The Thief Redeemer (5 page)

We are young and carefree in this picture. My grandmother
gave this to me and I’ve toted it around since my parents’ deaths. It’s not
framed because if something happens and I need to get the hell out of dodge, I
can easily slip it into my pocket. I have it leaning against the lamp on my
bedside table and I pick it up to look at our faces. When this picture was
taken, I had no idea how bad I would become. I had no idea how many bad choices
I would make and how I would eventually lead a life as a criminal.

I sigh deeply and run my hand down my face. It’s too late
for regrets. I set the picture back in its place and finish tying my boots. I
leave the apartment and head into the warehouse. I’m greeted by Carlos, Simon
and one of the employees named Nick, whom I hired over a year ago. I walk up to
my office, wondering what the hell these three men are doing here.

“What’s going on? Simon, why are you still here and not at
the other garage?”

Nick is standing there, fear deep in his eyes and he’s
crying like a baby.

“Boss, we think we have a snitch here,” Carlos answers for
the group.

“NO! Please! I didn’t tell anyone. Please, I promise, nobody
knows that I work here. I have a wife and children, PLEASE!” Nick moans out his
words with true tears in his eyes and I wonder what kind of pansy cries. I
haven’t cried in years.

“I’ve had reports that we had a rat, Nick. So it was you?”

“NO! Please, boss. It wasn’t me, I swear!” He gets on his
knees and puts his hands together like he’s praying. He knows the consequences
of ratting us out, and they aren’t pretty. It’s not like anyone will miss him
anyway. All the men working here, including me, are poor and worthless in the
eyes of society. The cops won’t care that he’s disappeared. They’ll assume it
was something drug or gang related and the investigation will be declared
closed as soon as it becomes open.

“You’re aware of the price it costs to work here, right?” I
ask him, and he’s crying even harder. I soften just a little towards him
because if I knew I was about to be killed, I might be crying too.

“Let’s round up all the other employees. I need to make a
statement.”

Carlos nods, that sick gleam in his face, and we exit my
office. He rounds everyone in a circle. Nick and I are in the middle, along
with Carlos who stands over Nick like the Grim Reaper. I have everyone’s
attention and the garage is silent except for the cries and whimpers of Nick.

“It’s been reported to me that we had a rat among the
employees. I’ve got a cop and a lawyer hot on my ass, and I’ve been looking for
the suspect. Looks like it’s our boy Nick here.” I point to Nick who is a
pathetic pile of tears. I wonder idly how Carlos knew this man was the rat when
I’d only mentioned the possibility of a snitch to Richard, but I quickly move
on to my next tactic: instilling the fear of God into these men.

“What is the price you pay to work here? Can anyone answer
that question?” No one speaks but I didn’t expect them too. “You make good
money here, but in order to work here, you have rules to abide by. When you
break these rules, there’s a hefty fine to pay.” I hear Nick’s cries become
louder and I see some of the men shaking. I bet a bunch of them wish they
hadn’t sold their souls to the devil for this job.

“In case some of you are new here and haven’t heard my
speech before, we don’t give second chances. This will be your buddy Nick’s
last night. I have a good friend who makes people disappear and Nick, my
friends, will be doing a disappearing act tonight.”

“NO! Please! NO!” I hear Nick cry and plead, but Carlos has
him on lock down.

“Carlos, tie him to the chair. Richard will be stopping by
tonight and he can take care of this problem for me.” Carlos nods and takes
Nick by the elbow. Nick starts to fight back but he’s no match for Carlos.
After he tries a second time to release the tight grip, Carlos takes his head
and smashes it into the side of the building. Nick becomes an unconscious heap
on the floor, and I hear a few gasps from the audience. I look back at the men.
“Get back to work.” My voice is low but thunderous, and the men quickly return
to their positions. What do they expect? This job isn’t a joke. If I’m caught,
I’ll go to jail.

And my greatest fear is getting caught and going to jail.

The van comes to life, taking the men to jack cars, but
Marcus and I stay in the warehouse tonight to monitor. Also, I’m waiting on my
kidnapping shipment and I’m slightly nervous. I’ve never done anything like
this, but Richard is right. I need to give Birch and Hamilton a distraction,
and this will be the trick. Once their precious daughters are gone, I’ll be the
last thing on their minds. We will have to be careful about those two, though.
Their disappearance will be a big deal. These aren’t my typical warehouse
employees. I’ve stolen from a lawyer and cop. Shit. What have I gotten myself into?

