Straight Flushed (Hot Pursuit #1)(75)

“Because I told you, I didn’t know how dangerous of a situation I’d gotten pulled into.” Rancor whetted his voice.

“But, a hundred thousand dollars?” I asked, astonished. “That’s a helluva lot.”

“I wanted to have enough money to live on comfortably in case I needed to disappear for a little bit.”

It was abundantly clear that my concept of ‘money to live on comfortably’ and his differed greatly. In a self-embrace, I rubbed the sides of my arms. “And the passport? Were you planning on going somewhere in particular?”

“I wasn’t sure, but it’s what I do. I prepare. I plan. I anticipate. I’ve made a lot of money doing that. I may not even need it for all I know, but I should at least have it, don’t you think?”

“I guess. It just seems like a lot of money to be walking around with.”

He laughed. “I’m from New York. Everything is more expensive. Your modest apartment would be three thousand dollars a month. My concept of money and yours aren’t the same.” He shrugged. “In the future, just ask me before you go poking around in my stuff. I would have happily shown it to you.”

I glanced down at the floor. “Of course. I’m sorry.”

Off in the other room, my phone rang. My hangover was slowly dissipating but was far from gone. Each step jostled the fluid sloshing around in my brain. I trotted over next to the bed, still irked by what had just happened with Stephen. Cavanaugh’s name displayed on my screen and instantly all was forgotten.

“Good morning, sir,” I said.

“Cain. We’re all set. Ready for the details?”

“Yes. Give me one second, please. I need to grab something to write with.” I threw a shirt over my head then walked back into the office. I sat down at the desk with a of pad hotel paper. I gave Stephen a look that suggested I wanted privacy, so he walked off into the other room. “Ready when you are,” I added.

“We’re meeting at noon at Fountain Square.”

Fountain Square is a landmark in the center of the city. It’s decorated with a majestic fountain. Surrounding the fountain were restaurants and plenty of quaint little areas to meet and eat. And, it’s very public.

“Really?” I asked. It seemed like we should be doing some more cloak and dagger, dark alley type stuff. “Out in the open?”

“It’s public, and we have a variety of options if something is to go awry, lots of escape routes. We’re hiding in plain sight, yet still, the odds of anything happening should be next to none.”

I shrugged and nodded. “True.”

He added, “There’s a small area with tables set up outside of the fountain. Vance and I will arrive first to sweep the area and secure the location. I’ll have Vance send you an ‘all clear’ when we’re through. Have your radio on to station one.”

“Okay,” I said, scribbling my notes.

“After the ‘all clear’, Andrews and Capinski are going to arrive with Quinn, and you’ll arrive with your guy.”

“Got it.”

We walked through some tactical details of cars, surveillance, a primary escape route and a secondary location in the event of needing to make a quick exit. I sketched out a general map so I could have a clear picture of where everyone and everything was going to be.

“Okay. Sounds good. I have it down.” I repeated everything I’d written for confirmation.

“All right,” he said. “Let’s get these two men together so they can conduct their business. Get them in and get them out. We shouldn’t have any problems.” He disconnected the call.

I read over what I’d written to make sure I had everything down. I glanced down at Stephen’s gun on the table next to my paper and grabbed it then walked out of the office. As I laid it in my suitcase, I noticed Stephen had already dressed. His careless hair had been combed back with a swipe of his fingers. A damp chunk fell onto his forehead as he bent over, putting some things into his bag. He stood, pushing his shoulders back, and locked his eyes on mine. My shirt came only to the top of my thighs, not leaving much to the imagination, and he noticed. I needed to remove myself from the scene.

I spoke, walking toward the bathroom. “The meeting is all set.”

“Where?”

“Fountain Square at noon. You guys will only have five—ten minutes tops—to tackle what you need to before we’ll need to move.” Standing in front of the sink, I picked up my toothbrush and loaded it with a dab of toothpaste.

“Great. That should be more than enough time.”

I brushed my teeth. It was only nine o’clock. Three hours until the meeting. I couldn’t sit in the room that long and do nothing, especially alone in a room with Stephen. Idle minds become the devil’s playground.

“Hey,” I said, poking my head around the corner with the toothbrush positioned in my cheek. He was seated on the end of the bed, watching the beginning of Kelly and Michael. “I think I’m going to hit the gym and burn the rest of this alcohol out of my system.” My headache had degenerated into a mild annoyance.

He looked over at me and smiled. “That’s pretty diehard. I admire your tenacity.”

“I want to be my best today.” And every day. “You going to be okay here?”