Page 6 of The Honeymoon Heist

Jennifer said, “Just get a little closer, so I can see the Madonna.”

I’d done so, edging nearer, and saw that the grotto itself had a split level. The lower one was where the boats came to see the white stalactites and the Virgin. But there was an upper chamber, and it had a railing that overlooked the ocean. Something that intrigued me. What was upthere?

Jennifer had seen me looking and had immediately said, “No, Pike. You aren’t going up there. It’s not allowed. Apparently, some priests use that chamber once a year to hold a ceremony. We can’t go up there.”

I said, “Yeah, we can. I see the staircase. There’s a boat ramp right on the edge.”

She stood up, crossing her arms, and said, “We arenotgoing up there.”

She didn’t know it, but her reluctance was catnip to me. Yeah, we were mostdefinitelygoing up there.

I said, “Amena, you want to go up that staircase and see what’s inside?”

Amena looked at me, then Jennifer. She didn’t want to be in the middle of a fight, but then again, she’d been in plenty of them on our long road to a family. And itwasour honeymoon. I figured I was good, because she was a damn pirate at her heart. She wanted to see what was up there as much as me—not the least because it was forbidden.

By this time there was only one boat left, and I saw two people leave the gunwale and begin walking up the stone staircase. I said, “Look at that.They’regoing up. Nobody’s arrestingthem.”

Jennifer turned, took a long look, then said, “They’re carrying something up. They probably belong here.”

Chapter 5

Buck walked up the staircase cut into the rock like he was trying to hear a noise, each step slower than the last. Miles finally got sick of it and said, “What are you doing? Let’s get this thing in there and call it a day.”

Buck turned around and hissed, “Shut up! There might be someone in there.”

Carrying the painting, Miles was a little miffed, saying, “Bullshit. We’ve been out watching from the boat for four hours. There’s nobody up there. Let’s leave this thing and be done with it.”

Buck said, “Just let me go look. Stay here.”

Miles set the framed picture down and said, “Go, then. But make it quick. I’m ready to get home.”

Buck continued up the stone steps, glancing furtively around, which caused Miles to roll his eyes. There was nobody near them, and if they were, it would be painfully obvious. The staircase threaded straight up through the rocks, with no foliage or anything else to hide anyone. Miles sagged back onto a rough-cut step, lighting a cigarette. Buck disappeared from view.

Eventually, he heard a hiss, then saw Buck above him waving. He picked up the package and began climbing the final stairs into the cave.

He entered a small chamber with a wire railing looking down into the ocean. He said, “What is this? We’re going to leave the painting here?”

Buck said, “That’s what I was told. We put it here, and they’ll come get it. They’re probably looking at us right now.”

Miles said, “Are you fucking serious? This painting is worth millions of dollars. We’re going to just leave it here?”

“We are. That’s what they said we’d do.”

Miles squinted his eyes, not liking the arrangement. Wondering if he was now becoming the bait.

Buck said, “What? What’s the issue? Set it over here.”

Miles said, “Why didn’t they pick someplace that wasn’t a tourist attraction? Why are we leaving it here?”

Exasperated, Buck said, “Because all of the coves around Capri are staked out for smugglers. Jesus, man, they do this for a living. They can’t use an isolated cove because that damn thing is being watched. Nobody is watching this place precisely because it’s a tourist trap.”

Miles grudgingly agreed with the assessment, leaning the canvas in its dry bag against the stone of the cave. He said, “So, when do we get the money?”

Buck said, “When they get the painting. Let’s get out of here. The quicker we leave, the quicker we’ll get paid.”

Miles tapped the painting with his hand. He said, “What happens if this thing gets stolen after we leave? Aren’t we on the hook for it?”

Exasperated, Buck said, “It’stheirplan. They dictated this.”

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