I hear the buzz for the garage door and see Richard’s car
advance inside. The warehouse is alive with activity since we have ten cars
going and everyone is working. Richard and Big Ale step out of the car. Big Ale
is Richard’s right hand man when he’s working for me. He’s humongous, black,
and has tattoos covering almost every square inch of his body. I had always
thought Marcus was scary looking, but Big Ale almost has him beat.

“We have your delivery,” Richard says as he steps around to
the trunk.

“Good. I’ve been waiting. I also have one for you.” I point
to Nick lying on the floor, and Richard nods. He knows exactly what I mean.

From his trunk, he pulls two bodies that are clearly women
with sackcloth over their heads. Damn, they have some good-looking bodies.
Carlos is going to shit a brick when I show him what he gets to “take care of”
for the next couple of weeks. I turn two barrels over upside down and place
them beside each other. All the employees have stopped their work, and now all
the attention is on the two females being lead to the barrels. I signal to
Richard to let them sit. He sits them down. They are deathly still. Their hands
are handcuffed together in the front and they are both in jeans and designer
tops.

“Looks like we’ve hit the jackpot. Maybe we shouldn’t
kidnap, but we should ransom,” I say looking over at the designer clothes and
shoes. I raise my voice for all the workers to hear. “Let this be a lesson to
all of you. This is what happens when you cross me. This is what will happen to
your wives and daughters. Got that?” I yell it loud, and I notice one of the
girls starts to tremble. Good. I need to instill the fear of God in these two
as well. A few of the employees nod, but most look down at the ground in fear.
“I didn’t hear any of you. YOU GOT THAT?”

I hear a low grumble throughout the warehouse, and I know
that I have their attention. “Okay, Carlos. Do the honors since I’m putting you
in charge.” He walks over to the girls with a sick grin on his face and I can
only wonder what’s going through his deranged mind. He steps up to them and
lifts off the sackcloths simultaneously.

The first sight I see are those blue eyes; the ones that
look into the depths of my soul. Next, it’s the blonde hair.

Sitting right in front of me is Claire.

I FREEZE. HOW did this happen? She’s
Hamilton or Birch’s daughter? She has to be Birch’s daughter because now that I
think about it, I recognize Birch’s blond hair and blue eyes. The other girl is
a redhead and she’s younger. Much younger. I hope she’s over eighteen.

Why the hell is Claire’s last name Peters?

I feel sick to my stomach. Now I have really done it. If she
hated me before, she really hates me now. She stares back at me with those blue
eyes, and I see fear. I hate myself again that I have allowed this to happen.
She looks like an angel sitting on the barrel. Who kidnaps and scares an angel?
Only a total asshole would do this.

“Damn,” I say, more to myself than to anyone else, and I run
my hand down my face. I put my hands on my hips and look at the ground.

“What did you say, boss?” Carlos asks. His voice travels
throughout the entire warehouse since no one is making a sound.

“I said DAAAAMMMMNNNN!” I scream the words. I have never
been so upset with myself. I’m also mad at Claire for being here, even though I
know this isn’t her fault. I wasn’t really a hundred percent sure about this
whole kidnapping thing. I should have followed my instincts. I walk to a
workbench and pick up a drill. I scream obscenities and throw the drill with as
much force as I can. It explodes into millions of pieces on the wall. I start
to pick up everything in sight. When there’s nothing left to throw, I rake my
hands down my face and try to breathe. The warehouse has gone eerily quiet, and
when I turn, I see the fear in everyone’s eyes.

“Cuz, I just did what you said to do.” Richard’s voice is
pleading, and I notice the fear in his eyes, too. My anger has never been at
this magnitude before.

Richard motions towards the two girls. It’s only now I
really notice the second girl. She’s beautiful with long red hair and light
green eyes, but her beauty is still nothing compared to Claire. Claire sits
patiently on the bucket and looks right through me with those big blue eyes. I
run my hand down my face again. I’ve got to make a decision and quick. Everyone
is staring at me, awaiting my next move. I walk to the girls and stand right
inches in front of their feet.

