Page 8 of Crash Course
Not like him.
"Hang up!"
Greg lunged at her. Whoa. An explosion of adrenaline poured from her brain. Everything flashed white and she blinked just as Cruz intercepted Greg, grabbing him by the shirt with both hands.
"Touch her and I’ll bloody your floor." He shoved Greg against the wall, holding him there. "I’m done with this. We’re taking that painting."
Pinned against the wall, a defenseless Greg jerked his chin at his employee. "Shut off the alarm. I want these animals out of here."
"Careful," Cilla said. "I might sue you for slander."
The kid ran behind the desk, did something they couldn’t see. "Okay," he said.
"Go," Greg shouted. "Get out."
Phin removed a pair of cotton gloves from his trouser pockets and slid them on before lifting the painting from the wall anchors. He peered at the sales guy. "Get me a box that we can transport this in."
"Yes," Cilla said. "We’d hate for it to get damaged."
With his boss still held in place by Cruz, the kid took off, running through the door Greg had just come from. A minute later, he returned with a large cardboard box.
"Thanks." Phin slid the painting inside. "Tape?"
"Please." Greg rolled his eyes. "I think we’ve done enough."
Outside,Cruz loaded the boxed painting into the cargo area of the SUV while Phin and Cilla stood watch on the sidewalk in case old Greg called the cops.
A definite lack of sirens, however, indicated all was well in BARS land and they should toast to another successful recovery.
Too bad he had to fly; otherwise he’d suggest a pit stop.
Painting secured, Cruz hit the button on the tailgate and stepped back until it closed.
The three of them loaded up in the same seats as earlier and the beautiful Cilla spun back to face him.
"That was so much fun!"
Fun.
She had no idea.
"Yeah, it was. Welcome to our world, babe."
"It felt like winning a huge case. A total rush."
"We’re adrenaline junkies," Phin said. "It never gets old."
"I can see why. Thank you both. Now my father can shut up about this painting. He was foolish to loan it out." She laughed. "Not that I’d be the one to tell him that."
Cruz let out a low whistle. "He doesn’t strike me as the type to take that well."
"Um, no." She swung front again. "I’ll text you the address so you can put it into your GPS."
"I've got it. Zeke gave it to us."
"Good. I’ll call my father. Let him know we’ve got the painting and we’ll take it to the Nashville house."
Phin nodded. "Once that’s done, I’ll drop you guys at the airport."
