fully believing he’s in mortal danger.
As the chateau recedes from my vision, I pull the burner phone out and dial the police. When the line connects, I say, “Yes… I’d like to report a robbery.”
CHAPTER 26
Saint
Leaving the outskirts of Paris, I head north to Brussels. I don’t bother calling Cruce to tell him I’m on my way. It’s always better to keep communications to a minimum, particularly when trying to fly under the radar.
I utilize my time, daring to dream of the future. I’d reported the robbery over an hour ago, so I have to assume the police are crawling all over Mercier’s estate right about now—assuming Bebe’s technology worked. I have no clue what the man will do once he’s arrested. I don’t imagine he’ll spill my name. He’ll do what all criminals do, which is demand legal counsel. It’s the same no matter what country the trouble is in. It will take a while to get him booked, processed, and for a lawyer to talk to him. Mercier’s not going to be interested in cutting a deal. He’ll use his vast wealth and legal resources to get himself out of this mess. I figure he’ll only give Sin and me up as a last resort.
Regardless, it’s best if I get the hell out of Europe. The details have already been worked out. I’ve been traveling under alias identities since I left the States, including my brief trip back to Pittsburgh. I’ll be flying out under a separate one, including some fancy facial prosthetics to fool cameras. The folks at Jameson got Sin a new identity, too.
I can’t risk bringing in her dad right now. If—for any reason—Sin and I are on law enforcement’s radar, her dad needs to stay in London and play it cool. We’ll get him over to us soon, though.
And here is where I want to dream about the future. Sin and me in Pittsburgh, where I can continue my new career at Jameson and Sin can do whatever the hell she wants. School, work, or be a stay-at-home woman. The sky’s the limit for her.
We’ll need to figure out where to live. The apartment I’d been staying in at Jameson headquarters is fine for a single man, but I’m thinking a house on the outskirts of the city. With a few acres of land for privacy.
A big house. With room to grow should we pursue the dreams we used to talk about… having a family.
When I enter the city of Brussels, I creep along the streets, searching for my turn. I’d memorized the directions, not currently having a smartphone to Google them. The burner phone I have is like an old-school flip phone and only for actual conversations. There are no fancy apps to tell me how to get where I need to go.
I’d destroyed the smartphone I’d bought when I came to Paris, which I’d registered under one of my aliases and used locally with my new heist comrades. But it’s of no use to me anymore. While most of the information on it was benign, I took pains before we left for The Diamond Warehouse to destroy any trace of my actual existence here in Europe. The burner phone will meet a quick but complete death as soon as I’m ready to board the plane out of here.
While I was in Pittsburgh, Cruce and I had made the plans to take Sin out of the equation after the heist. The dude was a good friend to do all of this for me, even spending some time trying to talk me out of it. He made a good devil’s advocate, but I was set on my course. I wasn’t going to let Sin get anywhere near Julian Mercier once we left that warehouse.