My voice is calm and my instructions are firm. “The blonde
is with me. Take her to my office and let her wait in there. If anybody, and I
mean
anybody
,” I say, looking directly at Carlos, “lays a finger on her,
there will be hell to pay.” I pause for a second and glance around. “Does
everyone understand that?” I look into all of their eyes, and I see a few nods.
Carlos nods, too, but you can never trust him. This is a dangerous place for
women. Especially two women like Claire and the redhead.

“I’ll take them to your office, boss.” Marcus steps up and
grabs Claire’s elbow.

“No, just the blonde goes. Carlos can take the redhead.”

Claire gasps, and I see fear and worry in her eyes. I’ve
only spent a few hours with her, and I know what she’s thinking. She’s worried
about the redhead. Shit. She’s going to be the death of me.

“Carlos, I take that back. These girls are no longer your
concern. Marcus, take the redhead upstairs and tell Sally to watch her.” I
watch as Marcus grabs both their elbows and leads them towards my office. As
Claire walks away, she looks back at me for a second and our eyes meet. I can’t
believe I have done this to her.

I collect my thoughts and look to see everyone still staring
at me. “Seriously? GET BACK TO WORK! What’s everyone standing around for?
Show’s over!”

Everyone disperses like cockroaches, making their way back
towards their cars.

“I’m not sure what just happened here. I thought this is
what you said you wanted to do?” Richard has walked over to me and he’s worried
he messed up. Well, he did mess up, but I did, too. I should have found out
more information about these girls first.

“What did you do to get them here?” My voice is rough and
I’m staring straight into his eyes.

“Nothing, Cuz. We took them while they were trying to get
into their cars after work. Nobody saw us take them. We made sure security
cameras were off and then we threw them in the van and put the sackcloth over
their heads. They might have a few bumps and bruises, but that’s it. What’s the
problem?”

“Nothing, Richard. There’s no problem.” I pause for a second
to collect my thoughts. “You just stick to your job of getting their fathers
off my back.” I walk away from him and head towards my office. I don’t look
back but I feel the eyes of Richard and Carlos watching me. I want to yell at
them, too, but I don’t. Carlos is a good enough man, and Richard is my cousin.
I’ll save my yelling for the employees.

My pace slows the closer I get to my office door. What am I
going to tell Claire? For some reason, I think “I’m sorry” won’t do the trick.
I slowly turn the handle and walk inside. My office is a dump. There’s a
computer in the corner and papers everywhere. I have one chair, which she’s
sitting on. One of her hands is cuffed to the arm of the chair. Her eyes are
red and swollen, and I see remnants of tears on her cheeks. I lean myself
against the desk and cross my ankles. I look at the floor because I’m not
really sure what to say.

“You’ve been following me, haven’t you? That entire lunch
was a ploy for you to kidnap me.” She breaks the ice by speaking first and I’m
taken back by what she’s saying. “Why didn’t you take me that day?” She screams
this last sentence, and instead of fear, I now detect anger.

No one has ever spoken to me like this. No man and
especially no woman raise their voice to me. Part of me wants to slap her. I
need to show her my dominance and keep her in her place, but the other part
wants to wrap her in my arms and apologize with kisses. This girl has some
crazy affect on me. I hate it and love it all at the same time.

“Claire.” I start trying to find the words, “I’m so sorry.”
As I say this I look into her blue eyes. She’s sitting there reading me like a
book. I sense the tension in the room and feel as if she has laid me open and
bare to read my inner soul. She sees more of me with those eyes than anyone
else has ever dared to see. I’ve never even apologized to anyone before, and
here I go and apologize to a woman.

“You’re sorry? That’s what you have to say? You’re sorry for
kidnapping me?” Now she’s frustrated and I think she might cry. I can’t let her
cry again. I want to explain the truth, but I’m not sure in this moment she
will even believe me.

“Claire, will you let me explain? That lunch…that lunch was
never suppose to happen. I had no idea of the kidnapping then. I had no idea
you were Birch’s daughter. I didn’t know.” So, now I’m babbling and I can’t seem
to tell her what I really want to say. “Why is your last name Peters and not
Birch?”

She sniffs and wipes her eyes with the hand that’s not
cuffed. Her eyes have turned blue like the ocean, and I can’t seem to break the
stare. “My father wasn’t married to my mother when I was born. I was given her
maiden name and I’ve never had it changed. I don’t like people knowing my dad
is Peter Birch because then they treat me differently.”

