Black Girls and Bad Boys: Stealing Loretta by Neneh J. Gordon Page A

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