The Golden Chalice (13 page)

“You scared the hell out of me. You took longer than we planned. Are you okay?” He cupped her face and searched her eyes. She nodded. “We did it! Baby, we did it.”

Kumar kissed her. He kissed her face and lips and brow. “You did it. You. I love you so much!”

“I love you, too!”

Sasha held out the Chalice. Kumar uncovered it and they stood there staring at something so old and valuable, it sucked the very breath from their lungs.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” she asked.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.” He took the jeweled cup from her. Her arms ached from holding it. The Chalice had to weigh at least ten pounds, maybe twelve. The jewels around the rim were pink, white, and yellow diamonds. There was also a ring of rubies and emeralds. She wasn’t sure of the black stones, but they sparkled like diamonds, too. Along the base, the writing looked to be in an ancient language.

“What do you think it says?” she asked.

“Who knows? I want to get rid of the thing as fast as we can. It’s dangerous.”

“It’s gorgeous. It’s not dangerous.”

“Sasha, men will kill for it. The thing is bad luck. I feel it. Let’s stick to the plan. Go to the party. I’m going to the drop. Monk says he will have a man waiting.”

“Wait, is it safe? How can you get out of here with that thing? It’s huge.”

“It’s safe. I wired this place, remember?” He set the Chalice in an equipment box. “Now go. They’ll miss you.”

Sasha gave him another long kiss. “I love you! I love you!”

“This is for us. We’ll be free and I swear to you, babe, we’ll make it,” Kumar said.

She grinned. “See you tonight. Love you.”

***

Michelle returned to the party. After twenty minutes, her sister moved through the crowd, making small talk with guests.

“Another glass of champagne, ma’am?” A server stepped in front of her.

She accepted the crystal flute and approached her sister. Sasha turned and smiled prettily up at her. “Hi, sis. Enjoying your party?”

“Here you go.” Michelle offered the champagne to Sasha.

“Thank you.” Sasha beamed. “How did you know I wanted one?”

“You seem flustered.”

“Do I? I’m not. I mean, I’m having a good time. Are you having a good time? ’Cause I really worked hard to ensure you’d have a good time. I just wondered if you were, that’s all. If you know how to have a good time, I mean.”

“I’m having a good time.” Michelle chuckled.

With a trembling hand, Sasha downed the entire glass and averted her gaze. Michelle touched her cheek and smiled at her. “Work on your nerves, little sister. If you play this game, you got to have the courage to see it through.”

“Huh?” Sasha gulped.

Michelle sighed. “Be careful, Sasha.” She shook her head and walked off.

***

“You wanted to see me, boss?” Abahti paused mid-stride.

Lee stopped his pacing and turned to glare at his so-called friend.

“Kumar. Where is he?”

“Not sure. I believe he had to make a run. I thought I saw him leaving.”

Lee shook his head. He picked up a piece of paper and held it out to Abahti. “You’ll find him here. Get my fucking Chalice and put a bullet between his eyes. You hear me?”

“Got it.” Abahti accepted the order without question.

Lee stared at him for a moment longer. “Sasha has plans to leave tonight. Make sure she doesn’t.”

Abahti gave an obligatory nod and left. Lee picked up his whiskey and dropped down into the chair behind his desk.

***

“Thank you for coming.” Michelle’s hand was lifted to Escobar’s lips. He fixed her with a steady gaze as he pressed a kiss to her knuckles. She forced politeness to her smile and voice when she spoke. “Please give Consuela, my love.”

The invocation of his wife’s name caused his brow to rise. Escobar was well aware of the mutual dislike between the women. He nodded. “I’ll be sure to do that. Maybe we will see you next year at Joker’s Wild?”

In your dreams
. Michelle nodded politely, but said nothing. She waited for him to depart and gave the same rehearsed thanks to the next person leaving. She’d accepted the role as hostess for the remainder of the night. Particularly after she saw her sister’s little snatch-and-grab routine. Sasha would ruin everything.

Several times during the last hour of the evening, Michelle expected Lee to reappear at her side. He never did. After the last guest wished her happiness and hinted for an invitation to the wedding, she headed straight for his office. The dark silence almost led her to believe he wasn’t there. She’d nearly turned to leave when he stepped away from the windows at her left.

