Page 73 of Conning the Billionaire
But, Rachele.
Salvatore going after her little sister was worse. Kylie couldn’t even off herself to get away.
So she’d do what she had to, which meant Kylie wouldn’t be leaving that office with Micah, no matter how his part of the scam went.
Kylie marched up the staircase ahead of Micah, cradling her lumpy purse against her chest. Her shoes clomped on the cement stairs, and her footfalls rang in the white-painted windowless cave.
Micah’s steps thumped behind her, and that weird leather duffel bag he’d thrown in the back of his car clanked as he carried it up the stairs. She’d asked him about it when he’d thrown it in the trunk of his car, and entirely not shockingly, he’d deflected the question.
When they reached the fourth floor, Kylie yanked open the heavy steel door from the staircase to the hallway. Micah frowned at the stairwell door and whispered to her, “This door has an electronic lock, too.”
Kylie didn’t have the energy to feel bad about missing part of Salvatore’s security system. “Yeah. Sorry, I guess I missed that.”
Micah shrugged. “It’s okay. You got what you could. It’s enough.”
At least he didn’t make her feel bad about it.
When they reached the windowless steel door at the end of the hallway, Kylie paused before she looked up at the security camera.
Here it was.
Her one last chance to bolt and escape Salvatore Grande’s threats of captivity, rape, being used as a drug mule, and probably worse.
And leaving her little sister to be abused and trafficked instead of her.
Kylie lifted her face and looked up at the black security camera aimed at her head. “I’m here for an appointment. This is Micah Shine, the art expert I told Mr. Grande about.”
A long moment passed, and icy sweat broke out on Kylie’s skin.
The door buzzed and clicked.
She pushed it open and strode into the waiting room.
Three men, large in both the vertical and horizontal orientations, sat in chairs looking at their phones.
One glanced up at Kylie when they walked in.
Another guy she hadn’t noticed closed the door behind them and stared down at her.
Micah stuck his hand out at the Mafia enforcer and said in an arch British accent, “Hullo, there! Great to meet you. I’m Micah Shine of Shine Industries, Art Authentication Services. And to whom may I have the pleasure of speaking?”
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, where had Micah’s English accent come from? He’d never talked like that before.
The enforcer guy blinked, discombobulated, and shook Micah’s hand. “Uh, Tony. Tony Fava.”
Kylie just knew that guy’s Mafia name must be Tony Fava Bean, because of course it would be.
“Absolute pleasure to meet you, Mr. Fava. I’m looking forward to meeting Mr. Grande. I’ve heard he has an extraordinary art collection, and authenticating the pieces would make them truly priceless.”
“Yeah, Mr. Shine, we’re gonna need to see what’s in the bag, what with times the way they are and all.”
Micah dropped the bag on the floor and unzipped it, stepping back to let Grande’s enforcers inspect what was inside. “Certainly, what with times the way they are and all.”
Oh, God, if Micah was trying to bring weapons into Salvatore Grande’s office, they were both going to get whacked. Kylie should have warned him but hadn’t thought he would be that dumb.
Tony poked around inside. “What d’you need a crowbar for?”
“It’s a small crowbar, as you can see. If a painting is stuck in a frame, sometimes wedging it out can require a bit of muscle to shake it loose.”
