Black Girls and Bad Boys: Stealing Loretta (8 page)

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L
oretta couldn’t remember the last time
she’d felt so low. But she knew what to do about it. She went out to the garage
and set to work tinkering with Edna. Keeping busy was the best way to handle
things for the time being. She just wasn’t up to thinking about Jordan and the
bank and men who wouldn’t take no for an answer.

She got the new fuel gauge out and wiped
everything down ready to fix it in place. Then more thoughts of Jordan jumped
into her head and she nearly dropped it. “Bloody idiot!” she shouted at
herself. She put the gauge down before she did some real damage. It would take
weeks to get hold of another one of those.

She was on edge again and she didn’t trust
herself to do much more than tidy up and cover Edna over with the tarpaulin.
Now what?

She wasn’t hungry, but she had to eat something.
Shower first.

As she got undressed, she could smell
Jordan on her skin. Memories of his body, his touch, his lips all came flooding
back and kindled heat between her legs. In spite of everything, she still
wanted him.

But that was her hormones talking. She had
to stay in control and do what was right. Jordan was a criminal. He’d told her
as much himself.

What chance had he stood though? Anybody
could have ended up in that situation. Drawn into the wrong crowd and in too
deep to walk away.

She just hoped that wasn’t what was
happening to her now.

After her shower, she heated a bowl of soup
in the microwave and sat at the kitchen table with it. But she kept thinking of
Jordan sitting across from her and pouring his heart out. In the end, she had
to go and sit in the living room.

She switched the television on, but she
couldn’t concentrate on any of the programmes she turned to. Her mind kept
wandering back to Gina. She was so different to her – it was bizarre to think
Jordan could be interested in both of them.

Perhaps he wasn’t. Perhaps he was still
lying through his teeth and he had no interest in her beyond her connections at
the bank.

She remembered the way he’d kissed her.
Even that first time in the safety deposit room had carried some meaning. It
simply didn’t fit with a scenario where he was playing her.

Dating the boss’s daughter. That was never
a good idea. But it didn’t sound like it had been Jordan’s brain doing the
thinking. Her mind just wouldn’t leave Gina alone, no matter how much she tried
not to think about her.

When she’d finished her soup, she stopped
for a moment and followed the direction her brain wanted to go in. Couldn’t
Gina talk to her father about the situation? No. She’d hardly want to plead
Jordan’s case when he’d left her for another woman.

But if she really cared about him... Would
she be happy to see him dead because he didn’t want her any more? It had to be
worth talking to her at least.

She pictured the scene in her head. She
went over it several different ways, but she couldn’t imagine an outcome that
didn’t involve Gina kneeing him in the crotch. Everything she’d read about the
woman online after Jordan left confirmed her first impression – volatile, crazy
bitch. Not surprising coming from that family.

But she didn’t know Gina. Maybe she was
projecting her own feelings onto her. There was no way to guess what she’d do
without actually talking to her.

She pulled out her phone, glad she’d made
Jordan give her his number. He answered on the third ring.

“Loretta, I’m on my way over.” He slowed
down and checked the road for cops. It would be just his luck to get pulled
over for using his phone while he was driving.

“I’ve had an idea.”

“Me too. We’ll talk when I get there.”

It only took another ten minutes to get to
her door. He pulled onto her drive and strode up to the front door. She must
have heard him arrive because she opened the door almost instantly.

“You need to talk to Gina. She might get
her Dad to back off.”

“That’s not going to happen.” He followed
her through to the sitting room and flopped down on the sofa. “She’s sleeping
with one of the other guys in the crew.”

“Oh.” She took a seat in an armchair.

“But I’ve already spoken to Ursino.”

She worried at her bottom lip with her
teeth, looking at him with wide eyes. “What did he say?”

“That he wants his money. How I get it
doesn’t particularly bother him.”

“So it doesn’t have to be the bank?”

He sat forward, feeling like shit. “I don’t
have another way to get hold of that sort of cash. If you don’t help me, I’ll
have to try it without you.” With all the surprises she kept throwing his way,
he didn’t know how to play her any more. But he had to get Ursino his money.

“Then rob another bank. It doesn’t have to
be mine.”

If only it were that simple. “Bill’s in
charge of this one. He’s not going to agree to another target.” If he as much
as hinted that he wanted to change things, Bill would just dig his heels in.
“I’m so sorry about all of this, Loretta. It’s going to happen. Be glad
everything’s insured.” But he knew that wouldn’t give her any comfort. She’d
already explained how she felt.

“You could run.” She looked him in the eye,
her expression serious.

He shook his head. “He’d find me. And then
it would be ten times worse.” Ursino had been known to get his hands dirty when
it came to traitors. The last guy he’d gone after personally had been found
diced up small enough to go into a cooking pot. Rumour had it that he’d still
been alive when Ursino had started chopping. As deterrents went, it would be
hard to come up with a more effective one.

She sat silently for a long time, looking
at the floor.