“Hi,” Michelle said, hand to her chest. “You startled me. I didn’t think you were in here.”

“Are the guests gone?”

“It’s our party and you didn’t return to say goodbye? I thought this was a celebration.”

Lee’s tall form stood rigid. She could see little of his face, but felt his eyes upon her. Michelle closed the door.

“Guess business got in the way, right?”

“You could say that.”

The silent way he watched her chipped away at her confidence. Did he know about Sasha’s theft? If he did, why was he alone, and her sister not on her knees begging for forgiveness? Careful of the tension building between them, she approached. Lee knew. To pretend otherwise would only indict her in his eyes. She understood her guy in more ways than he did her.

“My poor baby. Aren’t you tired of all the games? Seems like everyone is playing them tonight.” Before him, with just a sliver of moon rays to illuminate his handsome features, Michelle lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck. She offered him a sweet, soft peck on the lips before resting her face against his shoulder. Lee held her with one arm, but didn’t move to fully embrace her. “You’re angry, aren’t you?”

Lee brought her arms down from his neck and held her by the wrists. “Did you have anything to do with it?”

Michelle laughed. The sound of her laughter echoed hollowly. She immediately realized how deadly a mistake it would be to dismiss his anger. Slowly she shook her head no. “You know me, Lee, I’m not that sloppy. Sasha planned her little heist all on her own. I only found out about it when I saw her sneaking out of your office. Now do you see why I need her away from this life? She’s a risk to herself and us. It’s best we cut her loose.”

She pulled down hard to yank her wrist free from his grip. “I know you’re angry. She’s my sister, Lee. I don’t want you to harm her. She did this because she loves him. Kumar probably convinced her of it. Sasha would never think she could pull this off if she weren’t desperate.”

“I don’t reward disloyalty, or betrayal. She crossed the line when she tried to steal from me.” Lee forced his hands into his trouser pockets.

“I agree. She crossed the line months ago when she showed up at your pool hall and struck a deal with you. She’s been making one bad mistake after another.”

“Oh, give your sister a little more credit. She got in and out of my safe with no problem. This wasn’t a mistake.”

Michelle noticed his tone of voice was cold and exact. Pops told her Lee could be dangerous. In fact, he’d warned her many times never to trust him. What he must think of his daughters now? She was angry with Sasha. She was prepared to walk away from her forever. But she would not let anyone hurt her. Never.

“I’m going to be your wife,” Michelle began. “With that comes privileges. At least that’s what you were saying last night in bed.”

Lee sneered at her.

She held her ground. “She’s my sister, Lee. She had no business in this life, and I plan to make sure she’s out of it for good. You owe me and you owe Pops. I’ve lost all the family I can stand. I won’t have you doing anything to her. Do you understand? After everything I’ve given you, everything I plan to give you,
this
is not too much to ask.”

He grabbed her by the throat. Michelle held his stare. She didn’t flinch. Not even a blink. He drew her face to his and kissed her, a harsh ravishment of her lips as he held tightly to her neck. She turned her head away from his invading mouth. “I know you don’t trust me, Lee, but you want to. This is how you and I earn trust.” She looked into his eyes. “You do anything to hurt her, all bets are off.”

“If you ever betray me—”

“I won’t.”

“My feelings for you don’t make me weak, Michelle. Don’t ever make the mistake in thinking so. My feelings for you make me something far more dangerous. Deal with your sister. Pack her things, and yours. I want her gone.”

He released her. Michelle sucked down deep breaths when he turned and walked out. She closed her eyes and summoned the strength to keep standing. Shaking off her fear and disappointment, she opened her eyes again. “Damn it, Sasha. What have you done?”

***

Kumar paced the boardwalk, checking the time. Monk’s people should have showed thirty minutes ago. The party would be winding down. He had to pick up Sasha before anyone got suspicious. This had to work. It had to. He flexed his hands, clenching them into fists, unclenching them. His composure was a fragile shell around his faith. Everything in him said something had gone wrong.

Dammit, how
?

