Dangerous Flames (Mafia Hearts) by Wendy Ely Page B

the money.
He walked over and stood on his toes to take a closer look through
the small window frame. A bullet-proof glass window separated him
from thousands, if not millions, of dollars that would help him live
out his dream. It would only take a minute to bust into the room,
take the money, and disappear from Las Vegas forever. What did he
have keeping him here? Nothing. Maybe robbing Boss-man would prove to
be easier than killing the asshole. He stared at the cash. But they’d
eventually find him. Better stick with the plan. Rubbing his hands
together again, he turned to the shelving next to the office.
    He
removed some of the bolts holding the shelves together. Other bolts
were loosened on both sides of the rack. With a support beam in the
back removed, he had to steady the shelves and hoped they didn’t
fall before Enrico found the direct spot where he usually stood
underneath it. One swing of the office door and Enrico would be on
the ground.
    Johnny stood back and stared up at the shelves. Enough stuff had been
stacked on them, making the impact of the weight enough to take
anyone down. Since Enrico usually had someone guard the place, Johnny
needed to get out before he got caught. He tossed a longing glance at
the money and paused. He shrugged his shoulders. Someday he’d
have that much money.
    As
he started for the door, heavy footsteps approached from outside. He
ducked behind a pile of boxes and slipped his switch blade from his
pocket. Lesson learned; don’t ever do any sort of job without
having a gun on him. His 9mm currently was hidden under the front
seat of his car. A lot of good that would do him right now. With the
switch blade, he’d have to get close enough to actually cut the
guy. Very risky.
    The
familiar screeching of the door being slid open echoed through the
warehouse. Who would it be? How many men had arrived? He wondered if
there’d be only be one, giving him the opportunity to overpower
the other man. He hadn’t come here to kill today, only set up
for Enrico’s death, but he wouldn’t shy away from taking
out a man if forced. Johnny should’ve known this had gone too
smoothly.
    One
set of footsteps came forward but stopped on the other side of the
boxes. He couldn’t see the person from where he crouched down
and needed to switch this around to his advantage.
    “ I
know someone’s been in here,” Wil said.
    Johnny’s
hold on the knife trembled. No time to be scared. The guard tonight
happened to be Wil. A major player in the Medini Family, but with the
element of surprise, he shouldn’t have a problem taking the man
down. He waited for a response to Wil’s statement to determine
how many men were with Wil.
    When
nobody said anything to Wil, Johnny knew the man’s
companionship came from his cell phone. “I don’t see
anyone, but when I came back from grabbing a bite to eat the chain
was off the door.” The man paused. A beam of light from a
flashlight moved slowly across the wall and hit the ground a few
inches from Johnny’s hiding spot. “I know I’m not
supposed to leave without having someone else here, but damn. I’ve
been waiting all evening for someone to show up and figured nothing
has happened so far, why would it for a half an hour? None of the
money has been messed with so I’ll take care of this. Just
don’t tell Enrico.” His voice faded, suggesting he had
moved farther into the warehouse.
    The
footsteps crossed the cement floor to the office where the money
waited for Enrico and the specially selected men to transport it to
‘the vault’. Only those few chosen men knew the location
of the vault and Johnny would give anything to find out.
    Johnny
crouched down low to the cold cement floor to make his way around the
boxes. Once he came into view, he’d have very few valuable
seconds to do the deed.
    “ I’ll
check in with you later,” Wil said before ending the call. He
slipped the phone into the back pocket of his jeans.
    Johnny’s
heart pounded in