The Cocky Thief

Chapter 15

Austin went to his door via the connecting doorway. Hart had booked two rooms when he arrived late yesterday and had made sure both rooms looked lived in. If Sterling's men were especially thorough, they'd be looking for people who just checked in tonight.

Austin plugged in the computer and got online. Facebook was the best way to keep in contact with extended family and extended criminals. He didn't have too many contacts in the San Francisco area, but he knew one or two people. After a flurry of emails, messages, and calls, he confirmed that no one knew about any Isobel, Jennifer, or Melody Murray. But one name kept coming up when he asked about the best escape routes: the local master of the fake identity, Ajax.

After sending two messages with no response, Austin tried the phone, but no one picked up. From what his contacts said, Ajax worked out of a pawn shop downtown, but it didn't open until eight in the morning. Austin leaned back in his chair and ran his hand over his face. Ajax was the only lead he had and he was limited with what he could do with no car and a laptop.

The only thing left to do at least for the next couple of hours was get some rest. Hart didn't seem concerned at all about getting the necklace back, but Austin wasn't ready to let his score slip away. Hell, maybe if he got it back, Hart would let him keep all the cash he got for it.

Who was he kidding? This wasn't just about the necklace, no matter how many millions it was worth. Was he mad at her? Hell yes. She'd made off with his score. Sure, she'd done all the legwork, but that wasn't his problem. It wasn't as if she could claim the Dragon Heart hers to steal. When he was hired to do a job, he was used to getting it done. Now that he had the USB drive he was hired to get from Seal Cove Inn, he could mark it in the win file, but this still felt like two losses in a row. For a guy who never lost, that was a lot to handle.

And as mad as he was that Jennifer had got the drop on him, he'd heard rumors of what happened the last time Sterling was ripped off. The son of a bitch had gotten farther than most. He'd been holed up in a small hut in Tibet, waiting for the heat to blow over, and Sterling's men had found him. Once the remains were found, his body would've never been identified, but one sole finger could still be printed. The face and rest of the body had been mutilated so that it didn't even look human.

All of this had been done while the poor sap was alive. It was so bad that everyone Austin had heard tell the story was certain that lone fingerprint was left on purpose. Sterling wanted people to know what would happen to those who crossed him. Austin might be mad at Jennifer, but to think of her ending up in his clutches... Yeah, he didn't want to even consider that possibility.

Austin kicked off his shoes and lay down on the bed, keeping all his clothes on. He slept worse while fully dressed and he wanted to be alert through the night. Even though he hadn't gotten away with anything, he didn't have any illusions. By this point, Sterling, and Stranger by default, would be looking for him too.

By the time morning rolled around, Austin had collected a total of maybe two hours of sleep. He didn't think he'd be able to squeak out any more, so he pounded on Hart's connecting door. He thought it would take a few minutes to wake up the scheming cop, but after only two bangs, Hart pulled open the door. Nothing like waking up to that angry scowl.

"Morning, sunshine," deadpanned Austin. "Ready to hit the road?"

"It's six in the morning. Where do we need to be?"

"Where else? We're going to a pawn shop."

Hart didn't look convinced. "They wouldn't have hocked the necklace at a local pawn shop."

"This place sells something much more interesting than stolen jewelry. It sold them their future."

After fighting through rush-hour traffic, Hart and Austin made it to Ajax's pawn shop. Even though San Francisco was known for being nice, Ajax had somehow found the worst part of town to open up shop.

Some criminals just felt more comfortable when there were bars on the windows and graffiti on the walls. Hart parallel parked right in front of the shop and they both looked at the hole-in-the-wall shop. "I thought you said this place didn't open until eight," said Hart.

"That's what it said online."

"Then why is the door open?"

Shit. That wasn't a good sign. Austin reached for the car door, but Hart held out his arm. "Give me your gun."

Austin frowned. "How did you know I had a gun?"

"Because that's something I pay attention to. Give it to me."

"Why should you have the gun?"

"Because I've been working with handguns since I was twelve and I don't trust you."

Austin thought it over. He was a good shot, but he had a feeling the stick up Hart's ass meant he spent more time at the range than any sane person should. Also, the guy with the gun normally went in first, and the person who went in first got shot first. Austin leaned forward and pulled the gun out of his waistband. "Here."

Hart dropped the magazine and checked the number of bullets before he slid it back in and loaded a round in the chamber. "You ready?"

"Ready when you are." They both got out of the car and Austin let Hart go first. The guy had seemed adamant last night that he wasn't worried about the Dragon Heart, but he hadn't put up a fuss about indulging Austin's morning trip. Austin didn't know whether that meant he'd changed his mind or whether he was just curious.

The shop was a mess when they walked in, but it looked as if it was normally that way. None of the glass display cases were broken, so it didn't seem as though it had been robbed.

"Hello?" called Austin.

Hart held his gun on his side so it wouldn't be the first thing anyone saw, but it was still ready to come out and do damage.

"Anyone here?" called Hart.

"We're closed!" shouted someone from the back.

Austin and Hart exchanged a look but neither headed for the door.

Hart craned his neck to get a better view. "I have a few quick questions. I won't take up a lot of time."

"What part of we're closed is so hard to understand?" The voice suddenly gained a face as a man walked out from the employee-only backroom. It became suddenly apparent why he wasn't exactly greeting customers with a smile. His face was beaten so badly one of his eyes was swollen shut and from the looks of it, the second eye was on its way to becoming equally as puffy.

But the most disturbing thing was the hand wrapped up in gauze with a large red patch right were the man's pinky finger used to be. "Sterling was here," said Hart, reaching the same conclusion as Austin.

"We're closed for the day. Get the fuck out."

Austin stepped around the counter and faced down the man he was almost certain was Ajax. "Sterling's guys were here. What did you tell them?"

Ajax held up his hand. "Why do you think they stopped at one? I told them everything. You're too late."