Page 55 of Lost to Thievery
“That’s definitely a ten out of ten,” Rachel announced from the backseat, pointing her lollipop at the girl walking up to the bouncer, completely skipping the line. We were rating the club-goers’ outfits to pass the time.
It seemed that the Bratva had a nightclub in the basement of their warehouse. The above ground levels were tightly locked up and completely dark, with windows painted over to conceal whatever they had inside. A burly-looking man in a leather jacket moved around the building every two hours to ensure none of the club-goers had gone near the warehouse.
Owen decided to get a better look, once the burly man completed his rounds again. Until then, we waited patiently.
“Oh my God! Turn that up!” Rachel waved her lollipop at the radio, bouncing up and down. She gave another excited shriek as I turned the volume up.
The song playing on the radio didn’t match Rachel’s excitement at all. It was beautifully sad and haunting.
Rachel went still for a moment, then chuckled sadly. “That’s my song.”
I whipped around in my seat. “What?” I whispered. My heart swelled with pride and broke at the same time. One of Rachel’s songs was playing on the radio, and it was the first time I was hearing about it.
I blinked at the mist blurring my vision. “Why…” The lump in my throat made it impossible to say anything else.
Rach understood anyway. “I wrote it when you were taken. My mom secretly recorded me and sent it to a producer. ‘Cause I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to do much of anything during that time.” She huffed a sad laugh. “But they loved it. And I know I should’ve told you about it, A, but you were in a bad place when you got back. It just didn’t feel right. But I wrote it for you, babe.”
“Oh, Rach!” I scrambled over the seat and tackled my friend into an iron hug, sobbing loudly. “It’s so very perfect.” I pulledaway and wiped the tears from her face, then softly smoothed her hair down. “I’m so unbearably proud of you,” I cried.
My tears wouldn’t stop flowing as I listened to the rest of the song while tightly holding on to Rachel. It reminded me of the night I delivered the letter to tell her I was okay. It reminded me of the way she looked, standing under that streetlight, a mere ghost of herself.
“Jesus, that’s the saddest fucking song I’ve ever heard,” Owen said flatly as the song ended, making me and Rachel giggle through the tears. “Consider me impressed, blondie.” He gave her an appraising look.
Another hour went by while I fangirledhardover Rachel’s song. We were sprawled in the backseat, chatting excitedly about the latest song she wrote when Owen cleared his throat, sitting up straighter.
“There he is,” he informed us, pointing at the burly guy. “When he’s done walking the perimeter, I’m going in.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. Even Rachel was chewing nervously on her nails as we waited.
When the guy disappeared back into the nightclub, Owen opened his door.
“Wait!” I whispered-shouted for no reason. “I’m coming with you.”
Owen looked at me as if I was insane. “Don’t start with me, Ava. You’re staying put. If I’m not back in two hours, call Syntax.” He shut the door and walked across the street, zipping his jacket closed as he went.
“You’re not staying put, are you?” Rachel noted, keeping her eyes on Owen.
“Nope.”
“Jeez, Ava. You’re gonna send me to an early grave, you know that?”
I quickly pulled up Syntax’s number from the contacts and handed my phone to Rachel, then pulled on my jacket. “I can’t just let him go in there alone.”
“Two is better than one,” Grayson had always said.“Even the best of us needs backup sometimes.”That was rule number six.
“You heard Owen. If we’re not back in two hours, call Syntax. And get behind the wheel. Just in case we need a quick getaway.” I grinned at her gaping mouth. “We’ll befine,” I chuckled nervously as I got out of the car.
I walked across the street, following Owen’s path. I kept to the shadows like Grayson taught me, quietly moving past two men smoking on the sidewalk. They didn’t even notice me.
I rounded the warehouse and found Owen in the back, using a piece of wire to unlatch a window from the inside. I snuck up behind him. “For a cop, you sure are a little sus.”
Owen jumped around, instinctively reaching for the gun on his hip that wasn’t there. “Jesus, Ava!” He sagged forward, bracing his hands on his knees. “If I had my gun, you’d be dead right now. Don’t sneak up on me like that!”
I’d made Owen leave his gun and badge at home when we departed on our vacation, adamant to leave all FBI and Apparition-related business behind. A choice I was regretting right about now.
“Didn’t I tell you to stay in the car?”
“When have I ever listened to you?” I whispered back.