Snatches of memory from their encounter in
the barn interrupted his train of thought. It had been happening all day. He
wanted to talk to her about it. But this wasn’t the time. “Say something.”

“What do you want me to say? I shouldn’t
give a damn, but I don’t want you to get hurt.”

He gave her room to get her words straight.

“I don’t know what to do, Jordan.” She
shook her head.

He hadn’t known her very long, but he could
see how torn she was. Watching her triggered his guilt again, churning his guts
like he’d eaten three day old takeaway. He tried to beat the nausea down with
anger – if it came down to a choice between his life and the belongings of a
few rich people, shouldn’t she choose him? “We’re going to hit the bank whether
you help or not. I don’t have a choice.”

“But I do?”

“Yes.”

She gave him that look he’d come to dread.
It said she was keeping him at arm’s length until she had time to evaluate all
the information. Of course, that was the right thing for her to do, but it
didn’t make him feel any better. “Give me something useful.”

She shook her head. “No way.”

“If I don’t get Ursino his money, he won’t
just kill me, he’ll have to make an example of me.” He couldn’t bring himself
to go into any more detail than that.

She looked down at her hands and picked at
her fingernails. “If I agreed to help you, what would I have to do?”

He started at the beginning. She absolutely
would not have to be there. Her posture softened slightly when he told her
that.

“In fact, you should go and visit someone –
make sure you have an alibi.”

She nodded. He pictured her going to stay
with a sharp-suited ex. Probably an accountant or a management consultant.
Pushing the image away, he got back to the matter at hand.

All she had to do was tell him exactly who
would be notified when the alarms went off and the easiest way to get into the
safety deposit boxes without making it look like an inside job.

She chewed on her bottom lip for a long
time, then looked up at him. “The alarm is linked directly to the police and to
the security firm.”

He didn’t realise he’d been holding his
breath until he let it out. She was going to help. He wanted to jump off the
sofa and sweep her out of her chair. But she was sitting so far away with her
arms crossed like she wanted to ward him off.

From what she said, it would be safest to
spend no longer than two minutes in there. Bill should accept that – there’d be
three of them with Danny along for the ride so two minutes would be plenty of
time to gather up a nice haul.

“Just take the boxes with you. You won’t
have time to do anything while you’re there.”

It was what he’d been thinking, but it
didn’t hurt to have her confirm it.

The security arrangements were the easy
part. After that it was going to get a lot more complicated. She seemed to
accept her role in the plan. Pulling it off would be something else.

“You don’t have to do this. I can still
leave town.” Well, he could try anyway.

“No. I’ll do it.”

It was impossible to tell what was going
through her head. She was so closed down. Completely different to how she’d
been before. He held a clear image of her in his mind’s eye. They were back in
that big, empty barn and she was looking at him with dreamy lust in her eyes. He
wanted to see that look on her again.

Maybe he would, but not that night.

The optimistic part of him said it would
happen, though. After all, she’d agreed to go through with the plan.

“But I want to talk to Ursino first.”

“What? No. You can’t.” Why the hell would
she want to?

“Then I’ll call the police and tell them
what you’re planning.” She stared him down, her brown eyes hard. “I mean it,
Jordan. Non-negotiable.”

Shit. He didn’t like this development one
little bit. “Ursino is seriously dangerous. Trust me, you don’t want to get in
a room with him.” The less involved she was, the better.

“I see Ursino or I call the police.”

“Why? What are you going to do?”

“That’s my business. Can you arrange it?”
The set of her jaw didn’t invite an argument.

It was a crazy idea. But he didn’t have
much choice. “I can talk to him. I can’t promise any more than that.”

“That’s plenty.”

His imagination went wild trying to come up
with an explanation for her request. What did she think she could achieve?

“You have to go in as normal tomorrow.”

“I know. But I don’t know how normal I’ll
seem when I get in there. I’m not used to this sort of thing.” She got to her
feet.

He looked at his watch. “I didn’t mean to
keep you up so late.” It seemed likely assistant bank managers would have to
get up earlier than bank robbers. He got up to leave.

“I appreciate that.” She looked so tired
all of a sudden. He took a step towards her and she edged away.

The movement was very subtle. And very
wounding. “I’ll be in touch.” He went to the door. Leaving like that – with her
so distant – felt like a mistake, but he had too much other stuff to deal with.

If he got through the rest of the week
without being shot or arrested he’d sit Loretta down for a serious talk. Not
that she was likely to want anything to do with him after he’d emptied the
safety deposit room.

She walked him to the front door. Her face
was blank – not angry, not sad, not anything. He hoped she could handle this.
She gave every impression of being a tough cookie, but appearances could be
deceptive.

“I’m going to talk to Danny – the third guy
on the job. I’ll give you an update tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

He wanted to ask her if she was alright. Of
course she wasn’t. Who would be, in her position? He walked down the drive to
the car and got in. By the time he looked up at the door, she’d gone.

