Page 128 of Penny For Your Thoughts
I considered the toolbox and a few other mechanical pieces of equipment left behind. “Possible, but I doubt it. These aren’t controlled environments. A guy with luxury cars and money would want better. Five minutes, Tallus. Let’s see if anything important survived. I want proof that Lukyan rents this place. Take pictures if you can, but it all stays here.”
I didn’t expect we’d find anything with the state of the unit. If Tallus’s suspicions were correct, Lukyan had taken the important files and made sure to destroy the rest.
Tallus rolled the toolbox under the mounted shelves, and I gave him a boost so he could stand on top. While he explored what remained above, I dug through the ashes below to see if anything had survived.
A short time later, two things happened. Tallus called out, “D, I found your proof,” and a car engine sounded in the distance.
We both froze and listened.
The engine noise grew louder.
It was moving toward our location.
28
Diem
“Shit, shit, shit. We’ve got to split.” I abandoned the charred files and raced to the toolbox, arms extended, hands flapping. “Down. Now.”
Tallus, wide-eyed and with his ear cocked to the sound of the approaching car, didn’t react.
“Tallus. Move it.”
He shook free from the shock and glanced at the shelf where he’d been rummaging. He swept a bundle of papers into his arms and tucked them under his shirt. I would have objected and reminded him we weren’t supposed to take anything, but I didn’t have time to argue.
He grabbed my extended hand and jumped from the toolbox, landing safely on his feet. The beam of his flashlight flickered. We moved to the garage door, and I peered through the gap at the bottom, surreptitiously poking my head out only so far as I needed to see.
At the end of our row, a pair of blinding headlights headed in our direction. I jerked back, cursing. Christ, did the storage company havenighttime security, or was it a police detail because of the fire? Fucking hell. We couldn’t leave now, or we would land directly in the person’s line of sight.
I tugged the bolt cutters free and lowered the door, wincing at the earsplitting complaint of metal.
“What do we do?” Tallus hissed.
“Shut off the light. Let me think.”
Swamped in darkness, I scrambled for options. If it was the police, we were fucked. Their duty would include checking the locker, and if they noticed the chain on the ground, it would alert whoever it was to trouble. They would get out of their cruiser and investigate. We would be discovered. We had nowhere to go and nowhere to hide.
The vehicle approached at a crawl, its proximity difficult to discern without visual confirmation. We had thirty seconds, a minute tops, unless the person weaved down a few side rows. Again, that would depend on who they were and their purpose for being there.
“D?”
“Give me your phone.”
Tallus didn’t ask questions. The shuffle of clothing as he searched was only slightly louder than my pounding heart. I couldn’t see him—or anything—but my fear was technicolor. A moment later, he touched my hand and shoved the phone into my palm.
The screen shone bright when I hit the button, making me squint as I typed in his password. I connected a call to my cell, which I’d left in the Jeep. It rang twice before a confused-sounding Darcy answered.
“H-hello?”
“Get over here. Now! Go over the fence where Tallus and I came in. Fourth row in, parallel to the fence. Cause a distraction. We’ve got company, and if you don’t intervene in the next thirty seconds, we’re fucked.”
“But… I thought I was supposed to stay in the Jeep.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, kid. Did you hear anything I said? Move your ass.”
“Okay, okay. You don’t have to yell.” Under his breath, he muttered, “But I don’t know how I’m climbing a fence with a broken arm.”
“I’m sure you can figure it out.”
