Page 6 of Abra's Acquisition
“Are you threatening me?” he growls.
“If that’s the way you want to take it, then by all means, go for it. You made a mistake, Erickson. Rey means nothing to me. She isn’t my partner or assistant. I don’t know her. The only thing I know about her is that she has three brothers. I met one of them yesterday. What do you say, I give him a call and inform him that you’ve kidnapped his sister?”
The sound of Erickson’s ragged breathing tells me I’ve hit a nerve. “If you do that, you’ll have to explain your part in this. Do you want to do that?”
I chuckle. “My part in what? I didn’t kidnap Rey, you did.”
“You stole my figurine!” Erickson bellows.
“You have proof?”
“I have you on video,” Erickson says with triumph. “You didn’t know I had a separate camera installed that caught you picking the lock on the display cabinet.”
I glance up to see Hex frowning. I shake my head. He may have gotten me on the feed, but I know there is no way he, or anyone, could identify me by that feed. I’m too good to get caught. There was also the possibility that he’s lying about seeing me on the feed. I turned off his security when I broke in. Perhaps he had a separate camera, as he claims, but even if he did, he didn’t catch anything that would indicate I was the thief, dressed in all black with my face hidden behind a mask.
“I hate to give you bad news, Erickson, but I’m not the man you’re looking for. What did you lose, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“You know damn well I didn’t lose anything! You stole it from me!”
“Humor me.”
Erickson growls, but he relents. “It’s a Harlequin figurine created in Sèvres, France, in the late 1700s. He’s dressed in green, purple, and gold, and he’s holding a scroll.”
“Why is this figurine so important to you?” I ask.
“It’s part of a collection a noble family brought over when they fled the French Revolution. I have feelers out for the other pieces. I want the set.”
I frown at his claim. I know for a fact that the piece in question doesn’t have companion pieces. Sometimes Harlequin is part of a set that includes all or some of the characters from the Italian commedia dell’arte. But this particular piece had no companions. What was Erickson trying to pull? Rather than question him and reveal my knowledge of the piece, I play along.
“I might be able to help you find it. If whoever stole it sold it off, then I know just the man who would be interested in purchasing such a piece. If you'd like, I can contact him to verify if he has it. We might be able to make a deal, but only if you release Rey immediately. She’s not involved in this.”
Erickson snorts. “Do you think I’d trust you to fulfill your end if I release the girl? You don’t have the leverage. I do. Now bring me that figurine!”
“You’re wrong about my not having any leverage. It will take one phone call from me, and I’ll have an entire police force knocking on your door.”
“Oh? How do you think you can manage that? Are you going to call the cops on me? What are you going to say? Are you going to tell them that your victim kidnapped your accomplice? What do you think they’ll do with that information? You think they’ll take the word of a dirty biker over me? I’m a prominent citizen.”
“You may be a prominent citizen, and I may be nothing but a lowly biker, but you made a mistake in kidnapping Rey. You see, she’s not my accomplice, but she is the sister of two New Orleans police detectives. I can be certain they’ll take her word over yours. Since neither of us wants to involve the police, here’s the deal. Meet me in one hour at the Louis Armstrong statue inhis park. Bring Rey.” Instead of waiting for his response, I end the call and we head out to complete the plan.
CHAPTER SIX: REY
I say nothing because I don’t know what to say. There are only so many times that I can deny my association with Abra. I met the man once. I wasn’t even sure I’d recognize him if I saw him again. So, instead of arguing, I just wait for Erickson to continue.
“I’m meeting with him and I’ll get the figurine back, then you’re going to help me purchase that property and obtain permission from the VCC for my plans. For now, sit there and think about how you’re going to make this happen.”
I sneer at him rather than respond. If he thinks I’m going to help him after he kidnapped me and held me hostage, he has another think coming.
When he realizes I’m not rising to the bait, he heads for the door. However, he has one last comment. “I plan on killing your partner, Abra, when I see him. He won’t be around to protect you.” With that jab, Erickson slams the door shut and leaves me to consider my next move.
I wait about five minutes before standing and retrieving the plate from its hiding place. In the bathroom, I grab a hand towel and place the plate inside. Using leverage, I snap the plate in half. I open the towel to retrieve the pieces, wrapping one in the hand towel and the other in a washcloth. Now I have two weapons at my disposal.
A sound in the bedroom has me grasping my DIY knives and cautiously leaving the bathroom. At first, I thought I was imagining the sound, but then I heard it again. Someone is jiggling the door know. Anticipating Erickson, I hide behind the door and wait for it to open. I plan to slash and jab once he enters the room. However, the form that steps through isn’t Erickson. He isn’t wearing a suit, but a leather vest with a snarling dog on the back. I just finished reading the words "Demon Dawgs MC, New Orleans" when the figure twists around.
Standing with his hands on his hips and a cocky grin on his handsome face is Abra.
“Look at you. I guess you didn’t need me to come to your rescue after all,” he chortles. “Damn if I’ve never seen anything so sexy in my life. You are a warrior goddess.”
I smirk at him before lowering my weapons. “I thought you were meeting with Erickson. He plans on killing you by the way.”
