Page 102 of The Picasso Heist
“Are you sure you want to do that?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask.
“It means you just became a liability,” he says. “Bergamo will do or say anything to avoid going to jail. You realize that, right?”
“So?”
“So who’s to say you won’t do the same?”
“That’s why I wanted to talk to you,” I say.
“And that’s why I’d sooner just kill you and be done with it.”
“You have to find me before you can kill me.”
“Oh, I can find you, all right,” he says.
“Oh yeah?”
“Anytime, anywhere. So fast, it will make your head spin, Halston.”
“Right back atcha, Anton,” I say. “By the way, I hear the pumpkin-spice latte is really good. Is that what you’re having?”
And there it is. The head-on-a-swivel, eyes-darting, oh-shit mo-ment that I’ve come to witness in person. And the best part is hecan’t see me. Though it’s not for lack of trying. Nikolov immediately springs up from his chair and runs out the door of Starbucks, leaving his shadow behind. Blaggy races to catch up with him, asks what the hell is happening.
Now that I have your attention, Anton.
“Where are you?” asks Nikolov, frantically looking left and right. But the Short Hills mall is packed as usual, people crossing in front of him, his view obstructed no matter which way he turns. He’d have better luck finding Waldo.
“I didn’t figure you for a mall kind of guy,” I say.
“Clever. Very clever. A busy public place to ensure your safety. So what do you want?”
“I told you—we need to talk.”
“So stop with the games,” he says. “Come out from wherever you are and we’ll talk.”
“Not here.”
“Where, then?”
“Your house,” I say.
He laughs. “Maybe you’re not as clever as I thought. My house?”
“Head there now, and I’ll do the same.”
“What’s the catch?” he asks.
“No catch. Just a conversation,” I say. “And if you don’t like what I tell you, you can kill me as many times as you want.”
CHAPTER86
I’VE MADE HIMan offer he can’t refuse.
I’m so convinced, I don’t wait for him to agree or say another word.Click.I’m gone.
So is Nikolov. Twenty minutes later, he and Blaggy are arriving at his house in Millburn, New Jersey, rolling up in a black Cadillac Escalade with tinted windows. I know this because I’m there in my Jeep, waiting at the gate.
