Smash & Grab (26 page)

I haven't seen Lexi
since Wednesday, when I kissed her. Every time I attempt to, she has an excuse why we can't meet up. I've tried waiting for her outside the bank, but she's managed to slip away, probably using one of the back exits to the building, where I can't go without attracting attention.

That kiss completely freaked her out; that much is obvious. And the stupid thing is, I wouldn't have kissed her except that Twitch and Psycho were watching, angry after I introduced them by their real names. I'd needed to shut her up. I couldn't answer her questions about why I'm doing the jobs. If she realizes how much I have to lose, she might also realize I'd do anything to keep it from happening, including—if things go very wrong—letting her and her friends take the fall for this job.

I'd meant the kiss to be quick, but the minute she started to kiss me back…I lost control and things got carried away. I hadn't expected it to feel like that—like a jolt of pure lightning going through me. She felt it, too. I could tell when I pulled back. She sucked her bottom lip and stared at me, her eyes liquid heat, all shimmer and want and fear. I knew right then that I took things too far. Still, it was all I could do to turn away.

Now I wonder what it will be like to be close to her again. We've spent a couple of days arranging tonight's zombie mask smash-and-grab over a series of texts. The span of days was supposed to make this meeting easier for her and, I guess, me. But now, standing here along the weedy edge of the lot beside the warehouse waiting for her to show, I'm not so sure it will.

“How long before they're here?” Eddie asks, lounging on a broken piece of curbing. “It's muy caliente out here, bro.” He grabs the giant Gatorade he brought and guzzles half of it in one gulp.

Carlos and Benny are at the far end of the lot, scoping out the back of the warehouse.

I'm glad they're all here. It'll be easier to keep some clarity. And I like the idea that my boys will be keeping watch, too, not just her crew.

Twin beams of light dance across the lot, momentarily exposing us before they snap off and an Escalade eases to a stop at the curb. Lexi jumps out, dressed head to toe in formfitting black: T-shirt, pants, knee-high flat-soled boots. Her hair is slicked back into a high ponytail that swishes as she moves. She looks a little like she did that first night I saw her, so much prettier and more herself than she is with that stupid brown wig she has to wear when she's at the bank. If kissing her when she was Angela nearly made me lose control, what would it be like to kiss her now, looking like that? The thought is enough to rattle me, so I turn away and busy myself with picking up the pack full of gear I brought: metal cutters, a flashlight, a can of glow-in-the-dark spray paint, some putty, and a few firecrackers.

Lexi's team trails out of the van, each of them dressed similarly to Lexi. They look like some kind of movie-inspired band of military recruits. I shake my head and chuckle. She glances in my direction, but the minute our eyes meet, she looks away.

“Seriously?” Carlos says, gawking at them. “What is this?
Mission: Impossible
?”

Benny and Eddie crack up.

“Oh, whatever! We're more invisible than you guys are. We could see you nearly a block down the road,” one of the twin girls—I think Lexi called her Whitney—says, arms folded, posing with one hip jutted out, her expression fierce. She could be Beyoncé's younger sister, she looks that much like her. Her sister, too, although she doesn't have the same fire as this girl.

My boys edge closer to her crew, their eyes narrowed.

“This is Quinn, Oliver, Leo, Whitney, and Elena. And I'm Lexi,” Lexi says to Carlos and Eddie. It's so awkward standing here all together like this, with Lexi looking everywhere but at me. It's painful. The distrust on both sides is hanging over the lot like a cloud.

“Carlos and Eddie,” I say. “Benny and me you already know.”

“So what? We supposed to shake hands? Or can we get on with this?” Carlos asks. He's not thrilled to have to work with Lexi's crew, but after what happened to Gabriel and finding out from us what's supposed to go down during the job, he's come around.

“Everybody knows where to go?” Quinn asks. “The security tape is on a loop so the guard won't see you inside. I'll keep tabs on the manual alarm from out here. If it goes off, I'll text you and give you an ETA on the cops. I'll be listening to their secure channel, so once I hear the call go out and who's being sent to answer it, I can estimate the arrival time.”

I gotta admit, Lexi's brother is damn impressive. We could've used him on the jobs. Would've made it a lot easier, that's for sure. “Cool. Carlos and Eddie got watch over the field and the street. Benny'll go in with me.”

“Whitney will stay in the car with Quinn and drive over a block so they aren't too close by. Oliver, Leo, Elena, and I will go inside with you and Benny. We split into groups of two once we get through the back door. Elena and Oliver keep tabs on the guard's station. Leo and I take the right side of the warehouse, you and Benny the left. There is a mix of costumes and props inside. We couldn't get an exact location for the masks, but they should be housed on the first floor.”

“Fine,” I say. “Let's just get on with it.”

The warehouse looms at the edge of the lot, surrounded by a chain link fence. We crouch-run around the perimeter until we come to a place where the fence touches a small copse of trees. I kneel down, take the metal cutters from my pack, and snip the links until we have a hole big enough for a person. One by one we slip through. There are cameras mounted along the roof line, but thanks to Quinn, we shouldn't need to worry about them. We sprint across the parking lot anyway, though, since out in the open there's always the chance that someone in the surrounding buildings or houses might see us.

