Author: Jaci Burton

By the time Lily got to the restaurant, she knew the others were already in place. She’d taken the city streets instead of the highway, had made multiple turns and backtracked a couple times.

The restaurant was one of those big chain places, really popular. The menu offered a variety of dishes and the place was always packed.

She pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, lucky enough to find a spot right in front as a car pulled away just as she drove up. A quick glance at her watch told her she had about ten minutes to spare before her designated meet time with Richardson. The fake virus was tucked neatly into a purse-like bag so she wouldn’t call attention to herself when she stood out in front. The restaurant was very well lit, so she foresaw no problems.

Those ten minutes were the longest of her life. She stayed in the car, looking around her, in her side mirrors and rear view mirror, with every passing minute her stomach tying up in knots. She practiced deep, even breathing, reassuring herself that this plan was going to go off without a single hitch.

Finally, it was time. She slung the purse over her shoulder and stepped out of the car, searching the parking lot and intersection. Even she couldn’t spot the other Wild Riders.

The guys really were good at hiding in plain sight.

There was a bench out front. Since it was eight o’clock at night and well into prime dinner hour, the place was busy.

People were going inside, a few loitering around outside, no doubt waiting for tables. Exactly the way they’d wanted it so she wouldn’t be alone when she met Richardson. Lily sat on the bench and affected a casual pose, trying to look as if she was waiting for someone to join her.

A black sedan pulled into the parking lot, its windows tinted so dark she couldn’t see through any except for the front windshield. The driver wore a black hat shielding his face, so she couldn’t make him out. Lily tensed as the car pulled past the front of the restaurant, then slowed to a stop. The back door opened and a man stepped out, the cut of his clothes spelling out money. He stood and commanded attention, from his steel gray eyes to his shocking white hair slicked back and the takeno- shit look on his patrician features. He motioned to her and she stood, walking over to his car.

That had to be Richardson, though she’d never met the man. He’d dealt with her boss in person and with her by telephone only “Miss West?”

“Mr. Richardson.”

“We cannot possibly do this here,” he said. “It’s too busy.”

She let her lips curl in a smile. “That’s the whole idea, isn’t it?”

“It’s totally unacceptable. Even the police prowl this area to keep it safe.”

She shrugged. “Not my problem.”

He arched a brow. “Is that what you want? The police to catch us?”

She snorted and leaned against his shiny sedan, earning her a frown. “Hardly. Then I wouldn’t get my money.”

“If I hand you a suitcase full of money and you in turn hand over the virus out here in front of this restaurant, it’s going to look like a drug deal going down. Plus, there are surveillance cameras.”

“What?”

He inclined his head toward the front of the restaurant and the parking area.

“Do be discreet when you’re gawking at them,” he added.

She turned as unobtrusively as she could, but sure enough, he was right. Cameras were mounted on the corners of the restaurant shooting toward the parking area, and on the parking lot poles, their viewpoint toward the front of the restaurant.

“Smile,” Richardson said. “You’re on Candid Camera.”

Shit. “I didn’t know about the cameras.” That part was honest. She hadn’t paid the slightest attention to those. Did Grange know about them when they’d selected the restaurant?

She wished she was in contact with him. With the wire hidden in her purse, she knew they were hearing her, but she couldn’t communicate with the other Wild Riders.

Dammit. Now what?

“Slide into the car with me. We’ll take a little ride.”

Her heart pounded so hard the blood rushed in her ears and she could barely hear herself think. But she maintained her cool, crossing her arms. “Said the spider to the fly. How dumb do you think I am?”

“Miss West, as I previously stated, there are surveillance cameras here. If you turn up missing or dead, my face is now on those cameras as the last person to meet with you. That would immediately make me the prime suspect. So to use your own words…how dumb do you think I am?”

Okay, he had a point. She didn’t like this, but the key was to turn over the virus to him and see where he took it. Her slipping into his car meant that the guys were going to follow.

Was Richardson really stupid enough to do her harm?

She had mere seconds to make this decision and she didn’t want to lose him. Not when they were this close to breaking this case wide open.

“I want my money.” She tried to look greedy and desperate.

“Then let’s go. This will only take a moment and you can be on your way. I just don’t want to do this so publicly.”

“I have a better idea.” The thought struck her. “I’ll follow you in my car. It’s the blue mustang right over there.”

Much safer.

She tilted her head back and he followed with his eyes, then looked back at her. “Ever the cautious one, aren’t you?”

“It’s what’s kept me alive this long, Mr. Richardson.

Not that I think you have any unsavory plans or anything, but I’m not really comfortable sliding into your car there and taking off to parts unknown. And can you blame me for that?”

Now it was his turn to consider. She waited.

“Very well,” he said. “We’ll only go a few short blocks.

Someplace a little less…populated, and with no cameras to implicate either of us.”

