Page 52 of Bad Boy Next Door
I drew a long breath. It was actually a solid idea, but— “You know, she doesn’t seem that pissed off about her dad doing time.” From the way Jade talked, it wasn’t his first run in jail, and with him inside, she had one less person to take care of. “Plus, his deal includes protection. I get the sense she’s relieved he’s inside. Safe. Out of trouble.”
“Well, let’s keep thinking then.”
“Are you shitheads drinking without me?”
I looked over my shoulder to see Shane sauntering toward us, a huge grin on his face. A smile landed on my face too, and I was instantly drawn back to when we were boys. When we were close.
“Pull up a chair,” Mac said. “But get your own beer. These are ours.”
I didn’t want to point out that they were actually Keagan’s.
Shane set a chair next to mine and stretched out his skinny legs, super tanned, as if baking them was his full-time job.
“So, Nick.” Shane grabbed my beer off the concrete and took a swig. “It’s a great idea, right?”
“What?” Had he come up with a plan to help me apologize? I shook my head, realizing how far up my own ass I was.
“The job down at the docks.” Shane handed me back my beer. “Mac told you the details, right? I need all five of us, but especially you, Nicky. As long as we’ve got some muscle, the assholes will roll right over.”
“What assholes?” Mac frowned.
“My guy.” Shane’s leg started bouncing. “He’s not the only one interested in this container. We’ve got competition.”
Mac dragged his chair around and put his feet up on the rusted pool ladder handles. “You’re not making sense, Shane. I’m not getting more involved until you tell us everything.”
“Okay. Okay.” Shane leaned forward in his chair. “Here’s the deal. My guy is part of a crew who’ve got plans to grab the container. His guys are gonna do all the hard work. Get the goods onto a truck, pay off the guards, and that’s where we step in. Once the container’s loaded and ready to go, we take it. Candy from a baby.”
Mac set down his beer. “We steal the container from the guys who are stealing it?”
“Yup.”
“If your guy’s double-crossing his crew, why involve you?”
“That’s the great part.” Shane’s leg started bouncing. “He only asked if I knew a muscle guy to join their crew. He has no fucking idea we’re going to steal the container from under them.”
“That’s why you need Nick…” Mac whistled through his teeth. “Nick plays the muscle guy for theothercrew. Then we swoop in.”
Shane’s entire upper body nodded. “Exactly! You got it! I knew you’d get it, Mac. The container’s full of pricey shit—high-end electronics and other stuff that’s easy to unload. Totally untraceable. We’ll make fortune. Mac, you need to convince Keagan. You know how he hates any plan that wasn’t his idea.”
I recognized the expression on Mac’s face. I could practically see his wheels turning. Fuck. He was actually considering this.
Keagan was the one who planned our jobs for a reason. He was good at it. Smart. Thought of all the angles. Shane was the polar opposite. If my brothers took on a Shane-planned job, they’d end up in jail—or dead.
But if Mac got swayed, he could sway Keagan. And once Keagan was on board, it would get harder and harder for me to say no.
The Downey brothers stuck together. And I owed Shane.
“So, you in?” Shane asked. “Nick?”
I shook my head and grabbed another beer.
* * *
Jade
Ipeeked over the edge of the third-floor railing.
Nick was in the courtyard, sitting by the pool and talking to two men, maybe two of his brothers? All three men were tall, dark, and handsome, but Nick was by far the biggest, and to me the most handsome.
