Adriana shook her head. “You two know each other a little too well,” she joked.
Sean ignored her. “We’ll head over as soon as we finish breakfast. Thanks, buddy.”
“No problem. This is an interesting tale to say the least. I’ll see y’all in a bit.”
Sean ended the call and turned to face the two men at the table. “Sounds like we’ve got ourselves a little mystery to solve.”
Charlie shook his head. “Not me, my friend. I’m too old to run around chasing after treasure on one of your little adventures. I’ve heard the stories about what happens when you and Tommy get to sniffin’ around. Besides, I’ve got a store to run.”
It was a response Sean had expected, and Charlie was right, he would only slow them down. But he didn’t like the idea of his friend going back to his store just yet. “Charlie, I know you need to run your shop, but it still might not be safe. That guy is still out there, and if I know the type, he or one of his cronies is probably camped outside the store right now.”
“Well, what am I supposed to do then? Just sit around on my keister and close up? I ain’t one to live in fear, Sean. You know that.”
“I’m not asking you to close the shop. Just saying you should maybe lie low for a day or two. Call your buddy Dale, and see if he can run it for you.”
Charlie grumbled something under his breath about Dale and not wanting to call up people to run his store. It was a trait Charlie hadn’t been able to let go of since Sean had met him. He always wanted to do things himself.
“What was that?” Sean asked in a snappy tone.
“Nothin’,” Charlie shook his head. “I’ll call Dale. But I’m going back to work tomorrow.”
“I’d be happy to tag along and meet your friend at IAA,” Coop piped up. “This all sounds fascinating.”
“Good,” Sean said. “We’ll get this cleaned up and head out in a few minutes. We can take my car, Charlie.”
“Finally. I don’t like driving Sally around too much. She’s already been workin’ too hard going to Knoxville and now here.”
“Sally?” Adriana asked.
Sean rolled his eyes. “He named his Mustang Sally, after the song ‘Mustang Sally.’ He thinks he’s being clever. Not super original, by the way.”
Charlie beamed a proud and awkward smile. “I like it. So screw you.”
Coop burst into laughter and the others joined in.
Outside the house, hidden in the giant shrubs surrounding the exterior wall, Petrov listened to the conversation. He’d managed to follow the group to Atlanta the night before. When he discovered his targets were going to stay put, he returned to his stolen vehicle and made a few phone calls before falling into a fitful sleep in the back seat.
Sleeping in a car wasn’t a big deal to him. He’d slept in far worse. Cold winters in Russia taught him how to endure almost any uncomfortable circumstances. It wasn’t the makeshift bed that kept him waking up every few minutes. Years of constantly staying on high alert caused him to be wary of any sounds or movements. While he had been confident his targets wouldn’t leave, there was no guarantee.
The phone calls he made were to mercenaries he’d worked with before. One was an American, a former Army Ranger gone rogue. The other two were European, one from Serbia, the other Petrov wasn’t exactly sure. Not that he cared. The only thing Petrov needed was for them to perform, and in the times he’d used these men before, they always had.
They’d been alerted to what was going on earlier, and were waiting in a hotel in New York. Once the call was made, they flew to Atlanta and met up with Petrov in the early morning hours.
Now the three men waited patiently to see what they were to do next, their guns held tightly at their sides, ready to strike.
Petrov turned around and faced his men. “They are going to midtown to a research facility. One of them is in possession of a diary. We need that book. He also has the coin. They must not reach the facility alive. You must be careful not to damage the book. Our employer will need it intact.”
The three men nodded.
“We’ll wait until they leave. Then we kill them all.”
Chapter 12
Sean felt more at ease as he slid the Springfield XD .40-caliber into a belt holster. For all the time he spent trying to avoid guns, there was something comforting about having his trusted piece on hand, especially after the events of the previous day.
The four made their way down a flight of stairs that turned sharply into a basement door. When Sean opened it, a long six-door garage and twenty shiny motorcycles greeted the group. The two-wheel vehicles varied in style and color, though most were cafe racers. Some of the cafe bikes were Japanese, made in the 1960s and 70s, refurbished and converted to Sean’s preferred style. Others were true cafe bikes, British in origin. The two Nortons and the Vincent were the pride of his collection, though he loved every one of his rides.
“You certainly have quite a collection here, Sean,” Coop said, admiring the bikes as the group made their way to an Audi Q5 parked in front of the closest door. The garage featured doors on both sides of the showroom, allowing easy pull-in, pull-out access.
“Yeah,” Sean said, gazing at the beautiful sight. “Originally, I didn’t mean for it to be a collection, but every bike has its own distinct qualities. I couldn’t help myself. I fell in love with every one of them, and still love them.”
“You might want to watch how you say that around your lady friend,” Charlie quipped and cast a playful glance at Adriana.
“Actually, Charlie,” she replied curtly, “I’m only with Sean for the bikes. I think I may love them more than he does.”
“Perfect. Now there are two of you,” the older man grumbled and climbed into the back of the black SUV.
Sean had been converted to the Audi after an intrepid journey in Adriana’s Q7 while in Las Vegas. Impressed with the way the automobile performed, he decided to go with a slightly smaller, quicker model.
He slid into the driver’s seat and revved the engine to life. After a second of thought, he peered into the rearview mirror at Coop. “You still got the coin and the diary, right?”
The bearded man beamed and patted his jacket. “Yep. Got them both right here.”
Sean gave a quick nod and put the SUV into gear as the garage door opened. Sunlight poured in, and Sean eased the vehicle out onto the driveway.
Adriana flipped on the satellite radio to one of her favorite alternative music stations and leaned back in the seat. The SUV rolled leisurely down the hill, past the magnolias, maples, oaks, spruce, hemlock, and poplars, toward the front gate. A row of fiery-pink azaleas bloomed along the right side of the driveway.
Coop stared out the window at the property. “It’s like a little piece of heaven in the middle of the city,” he said, admiring the landscape with a longing stare.
“Thanks,” Sean said. “I used to work on a piece of property very similar to this when I was in high school. I always said that when I had enough money, I would build a sanctuary like that one. It’s like my fortress of solitude.”
“Okay, Superman,” Adriana laughed and shook her head.
Sean ignored the jab at first, but a thin smile slipped onto his face.
As the SUV rounded the curve in the asphalt, Sean slowed down upon seeing a white utility van parked on the street near the gate. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he eyed the vehicle. The sticker on the side said it was a plumber’s van. Why it would be parked there, however, he wasn’t sure.
The gate opened automatically as the Q5 drew near, and Sean steered it through at a near crawl. When the front wheels touched the main street, he could see around the front edge of the van. The plumber’s right side tire had gone flat, which explained the odd place he’d decided to park.