A motorcycle engine gunned to the left. His head lifted. The rider rocketed out of the parking lane toward the road. The streets were fairly empty except for taxicabs cruising toward the freeway. To his right, he heard the ocean as it rolled in with the late tide, beyond the boardwalk. Kumar tightened his grip on the equipment case holding the Golden Chalice. He started to walk briskly toward his car. He’d call Monk and try to figure out another drop point. Maybe he’d gotten the details wrong.

Kumar dug deep in his pocket for his car keys. Three black SUVs swerved out of the side street, gunning straight for the parking lot. The first braked and men he knew worked for Lee jumped out of the doors.

“Oh fuck!” Kumar stumbled. Abahti jumped out of the second vehicle, and Kumar turned and ran. He held tight to the case but the sound of gunfire to his back caused him to drop it and run faster. He heard someone scream and more gunfire.
Are they fucking crazy
?
They could kill innocent people
! He braced for impact. He was certain he’d be hit. But he made it to the street and ran hard and fast for the strip of bars and traffic. Kumar dared a glance behind him. They were still in pursuit and closing in on him.

The door to a restaurant opened and he dashed inside, knocking a woman to the ground. Many were aghast at his sudden arrival. Kumar ignored the stares. He pressed to the corner near the windowpane.
Did they see me
?
Fuck. I think they saw me
!

The windowpane fogged with his heavy panting and breathing. He closed his eyes and said a quick prayer they didn’t see him. When he opened them, Lee’s men raced along the sidewalk and walked the street of cars, checking vehicles for a sign of him.

“Shit. Shit. Shit.”

Kumar raced to the rear of the restaurant.

***

Sasha zipped her bag. She hitched the strap up her arm and checked the time on her watch. For a moment, she considered leaving her sister a letter to explain her choice. Michelle had been the only mother she’d ever known. With Pops gone, the nostalgic ties were weakened. Sasha could think of no way to make up to her sister all she’d lost.

The timer on her watch buzzed. Kumar had told her that when it did, the security around the perimeter would drop for fifteen minutes, undetected. The rendezvous would be a mile up the road at a local gas station. She’d have to make the hike on foot, through the foliage to the west side of the estate, so Lee’s men didn’t see her. If she kept the pace they agreed upon, she’d be with her sweetie within the hour. This was it. Do or die. Sasha had no intention of dying.

She summoned bravery. She drew the up window to her bedroom. A wave of apprehension hit her when she surveyed the drop. “Okay, girl, you can do this. It’s a few feet.”

Sasha threw her leg over the window sill. The night breeze stung her eyes, forcing her to squint. The ground looked farther away than she’d imagined. How high up was she again? Carefully, she turned sideways while gripping the top of the window frame. She brought out her other leg. Her few belongings were tucked away in her backpack. She sucked down a deep breath and leapt.

Sasha made the drop and landed on her back. Winded, she rolled to her side and winced. It took several minutes for her to recover. When she did, she sat up in time to see shadows shift. Sasha thought it her fear working against her until those same shadows solidified. Men approached her from every angle. They were armed.

“No. No.” She struggled but rose to her feet. She ran for the break between two men and was caught around her midriff. Sasha screamed obscenities as she fought the man holding her. She was roughly turned to face her captor. “Let me go! Let me go!”

The man lifted her and literally carried her to the house. Abahti marched ahead of them, and no one spoke a word. “Please, please just let me go. Oh God. Please.”

Once she was brought inside, she found Lee waiting for her. It all fell apart in an instant. They knew. If they knew, Kumar was in danger.

“Where’s Kumar? Where is he?” she pleaded before being tossed into a room. Sasha landed on the sofa. She turned to see Lee step forward. A man handed him the Chalice.
Kumar had the Chalice
. “Where is he?”

The velvet wrap unfolded by his hand. He lifted the golden-jeweled goblet for everyone to see.

“I can explain. Please. Where’s my sister? Bring her in here and I will explain. Please! Where is Kumar? Where is he?”

Chapter Ten

One week later

Kumar woke to a putrid mix of excrement and garbage singeing his nose hairs. He choked on the fear in his gut. It rose to his throat, a ball of bile that threatened to erupt from him at any moment. Lightning flashed. He could feel the vibrations of thunder through the wall he pressed against.