She nodded. “Fine with me. I’ll follow you.”

She pushed off his car and walked back to hers, hoping like hell the guys would figure out how to follow her without being seen, since she had no cell phone with her. She trusted them to know their job.

Richardson’s car pulled away and she followed, out of the parking lot and onto the main intersection. She kept watch behind her, but didn’t recognize any of the Wild Riders’ cars or bikes.

They were somewhere out there, though. She knew it.

“I hope you guys heard all that,” she said into the wireless mic hidden in the car.

True to his word, they didn’t drive far. There was a strip mall nearby and they pulled into that lot. She drove up next to him. The shopping center wasn’t very well attended, a lot of the stores closed, but at least he hadn’t led her into an alley. There were plenty of places for the guys to keep watch and pull into the lot should she need help.

Still, the venue had changed. She might just be on her own. As she saw it she had two choices here—walk away and lose the chance to follow Richardson after he got the virus in hand, or take a chance that he was on the up and up and simply didn’t want witnesses to them making the exchange. She was operating on instinct here, and she got the feeling that Richardson just wanted the virus.

She got out of her car and Richardson opened the back door, beckoning to her. A breeze had picked up, whipping her hair. She looked around, once again not seeing the guys. Still, she knew they were somewhere close.

They had to be.

She moved over to the car door.

“I need my man to pat you down, make sure you’re not wearing a wire.”

She expected that. That’s why the car and her bags were equipped with the wires for communication, not her.

“Fine.”

The driver did a quick pat down and nodded at Richardson.

“Where is it?” Richardson asked.

She leaned against the side of the car.

“In this bag.”

“Step inside the car, please.”

The driver held the door for her. She kept her distance.

“Tell him to get in the front passenger seat and I will. I want my door left open.”

Richardson shot her a look of utter exasperation, as if she was inconveniencing him. Too bad. But he did nod to his driver. “Do it.”

The driver moved around and slid into the front passenger seat, and Richardson scooted over to make room for her in the back. Only then did Lily slide into the seat vacated by Richardson, but she left the door open.

“Do you have the money?” She wanted to make sure he thought the money was her primary motivation.

“Right here.” He patted a hard sided briefcase next to him.

“Let me see it.”

Richardson drew the case onto his lap, flipped the latches open and pulled the lid up. Lily did a quick calculation of the amounts she saw on the top, though the money wasn’t relevant.

She made sure to look appropriately wide eyed and hungry.

“Considering your father’s vast wealth, I’m surprised the money is so important to you,” Richardson said.

Lily arched a brow. “How did you know?”

He closed the briefcase with a smug smile. “I make it my business to know who I’m dealing with, Miss West. I know everything about you, from where you went to high school and college, to your service record with the Dallas PD and your current position with the private investigation firm in Chicago.”

This guy was good.

“So answer my question. Your father is a very rich man. I’m sure you could have everything you want. Why are you doing this?”

She shrugged and leaned back against the seat, stretching out her legs. “My father isn’t happy with my choice of career. He wanted me to go into business with him. We’ve been…at odds ever since I entered the police academy.”

Richardson nodded. “He cut you off financially.”

“Yes. Several years ago.”

“You didn’t like that.”

She snorted. “I hated it. I might have wanted to take my career in my own direction at first, but I started to miss the finer things, the lifestyle I’d grown accustomed to.”

His lips lifted in a faint hint of a smile. “I can appreciate a woman who enjoys luxuries.”

“That money will go a long way to insuring I can once again live the kind of life I was used to. And no one will ever know how I got it, since I am related to a very rich man. It wouldn’t be at all unusual for me to live an opulent lifestyle, knowing who my father is.”

“You have this all planned out, don’t you?”

“I didn’t at first, but after I got involved in all this, after I found out what was really stolen from the museum, I developed a plan. I just had to find the right moment to get the vial and run off with it, then I put the pieces together and figured out it was you who wanted it back.”

“You’re very good at your job.”

She smiled, thinking of the ultimate satisfaction she was going to get when Richardson was behind bars. “Thank you.”

“Let me have the vial, please.”

She handed over the bag. Richardson pulled the plexiglass container out, inspected the vial within it, and nodded. He handed the briefcase over to her.

“So, what are you planning to do with that stuff?” she asked.

He frowned. “Do you have any idea what this is?”

“No. The guy I was with didn’t tell me. He said he didn’t know, only that it was worth a lot of money, so I pretended to throw in with him for a piece of the action. It was only a matter of time before he started to trust me, then I gave him the slip and contacted you.”

Richardson seemed to consider that for a moment. “I can only imagine how you did that.”

“I have my ways,” she said, batting her lashes so he had no doubt of her meaning.

“I’m certain you do.”

The way he looked at her—God, this guy was a creep.