Off Limits(139)

The phone went dead in my ear, and I pulled it away, wiping at my ear like his words were some sort of infectious disease that I had to clean away. “Bluebird of Happiness motel, forty-five minutes from now,” I informed them, “and I’m supposed to be alone, no car.”

“Not a problem,” Vince said. “That sort of thing can be dealt with. Sydney will be looking for Kade, your BMW, stuff like that. A couple of guys hanging around will barely register on his radar. He’s a photographer, for crying out loud.”

“Good point,” Kade said. “Come on, let’s go.”

As it was, the motel was only about two blocks from the mall, so we decided to park there. On the way, Vince called his contact, informing him of the conversation between Syd and myself. He spoke quickly, then hung up. “They’re going to meet us in the Disney Store of the mall with time to spare.”

“Disney store? Really?” I asked. “What the hell for, someone needs a pair of Winnie-the-Pooh pajamas?”

“Probably because they don’t think Sydney would have anyone there who would tip him off,” Rita said.

“Yes, ma’am,” Vince said, glancing in the rearview mirror.

“Okay, so what now?” I asked.

Kade grabbed a hat and pair of non-prescription eyeglasses, slipping them on. It didn’t take away much from his physical presence, but it did obscure his face. “Let’s go. Sydney doesn’t know Vince or Rita, so you two can follow behind more closely than I can. I’ll be in the mall, maybe a store or two away. You guys can call me if you need help.”

We split up, taking different routes into the mall. I saw Rita and Vince holding hands and looking like any other young couple when I turned around on the escalator like I was looking around, although I wondered if Vince was able to focus as much as Kade would have wanted. His face wore such a stupidly happy look. Then again, I guessed I wore the same expression a lot, based off of the way Mom looked at me the night before at dinner.

Inside the Disney Store, I stood close to the DVD sales rack, pretending to decide whether I should choose between the re-issue of Aladdin or if perhaps Big Hero 6 was more my taste. I checked my watch and saw that I had only fifteen minutes to make Sydney’s deadline, and I was about to go when a conservative-looking man in chinos and a jean jacket came up to me. “Nice choice. I have a nephew who is nuts over the Avengers though.”

“Thanks. But I’m shopping for a young child.”

“Good to know,” he said. “So shall we go? I believe we only have twelve minutes to make your deadline.”

I nodded, and we turned to leave. I caught Rita out of the corner of my eye and she nodded slightly, her and Vince leaving soon after. As the man and I headed toward the exit, he spoke quietly. “I hope that Vince and the girl with him don’t follow us the whole way. I already have men at the motel, they’re waiting to move as soon as Sydney shows his face. They’re not even worried about getting a confession or evidence; our connection within the LAPD tells us they already have a slam-dunk case of blackmail and extortion on him.”

“And once he’s arrested?”

“No offense Miss Nova, but you don’t strike me as the type of person who wants the details about what will happen to him. At least, not if you want to sleep at night.”

“Fine,” I said. “And if things go bad?”

“My men are used to this stuff. Sydney’s an amateur. If we had the evidence we have now, we’d have done this a long time ago.”

We were at the corner, and I could see a Denny’s with four motorcycles parked outside, along with men who looked a lot like my escort. “Your boys?”

“Just the distraction, in case Hale’s got his own backup. My real boys are already in position.”

I saw the sign for the Bluebird of Happiness ahead, and my escort nodded. “There. I’m peeling off now. I’ll be there though. Relax, and best of luck.”

I looked around as I walked, seeing that Rita and Vince had disappeared from sight, although I thought I could see Kade in his hat and glasses about a hundred yards behind me on the other side of the street. Taking a deep breath, I finished walking toward the motel. Turning into the parking lot, I looked around for the main office.

I was halfway toward it when a horn beeped behind me, and Sydney waved from a car that was pulling into the driveway. I squinted, pretending not to see who it was, and he beeped again. Playing dumb, I looked around like I was blocking his path, and stepped back and out of the way, across the lot from him. I wanted him out of his car, and whoever might be in there from being able to intervene. It was a ploy, but one that I hoped would be effective.

Thankfully, it worked. “Get over here, you dumb bitch,” Syd said, opening his door and getting halfway out. “Jesus, you are as stupid as you are hot.”

Things went tremendously fast then. Three men, clear bikers from their clothing, stepped out of the bushes and the area surrounding Sydney’s car. Two of them were carrying pistols while another racked a pump-action shotgun. “Hello, Syd.”

Sydney looked around and recognized the weapons pointed at him, if not the men. He turned to me and growled. “Really?”

I nodded. “Really. Have fun in jail, Sydney.”

Two of the men, the one with the shotgun and the pistol toter closest to Sydney, pulled him out of his car and dragged him off. The other pistol toter climbed into the still-running Honda and closed the door, driving off. Less than fifteen seconds had passed, and I turned around, heading back toward the mall before someone from the motel office could step out.