Letty. I’m not sure why.”
“You’re not going to ask me why I do this to myself—”
“I don’t care.” He looked back at her. She could see he’d made a decision. “Letty, if you fail me—”
“Trust me, I know.”
“May I finish?” He reached into his water and plucked out a cube of ice. Pushed it around on the table as it slowly melted. “I won’t even bother with you. I’ll go to Jacob first. And when you see me again, I’ll have a part of him to show you.”
She drew in a sudden breath. “How do you know about him?”
“Does it matter?”
The last two months of this crystal bender, she hadn’t allowed herself to think about her son. He’d been taken from her just prior to her last incarceration. He lived in Oregon with his father’s mother. Six years old. She pushed the thought of him into that heavy steel cage inside her chest where she carried more than a little hurt.
The food came. She wiped her eyes.
She tried not to eat too fast, but she had never been hungrier in her life. It was the first time she’d had real food in her stomach in days. Waves of nausea swept over her. Javier reached across the table and stole a strip of bacon.
“Bacon tax.” He smiled and bit it in half. “Have you heard of a man named John Fitch?”
She didn’t look up from the scrambled eggs she was shoveling into her mouth. “No.”
“He was the ceo of PowerTech.”
“What’s that?”
“A global energy and commodities company based in Houston.”
“Wait, maybe I did see something about it on the news. There was a scandal, right?”
“They cooked the books, defrauded investors. Thousands of PowerTech employees lost their pensions. Fitch and his inner circle were behind it all. A month ago, he was convicted for securities fraud. Sentenced to twenty-six years in prison.”
“What he deserves.”
“Says the thief. He’s out on a seventy-five-million-dollar bail. Scheduled to report to a federal prison in North Carolina in nine days.”
Letty set her fork down and took a sip of black coffee. She hadn’t had caffeine in weeks, and already she was feeling jittery. “Where’s this going, Jav?”
“Fitch’s family has abandoned him. He has no one. He’s sixty-six and will very likely die in prison. I happen to know that he’s looking for some female companionship for his last night of freedom. Not a call girl from some—” Letty was already shaking her head “—high-end escort service. Someone very, very special.”
“I’m not a prostitute,” Letty said. “I’ve never done that, never will. I don’t care how much money you wave in my face.”
“Do you think I couldn’t find a woman who is younger, more beautiful and more… experienced …than you if all I wanted was a hooker?”
“Charming.”
“Letty, this could be the score of a lifetime for you.”
“I’m not following.”
Javier smiled, a terrifying spectacle.
The entire restaurant shook as a jet thundered overhead.
“It’s not a trick,” he said. “It’s a heist.”
CHAPTER TWO
T he last work Letty had done with Javier had involved stealing from high rollers in Vegas. He’d hooked her up with universal keycards and supplied surveillance to let her know when marks had left their rooms. That job had presented a degree of risk for sure, but nothing beyond her comfort level. Nothing like this.
She cut into a waffle, said, “Gotta be honest—I’m not over the moon about the word heist .”
“No? It’s one of my favorites.”
“It sounds like something you need a gun for. And a getaway car. The type of job where people get killed.”
She swabbed the piece of waffle through a pool of syrup and took a bite.
“See, that’s the beautiful thing about this job, Letty. It’s high return on a low-risk venture.”
“You just asked me if I’d be willing to risk my life for a million-dollar payday.”
“I didn’t say there was no risk. Just that it’s low considering the potential
“You’re not going to ask me why I do this to myself—”
“I don’t care.” He looked back at her. She could see he’d made a decision. “Letty, if you fail me—”
“Trust me, I know.”
“May I finish?” He reached into his water and plucked out a cube of ice. Pushed it around on the table as it slowly melted. “I won’t even bother with you. I’ll go to Jacob first. And when you see me again, I’ll have a part of him to show you.”
She drew in a sudden breath. “How do you know about him?”
“Does it matter?”
The last two months of this crystal bender, she hadn’t allowed herself to think about her son. He’d been taken from her just prior to her last incarceration. He lived in Oregon with his father’s mother. Six years old. She pushed the thought of him into that heavy steel cage inside her chest where she carried more than a little hurt.
The food came. She wiped her eyes.
She tried not to eat too fast, but she had never been hungrier in her life. It was the first time she’d had real food in her stomach in days. Waves of nausea swept over her. Javier reached across the table and stole a strip of bacon.
“Bacon tax.” He smiled and bit it in half. “Have you heard of a man named John Fitch?”
She didn’t look up from the scrambled eggs she was shoveling into her mouth. “No.”
“He was the ceo of PowerTech.”
“What’s that?”
“A global energy and commodities company based in Houston.”
“Wait, maybe I did see something about it on the news. There was a scandal, right?”
“They cooked the books, defrauded investors. Thousands of PowerTech employees lost their pensions. Fitch and his inner circle were behind it all. A month ago, he was convicted for securities fraud. Sentenced to twenty-six years in prison.”
“What he deserves.”
“Says the thief. He’s out on a seventy-five-million-dollar bail. Scheduled to report to a federal prison in North Carolina in nine days.”
Letty set her fork down and took a sip of black coffee. She hadn’t had caffeine in weeks, and already she was feeling jittery. “Where’s this going, Jav?”
“Fitch’s family has abandoned him. He has no one. He’s sixty-six and will very likely die in prison. I happen to know that he’s looking for some female companionship for his last night of freedom. Not a call girl from some—” Letty was already shaking her head “—high-end escort service. Someone very, very special.”
“I’m not a prostitute,” Letty said. “I’ve never done that, never will. I don’t care how much money you wave in my face.”
“Do you think I couldn’t find a woman who is younger, more beautiful and more… experienced …than you if all I wanted was a hooker?”
“Charming.”
“Letty, this could be the score of a lifetime for you.”
“I’m not following.”
Javier smiled, a terrifying spectacle.
The entire restaurant shook as a jet thundered overhead.
“It’s not a trick,” he said. “It’s a heist.”
CHAPTER TWO
T he last work Letty had done with Javier had involved stealing from high rollers in Vegas. He’d hooked her up with universal keycards and supplied surveillance to let her know when marks had left their rooms. That job had presented a degree of risk for sure, but nothing beyond her comfort level. Nothing like this.
She cut into a waffle, said, “Gotta be honest—I’m not over the moon about the word heist .”
“No? It’s one of my favorites.”
“It sounds like something you need a gun for. And a getaway car. The type of job where people get killed.”
She swabbed the piece of waffle through a pool of syrup and took a bite.
“See, that’s the beautiful thing about this job, Letty. It’s high return on a low-risk venture.”
“You just asked me if I’d be willing to risk my life for a million-dollar payday.”
“I didn’t say there was no risk. Just that it’s low considering the potential
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