There is a metal door halfway around the back of the warehouse at the top of a low staircase, and we aim for it, running in a straight line, shoulders grazing the concrete wall. The door is flat, windowless, smooth except for the lock and handle. Next to the door is an intercom system. Press the speaker button and it alerts someone inside that there is a person waiting to be let in. Directly above us is another camera.

Benny takes out the tension wrench and pick he brought and goes to work on the lock. Three minutes later the pins line up and the lock disengages. Leo opens the door very slowly and peeks inside before giving us a thumbs-up.

The interior of the warehouse is morgue-silent and shadowy, filled with massive shelving systems, boxes, and crates. I slip some of the putty I brought into the doorjamb to keep the door from automatically relocking, so when we come back to return the masks after the job, it'll be easier to get in.

“The guard station should be straight ahead,” Lexi whispers, and Elena and Oliver take off. She turns toward me and our eyes lock. She presses her lips together like she's got something to say and is holding it in, but then there's a shift in her eyes and she refocuses on the job. “Time to split up. Of course, you guys could wait here. Leo and I can cover this.”

“You think you'll find it first, that it? You think you guys can beat us?” I say. If there's one thing I'm beginning to get about this girl, it's that she cannot resist a dare.

She shrugs, and then all at once she's smiling. “Absolutely.”

“She's bowing up on us, bro,” Benny says, looking both surprised and impressed.

“If we're about to place bets, understand you're gonna lose,” I say, looking directly in her eyes. A rush of adrenaline shoots through me because I can feel things between us realigning.

“Wait. Are we really doing this?” Leo asks, looking from Lexi to me and back again.

“Absolutely,” we both say in unison. I raise an eyebrow at her and she laughs quietly. I'd thought it would be awkward until we discussed the kiss, but now that we've devised this game to play, she's acting like it never happened. I'm kinda grateful for that.

“On your mark…,” she begins.

“Go,” I say, and she takes off. Leo scrambles to keep up, nearly wiping out as he rounds the corner of a shelving system.

I nod, and Benny and I bolt down another row. The place is full of one fantastic object after another. There's an ornate horse-drawn carriage, glowing gold and silver under the security lights, and a giant Buddha that looks to be made out of stone but turns out to be hollow. I could spend hours exploring in here if we weren't trying to steal something. Every few feet I stop just long enough to spray a small dot of paint so we can remember the way back.

“This is crazy,” Benny murmurs, staring up at a replica of the Trojan horse, big enough to fit a car inside it.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. Elena.

Guard is at station.

She and Oliver have reached their position. So far everything seems to be going according to plan.
Good.
I run a little faster, anxious to get to the costume rows ahead of Lexi. We round corner after corner, and finally I start to see racks of uniforms, street clothes, and evening gowns.

“Up there,” Benny whispers, panting, his rubber soles squeaking as he cuts across the aisle.

There is a wall of masks straight in front of us. Row after row of eyeless faces. We pick up the pace, skidding to a stop in front of a row of clown heads. The wall is long, taking up nearly the length of one of the warehouse walls. Down at the other end I see Leo and Lexi emerge.

She skids to a stop. She looks at me. I look at her.

Benny is panting hard-core next to me, struggling to catch his breath, like he might have a heart attack or something.

“Ready?” I murmur.

“When”—
gasp
—“you”—
gasp
—“are,” he says, wiping one hand across his forehead.

“Now,” I murmur.

Benny breaks right, checking the small section there, and I go left, heading for Lexi and Leo, scanning the wall as I go. There must be thousands of masks.

“There!” Lexi says to Leo, just loud enough for me to catch it, and then I spot the masks, twenty feet ahead. I'm closer. If I hurry, I'll beat her there.

I run flat out, and so does she. I'm not actually looking at the masks; I'm looking at her, that ponytail flying out behind her, and her arms and legs pumping. She's laughing, and as I watch her I start to feel so good I laugh, too.

We make it to the masks at the exact same time and nearly collide. I catch her in my arms and then whirl her out of the way as I reach up to grab the masks.

“Hey!” She launches herself onto my back and snatches the mask in my hand.

I'm just about to go after it when a beam of light bounces over the top of the shelving unit to our left.

“Who's in here?”

At nearly the same time my phone starts to vibrate.

I don't have time to check the text, but there's no need. It's the security guard. Somehow he figured out we were here. The light is close, flicking over the props and costumes one aisle over. We have mere seconds to either move or be seen. But we still don't have all the masks. I lunge forward and grab up the remaining five masks with one hand, yanking the bar they were hanging on clean off the wall. It clatters to the floor, and the sound is metallic and echoing. God-awful. I grab Lexi's arm with my free hand and drag her down the aisle. Benny and Leo will have to make their own way back.

“Hey!” the guard hollers.

We run, taking the first turn we get to and then the next, purposely following a roundabout route to the back of the warehouse to throw him off course.

“He's right behind us,” Lexi breathes as the flashlight beam swings down our aisle.

“Stop right there!” the guard shouts.

We dart down another aisle and head in the opposite direction—or at least I think it is. This place is starting to feel like a giant maze. I'm not so sure we'll ever find our way out. And the guard is getting closer. Too close. When I feel like we've put enough distance between us and him, I pull Lexi into a shadowy area behind one of those giant red phone booths—the kind they have over in Europe. England, maybe? Right now I can't remember. I'm breathing hard and my head is pounding. We crouch together behind it, our shoulders and knees touching. I shove all the masks in my pack and then take out the fireworks I brought.