Chapter 2

"We're in position, Coop," Track says in my ear and I give the signal that we're good to go.

I look around and see that the bank parking lot is normal for evening as they get ready to close. Track and Jonas are sitting in an unmarked sedan across the street in a mechanic's lot. There are so many cars over there and the one they're in blends so well I have to look hard to see them. Behind me, Levi and Walsh are sitting inside the diner having a cup of coffee in a booth at the window. They've got a perfect view of anyone coming or going and will be able to give us a heads-up if there's a problem.

The five of us are a band of brothers that grew up together. I wouldn't say we were the worst kids on the block, but we weren't choir boys either. This is our hometown and we know every inch of it like the backs of our hands. I was best man in Track's wedding, and Walsh's little girl is my goddaughter. Jonas and I have matching tattoos, and Levi is like the annoying little brother I pick on all the time but won't let anyone else talk shit to. To say we're tight is an understatement and I trust these guys with my life. Good thing, too, because they're going to be on the line shortly.

"If you go inside get me a lollipop," Walsh says over our intercom and I shake my head. "What? They give those out to the kids. Why not the adults too?"

"Define ‘adult,'" Jonas chimes in, and I laugh.

"How's the view?" I ask, trying to get everyone back on task. I know the tension is tight right now and they're looking for a way to cut it, but we need to stay sharp.

"Easy breezy." Levi's voice comes in cool and ready and I know we all are.

"Heads up, I see a van rolling in." Track flashes his lights once just as a van passes in front of him.

The vehicle has the logo we're looking for, but I don't recognize the driver. "It's not Joe," I say and realize Monte must have changed the plan and gotten someone else to do the drop for him.

I can't make out who it is as the van turns the corner and circles into the parking lot. It's facing away from me, but Levi and Walsh should have a good look at it.

"Give me something," I call out as I try to be patient.

"It's a girl," I hear Walsh say and Levi confirms.

"Shit." I curse because I don't know any female that works for Monte and we need this drop to be clean as fuck.

We're here today to take back what Monte has stolen from our town. A few years ago Monte and his gang showed up with a big development the city invested in. But it turns out he ended up using it as a front to funnel in his cash from illegal gambling and drug shipments he brought with him. The city couldn't prove anything or get enough evidence to go for a conviction because Monte was slick and kept his nose clean. A couple of people that worked for him went down and for the most part he operated a legitimate business with his ink company. But no one could ever get what went on behind the scenes to stick, and we're tired of it.

He's brought this plague into our city and we're looking to correct what he's done by taking the money he's made on the blood of our friends and neighbors and give it back to the city. We want to take control of the chaos he's caused.

We know what he's capable of even if he's got this town snowed, and we're ready to expose him for what he truly is. He's taken the life out of where we grew up and we've watched crime take over. It's time to put a stop to it and this is where it begins.

"Relax, Coop. We stick to the plan." I look out my window to Walsh in the diner and he nods at me.

"Right," I agree as I pull down my balaclava. "But I'm going in silent."

There are protests in my ear as I put the gun I was going to use on Joe in the glove box and grab the knife off the seat next to me. I step out of the black SUV and make my way to the van, gripping it. There's still a sheath on it because I don't want to hurt anyone. It's only meant to intimidate the person doing the drop and I'm not prepared to point a gun at someone in broad daylight.

As I walk slowly I see the woman get out of the van and go to the side to open the sliding door. When she steps out I'm struck by how small she is and how young she looks. Her blonde hair is braided over one shoulder and she's wearing a pencil skirt and heels. She's dressed like she works in an office and not Monte's warehouse. For a second I wonder if we've got the wrong van, but then I catch sight of the two large bags in the back.

I speed up my steps until I'm right behind her and place the knife at her waist as I pull her tight against me.

"Don't move or I'll cut you in half," I growl deep, holding the covered knife to her stomach.

"Please don't hurt me," she whispers, and I'm surprised she's not shouting. "Let me just walk away. You can have the money, I don't care, but let me leave here."

Her words stun me and I don't know how to reply. She's all but limp in my arms and now I'm wondering why in the fuck Monte sent this woman to make the drop if she's so eager to give it up. Is this a setup?

"Eyes all around," I say into my intercom and the guys all check in with the perimeter clear.

"What?" Now she's the one that's confused.

"Who sent you to make this drop?" Something isn't right and I need to know now.

"Speed it up, Coop," Jonas says, and I see his light flash from across the street.

