Page 175 of Power
“I’m not leaving you,” Luciano said to her.
“Hey, Simone,” Teddy said.
“Hi, Teddy.”
“Newburg parks in his garage,” Teddy continued. “He’s home. His girlfriend is there. She parked in the driveway. I’ll override the garage door opener, so you can open the garage enough to get inside, then attach the tracker.”
“Grazie, fratello,” Luciano said before ending the call.
As instructed, he parked in front of the vacant house, handed Simone a ski mask and black gloves before pulling on his own.
“We’ll jog down the middle of the street,” he said. “Do you want to open the garage door or attach the tracker?”
“I’ll attach the tracker,” she replied. “What should I do if they come out while we’re there?”
“Get out of the garage if you can and we’ll hide around the side of his house.”
“And if they enter the garage from the house?”
“You’re screwed,” he said and flashed her a smile.
She laughed.
“Get out. If you can’t, hide in the garage.”
With their simple plan in place, they exited the vehicle. Simone started jogging down the middle of the street and he pulled up alongside her.
This wasn’t normal. It wasn’t how most people began a healthy relationship, but he wouldn’t change a thing.
This wastheirstory, no matter how extreme.
As he approached Newburg’s cozy, two-story home, he slowed. One car sat in the driveway. The front porch light was on, as were two lights on the first floor and one upstairs. He pulled the tracker, handed it to Simone. As he lifted the door, it squeaked on its hinges.
“Fuck,” he murmured.
Simone knelt, then vanished inside while he held the garage door in place.
The front door opened, Newburg’s voice filtered into the night. “Honey, I wish you’d stay.”
“You snore and I can’t sleep,” said a woman. “Plus, I’ve gotta get up at four.”
Simone hurried out. He lowered the garage door, clasped her hand, and they bolted into the shadows, but the crunch of dry leaves on the side lawn stopped them.
His heart beat slow and steady in his chest.
“Did you hear that?” asked the girlfriend.
“Hear what?” Newburg asked.
“Like an animal running through the grass or something,” she said.
“Maybe you heard a deer,” Newburg replied.
“Crouch,” Luciano whispered.
Together, they turned toward the backyard and squatted.
If Newburg or his girlfriend approached the side of the house, they’d run. No way could Newburg catch them. As they hid in the shadows and waited, a surge of excitement powered through him.
