Page 69 of Saltwater Promises
The phone seemed to ring endlessly before finally going to voicemail. Hearing her voice on the message made his heart pound. Usually her voice calmed him, but now it felt like a sign of how disconnected they were.
Mike called the gallery next, reaching a member of the staff who said that he had no idea where Lynn was. Apparently, she’d been expected hours ago, but there was no sign of her.
Perhaps she was driving, and that’s why she couldn’t answer? There could be a traffic jam or an accident slowing her down…
If only he had a tracker on her phone. Not secretly, of course. But he should’ve asked her, explained his concerns and the risks – surely she would’ve agreed to it, and now he wouldn’t have to be so worried for no reason.
He tried to assure himself that she was probably just driving. Mike sat on the couch, still feeling uneasy, and planned out his next steps.
When he heard a car pull up, his heart rate started to slow down. Lenny was finally back. He’d ask him where he’d been, complete the last part of their plan, and get moving.
Mike stood up and pulled the front door open, coming face-to-face with a man he’d never seen before.
“Yeah?” Mike said, arms crossed. “Who are you?”
The man, a menacingly wide and tall sort of beast, cocked his head to the side. “Who amI?Who are you? You’re in my house.”
Mike looked him up and down. He was wearing a thick gold chain around his neck and a leather jacket that, despite being huge, was still snug on his frame. The chances of this guy having a gun were pretty high, but Mike couldn’t spot it. “Vinnie?”
The guy narrowed his eyes. “What’s it to you?”
Oh boy. The best way to get out of this was to act like he belonged here – because technically, he did.
Mike turned around, walking to the couch and letting out a laugh. “You scared the crap out of me, man. Lenny didn’t tell me that you were getting out of jail.”
Vinnie followed him into the house and stood towering over Mike. “How do you know Lenny?”
“Long story. We go way back. I’m Gary – me and Lenny struck up a, what do you call it? A new friendship.”
“Gary Bomba? I thought Lenny wanted you dead.”
“Funny how that works, huh?” Mike laughed. “I’m not dead, as you can see. We’re working together now. Go ahead and call him if you don’t believe me.”
“Lenny’s a little tied up at the moment.”
Hm. Had some overzealous cop picked Lenny up too soon? “Did he get pinched?” The alarm in Mike’s voice was genuine. This could scare off the rest of the crew and prevent the deal from being completed.
Vinnie rolled his eyes, taking a seat. “No. Don’t be stupid. But he might. Who knows?”
“Marco will kill you if Lenny gets into any kind of trouble,” Mike said.
“Kill me? I just got here. Maybe he’ll kill you.”
Mike laughed and took a sip of soda. “Yeah. What’d he do?”
Vinnie shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not Lenny’s babysitter.”
Maybe Vinnie knew why Lenny drove off that morning? “He didn’t say much – he just took off.”
“Ugh.” Vinnie groaned. “Great. Just what I needed to deal with today. Lenny running around. I could barely understand what he was saying.”
“Oh yeah. He called me too, but the phone was cutting in and out. Where is he?”
“I’ve no idea. He said he’d call me back. He said he needs help getting rid of a body.”
Mike almost choked on his drink. “What? I didn’t know about this.”
“Yeah, me neither. First thing after I got out, I got my clothes and my phone back, and I have this call from Lenny.”