I say it again, but I don’t know how much progress I’m
making. “I’m sorry, Claire. I didn’t know.”

She’s silent for a minute, and I know she’s pondering my
messed-up words. “You were right. You’re not a good guy and that lunch
never
should have happened.” Her words are venom, but they’re true. Why did I even
come in here? Did I think she would forgive me?

“Claire, I never meant to hurt you.” I run my hands down my
face and take a deep breath. “While you’re here, I’ll do what I can to make it
up to you. I promise to protect you. You need to be with me at all times.
You’re not to leave my side.”

“When do I get to leave? When do I get to go home?” She asks
the loaded question, and I don’t have an answer.

I look at the floor when I answer her. “Your father has a
file that I need, a very important file. I can’t let you go until I have that
file.” I don’t mention that I really can never let her go. She would rat out
our location and be a serious liability. I can’t tell her that she’s my
prisoner until I decide otherwise and then we will have to send her away with
Richard, that she will probably never see her family again.

“Why did you kidnap me? I could have found the file for you
without going through all of this.”

“Because your father is working with Officer Hamilton and
they want this car theft ring disbanded. We need to give both your father and
Officer Hamilton a distraction. We figured this was the best way.”

She lets out a huge breath, and I try to say something,
anything
,
that will make this situation better. “I’m sorry, but you have to stay with me
until I have that file.” Okay, it’s a lie, but the truth is too painful. She’s
not ready for the truth yet, and I sure as hell am not ready to mention the
truth. We don’t say anything for a moment and I hear the second hand on the
clock ticking its rhythm.

“You’re an asshole.” She breaks the silence. She has no idea
what her words do to my soul.

I would have slapped any other woman across the face. But
since it’s Claire, and I know it’s true, I let her vent her wrath.

“I’m sorry. That’s all I can say.” I lift off from my desk
and see Marcus has left the cuff keys on the back of the door. I take them and
uncuff her from the chair. As mush as I hate to do this, I cuff her hands back
together. I can’t have her running away tonight and giving out our plans and
our location to her father. I hold her by the elbow and direct her back out
into the warehouse. I sit her down on a couch next to one of the workbenches
and lace her cuffs to the couch arm. The entire time, she looks me in the eyes.
I try to avoid her glare. It wouldn’t take much for me to let her go, but I
must remain strong.

“Sit here tonight while we work.” I’m about to ask her if
she needs something to eat or drink, but I’m pretty sure she would tell me to
go to hell, so I don’t. I leave her there and walk over to one of the cars. We
seem to be right on schedule for the dawn deadline. I bark orders at some of my
employees and the night resumes as normal. As normal as it can, considering I
am constantly trying to ignore a pair of blue eyes sending daggers at my back.

DAWN IS UPON us and the cars are
lined up for the first buyers. We are shipping them out two by two. The cash in
my hands becomes thicker and thicker. I glance at Claire and see her curled in
a ball on the shabby couch. Her small hands are still cuffed together, and I feel
terrible she’s sleeping in this condition. I hurry to finish the job and check
in with Simon to make sure they’ve had a successful night as well. I distribute
the cash and stuff the rest in my pockets.

Then I walk over to Claire. I don’t want to wake her. She
sleeps so peacefully, yet I know she’s got to be uncomfortable. I uncuff her
hands and sweep her up in my arms. She doesn’t wake.

Marcus eyes me as he walks towards the door. He swings the
door to the steps and waits for me to walk through. I carry her up the stairs
and hear Marcus turning all the bolts to lock us in. I walk her to my room and
gently lay her on the bed.

I hate to keep her cuffed, but I know she will run off if I
don’t. I uncuff one of her arms and cuff the other to the bed. I remove her
shoes, but decide to leave on her jeans. She’s already freaked out, I would
hate for her to think I touched her. I wrap her up in my blankets and change
into pajama bottoms. I usually only wear boxers, but I decide to go more
conservative with her in the bed.

I make sure my bedroom door is locked, and I crawl into bed
beside her. I stare at her sleeping and the desire to touch her is strong, but
I know she’s off limits. I make myself comfortable and try not to think about
having the world’s most beautiful girl sleeping right next to me. I put my mind
on other things, like cars and getting my hands on the files at Birch’s office.
Before I know it, I have drifted off to sleep, still fighting the urge to put
my hands all over Claire.