I look at the van and then decide to make a split-second decision. "Grab the bags."

"I don't think I can lift them." Her voice is shaky and it's then I realize how small she is against me and she's not lying.

"Take the one on the right." I keep one hand around her waist as I grab a bag and she takes the other. I watch as she struggles to lift it, but she manages to get it out of the van and I slide the door closed. "You're coming with me."

"Coop, this is not part of the plan. Dump the girl," Walsh says, and I ignore him.

"Cooper, listen to him. This isn't part of the deal." I can hear fear in Track's voice, but I don't respond.

"I'm trusting my gut right now, and it's telling me to get her and get the fuck out of here," I say, opening the car door and shoving the money into it and her after. "Meet at the spot in an hour."

Those are the last words I say before I end the communication and get into the driver"s seat. I set the locks on the door just as she tries to open them, and pull out of the parking lot slowly. I don't want to bring any attention to me or give people a reason to remember my vehicle. I know where the bank cameras are placed on the outside of the building and so far we've avoided all of them.

"Give me your bag." Her purse is beside her on the seat and I need to know what's in it.

"No." Her voice is stronger than it was before.

I've still got my balaclava on and it makes it hard to see. I look into the rearview mirror and for the first time I see her face. Her blue eyes are so bright they're almost the color of the sky. She's so fucking beautiful I can hardly look at her and I'm so busy staring at her I nearly run off the road.

"Shit." I reach behind me and grab her bag and pull it away from her.

"Just let me go. I swear I don't know anything and I won't say a word. You don't understand, I have to get out of here. I can't let him find me."

"Monte doesn't give a shit about the people who work for him, he just cares about his money." I see the burner phone in her bag and toss it out the window along with the other cell phone I find in there.

"Hey!" she shouts as she reaches over the seat to grab her bag back from me.

When I get far enough away I turn down a back road and take a side street Track and I used to get high on when we were in school. It's a dead end road that backs up to the old mill that shut down before we were born.

The sun has set and it's dark when I park the car. I turn around to face the girl and she's got nothing but terror in her eyes now.

"Please don't hurt me." I see tears form in her eyes and it makes my chest feel like it's going to split in half.

"Hey, hey, hey." I know I shouldn't but I pull off my mask so she can see that I'm not going to do anything. "Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you. I just need you to answer some questions for me and then I'll let you go."

"Why should I believe you?"

She's wary and it's not like she doesn't have a right to be. A masked man just stole her and millions of dollars from a parking lot. It's not exactly first-date material. Why did I just have that thought?

I let out a breath and shake my head as I feel a smile pull at the corner of my lips. "Honestly I don't know why, and nothing I can say will convince you otherwise. So why don't I ask you the questions and we'll go from there?"

She hesitates for a second before she silently nods in agreement.

"Do you have anything on you that's recording this or that Monte can track you with?" She shakes her head and I look over at the bags. "Are those being tracked?"

"I honestly don't know. I just saw them put the money inside. He was using my phone to track me but you threw that out a few miles back, so that's really no good anymore. My other phone was one I paid for so I'd really appreciate that back."

"Yeah, someone's already run that over by now," I say, ignoring her look of disappointment and annoyance. "What's a pretty girl like you getting caught up with Monte for?"

Now she really looks pissed as she narrows her eyes at me. "First of all, I can't work for him because I'm pretty? And second, I didn't know who the hell he was. I thought he was a sweet old man who ran an ink business. Then today I found out just how dark this all was." She waves a hand to the bags of money and then looks at me. "I honestly didn't know anything about this and I don't want any of it. I don't want to get involved. I just want to get as far away from here as possible."

"Why?" I find myself asking even though I should be opening the doors and letting her go. "Who are you running from?"

"From this shit." She rolls her eyes like I'm stupid and for some reason I think it's kind of adorable.

"Well, bad news, buttercup, because you're definitely involved now." I turn back around and crank up the SUV and put it in drive.

"What? No, you have to let me go. Please. I can't stay here."

"I don't think you realize that when Monte finds the empty van and sees that the drop wasn't made, the first person he's going to suspect is you." She puts her head in her hands as I start to drive and I shrug. "There's no connection to any of us and him, and as of right now there's no evidence that we took it. So as far as you're concerned, you need to stay as low as possible."

"And let me guess, you're just the guy for the job."

"Very good, buttercup. Cooper Ross at your service."