The Tomorrow Heist by Jack Soren Page A

we—­”
    â€œDon’t call me that,” she said abruptly.
    â€œCall you what? Natalie? Uh, that’s your name, honey.”
    â€œNot anymore. Everyone here calls me Nina now. That’s my name.”
    Jonathan looked at Lew and mouthed Nina? Lew shrugged and nodded.
    â€œFine, Nina, just try to remember everything you heard—­”
    â€œI don’t have to. When the phone banged to the floor, and I heard the men yelling, I started recording the call. Hang on a second, and I’ll play it for you.”
    Despite the name nonsense, which Jonathan would deal with later, he felt pride at his daughter’s ingenuity. A moment later, muffled voices emanated from the phone. His skin prickled when he recognized Canton George’s voice demanding to know where he and Lew were. Then the convincing started, and Jonathan saw Lew wince with every smack that echoed from the speaker.
    Then, with a wooden crash, the fight was over. Emily begged for Natalie’s safety and a male voice said he thought Emily had killed someone named Neill. Lew actually clapped his hands at that. But his attitude fell when George ordered the man to kill Emily. The few seconds of silence that followed seemed to last forever. It was finally broken by a tremendous crash. And gunfire. Even without the police reports, Jonathan would have recognized the unmistakable sound of P90s’ rapid firing. Again, silence stretched out, and Jonathan and Lew held their breath and waited. Someone yelled “Clear!” and then a strange man’s voice was heard.
    â€œAre you all right, Ms. Denham?”
    â€œYes! She’s alive!” Lew shouted, jumping to his feet.
    â€œLew!” Jonathan chastised, trying to listen to every sound.
    â€œSorry,” he said as he sat down with a huge grin on his face.
    â€œShe’s out.”
    â€œWhat’s her condition?”
    â€œThey worked her over pretty good, missing a ­couple of teeth and definitely some broken ribs, but I think she’ll recover.”
    Lew seemed to have trouble catching his breath as they heard the prognosis.
    â€œGet her patched up, then I’ll meet you at the Gallery. I’ve delayed the locals, but not by much. Get a move on.”
    â€œYes, sir.”
    â€œGallery?” Jonathan and Lew said at the same time.
    After some rustling, the room grew quiet. Then the man spoke again, but it was loud and clear, unlike before.
    â€œIf you’ve listened to this, you know we saved Ms. Denham. We have her, but she’s not a prisoner. We are making sure she gets the care she needs. You just need to come and get her.”
    A tingle started at the base of Jonathan’s spine and slowly scampered up into the back of his skull. Realization was setting in.
    â€œYeah, like we’re just going to walk in there,” Lew said.
    â€œLew.”
    â€œWhat? Why the hell would we trust this guy?”
    â€œLew!”
    â€œWhat?”
    Jonathan took a deep breath and leaned down toward the phone.
    â€œWhere do you want to meet?” Jonathan prayed he was wrong. Hoped against hope that “Nina” would get on the line and start chastising him again.
    â€œWhat are you—­”
    â€œThe Sandstrom Gallery. I’m texting you the address. I look forward to meeting you, Mr. Hall. You too, Mr. Katchbrow. Oh, and come unarmed.”
    The line went dead.
    And so did Jonathan’s hope.
    â€œI KNEW WE should have killed that guy instead of just locking him in his own vault,” Lew said.
    Lew’s head was spinning with all the revelations in the past few minutes. Not to mention the thumping hangover. But what he did know was that Emily was alive. Or, at least, she had been after the attack at her flat. Regardless, it was a hundred times better than all the scenarios that had been rifling through his brain since seeing the blood on her floor last night. On the other hand, Natalie was now an unknown.