––––––––

“M
iss Johnson. This is an unexpected
pleasure.”

Loretta slipped into Sean’s office with a
sinking feeling in her stomach. He’d never felt the need to be formal before.
“Hi Sean.”

“What can I do for you?” He barely glanced
up from his monitor. This was not a good start.

“I wanted to take you up on your
invitation.”

Now he did look up. He studied her as if
she was a potentially dangerous new species that had wondered in from the wild.
“Invitation?”

She summoned up all the courage she had and
came out with it. “The fundraiser this Saturday.”

He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to
the side. “You want to come to the fundraiser?”

“Yes.”

“With me?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think I’m that stupid? I’d come
over there and check you for recording equipment, but you’d probably say I was
trying to grope you.” He turned his attention back to the computer. It was more
or less the reaction she’d been expecting.

She ignored her instincts and walked around
his desk. With her parents out of the country, there really wasn’t anyone else
available to give her the alibi she needed. “Look, Sean. I’m sorry about what I
said the other day.”

He snorted.

“I thought the ball would be a good way to
bury the hatchet.”

Sean looked up at her with that shrewd
quality she always associated with weasels. “Let me get this right. You’re
apologising to me and you want to come on a date with me?”

“Not a date.” God no. Not for any reason or
under any circumstances. “Just two friends spending the evening together.”

“Friends?”

At least he didn’t snort that time. He
hadn’t said no either. “We work together, Sean. We should be friends.”

“Okay. Let’s say I agree to this non-date.
What happens if I have too much to drink and say something I shouldn’t?”

She’d asked herself the same question. “I
can handle a few inappropriate comments.”

“Does that mean you’ll be bringing your
tape recorder?”

She raised her eyes to the ceiling. “Forget
it.” She’d just have to go through her sparse address book one more time. It
was almost her lunch hour anyway. She went to the door.

“Loretta, wait.”

She stopped.

“Give me your address and I’ll pick you up
at seven.”

Don’t look too happy.
She turned and nodded. “Great.” Now she could get on with stage two.
She knew what she wanted to say to Ursino. If he was okay with it, she’d have
to talk Jordan into a change of plan.

No. Forget that. He’d do what she said or
the whole thing was off.

***

L
oretta walked out of the bank, turned the
corner and stopped. After everything that had happened in the past week, she’d
thought nothing could surprise her any more. She was certainly wrong about
that.

Jordan had told her there would be a car
waiting to pick her up. What he hadn’t mentioned was that it would be a classic
black Mercedes saloon.

Before she got within three feet, the
driver jumped out and opened the door. A pair of legs in a dark blue suit was
just visible in the back seat. No, not blue. She climbed into the car and saw
that the suit was actually dark purple.

“Miss Johnson.”

“Mr Ursino.” She shook the hand he offered,
doing her best to match the firmness of his grip.

“You have some information for me.”

She nodded. “And a request.” Reaching into
her bag, she brought out her winnings from the poker game. “I want to help pay
off Jordan’s debt.” She held out the money.

Ursino took it, flicked through the notes
and held them up between them. “This won’t cover very much.”

Her heart sank. It was the answer she’d
been dreading. “I can get more.” If Jordan got her into some more games she
could make that much again. Maybe double that much.

He took her hand and pressed the cash back
into it. “Miss Johnson, let me tell you a story.”

She hadn’t come to this meeting to listen
to stories, but when Vittorio Ursino spoke, you listened.

“Once, there was a young man with a rather
loose interpretation of right and wrong. Like most young men, he thought he was
invincible. Even after he tasted a little trouble, he thought he was clever
enough to live a charmed life.”

“Jordan.”

He neither agreed nor disagreed. He simply
carried on. “This young man had a lot of charm and a quick brain, but his taste
in women left much to be desired. He married young – against his parents’
wishes. They had a daughter, but things were already falling apart and his wife
soon left them both.”

“I had no idea.”

“Growing up without a mother is part of the
reason Gina’s so flighty.”

“Gina?”

He looked her in the eye, waiting for the
penny to drop.

“Oh.”

“I know my daughter, Miss Johnson. But
girls don’t listen to their fathers when they tell them not to date someone. I
held my tongue. Waited for it to burn itself out. Then Jordan met you and
things got messy.” His gaze sharpened.

Loretta’s heart clenched in her chest. That
wasn’t a look she wanted to see again.

“I don’t like mess, Miss Johnson. People
get hurt.”

She tried to swallow but her throat was too
dry.

“And now she’s making a fool of herself
with another of my employees. An employee who’s shown himself to be a
liability.”

So he did know. Jordan hadn’t been sure.

“I want this finished. If that means
letting go of Jordan Bernardino, I’ll do it gladly.”

She couldn’t believe it. It was too easy.
“Thank you. Thank you, Mr Ursino.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I’m going to tell you
exactly what I want you to do and you’re going to do it.”

She nodded. What choice did she have?