FULL NOVELXO Runner: Chapter 4
“Have you found anything?” Vic’s voice was almost deafening through the car speakers, and I flicked down the volume while Gray answered him.
“There’s nothing to find,” Gray grumbled. “There’s nothing online about her at all. Whoever helps keep her invisible does a damn good job.”
“Do we know when she started working jobs?” Juan asked.
I gripped my steering wheel, wishing we could have found more about her before Vic and Juan called. “No. There was no obvious shift when the last Sapphire stepped down.”
“I want you to keep us updated on everything when it comes to her,” Vic ordered. “Having her in your city can hurt or benefit us, and I’d rather it be the latter. Do not let what happened in the past cloud your judgment.”
“You mean when she shot me?” Gray mumbled.
“She could bring good business if she likes working with you,” Juan said. “Keep it professional.”
“We will,” I grated out, not enjoying being told what to do. Vic and Juan were technically our bosses, but we’d been running this city for years.
“Is the meeting still happening?”
I glanced at the café through my window. “Yeah. In ten minutes.”
“Let us know how it goes.” With those last words, Vic hung up. I grabbed my phone from the center console and slid it into my jeans pocket.
“It would be nice to know how the hell she got our phone numbers,” Gray said, shaking his head. “I wasn’t expecting a text from her.”
I nodded in agreement. It had been three days since she had shown up at our club, and we hadn’t heard from her at all. Until we both got a text last night, telling us to meet her here for lunch to discuss the job.
“Are we really going to do this?” Gray asked, giving me a pointed look. “I don’t trust her. If things go bad, she wouldn’t think twice about leaving us behind on a job.”
“Let’s just see what she has to say. If we don’t like it, we’ll find a way to get her out of our city without Vic and Juan knowing. They want her connections.”
“Or we could make her disappear,” Gray muttered.
“We need to find out more about her first.” I’d had that thought too, but it was too early to act on it. “If she really is Sapphire, killing her could be a bad move.”
If she really was Sapphire. Even with her tattoo, I had doubts. That name had been known in the car world for decades. The original Sapphire was a legend. Street racing became huge in the sixties in Detroit with the Big Three car companies. No one knew his real name, but Sapphire was the best. People came from everywhere to see him race. Then he disappeared without anyone knowing what happened to him.
Until a new face showed up, claiming to be Sapphire. He told a story of how the original Sapphire chose him to carry on the name. Sapphire gave the guy his prized racing car and all his knowledge with the promise that he’d pass it all on to someone else who was worthy. Over the years, every time Sapphire disappeared, someone would take his place. And as time went on, it went from just street racing to stealing cars and becoming powerful in the criminal world.
As technology improved, the more Sapphire went underground. The symbol of that name was exactly what the girl’s tattoo was. A dark blue sapphire sitting in light blue flames. Most people who held the title had stayed anonymous in the last few decades. The name was infamous, and people wanted to know who was behind the mask. Especially when Sapphire started doing big-time jobs. Enemies wanted to destroy the empire built around the name. Others wanted the rumored fortune. Some were just curious.
A few times, we had known who Sapphire was, but those usually didn’t last long. They either ended up dead or in prison. But there was always someone to take their place that the Sapphire had chosen. For the last fifteen years, no one had set eyes on Sapphire. But everyone knew he or she still existed.
Jobs were still happening. Sometimes they’d show up for large street races, with their face covered and not letting anyone know until the race ended that it had been Sapphire racing. When Gray and I were eighteen, we watched a race, not even realizing we’d witnessed Sapphire winning the last race until they threw a calling card out the window with the flaming sapphire symbol on it before speeding away.
Seeing as she was our age, there was no way that had been her. But if she really was Sapphire now, then she knew who we’d seen over ten years ago at that race. If she was staying in town, then I wanted to find out all I could about her.
“Ready?” Gray asked, opening his door.
“Let’s get this over with.” I tucked my gun in the waistband of my jeans after stepping out of the car. My phone went off, and I looked at the text that popped up on the screen.
Unknown number: I’m sitting outside. Don’t be late.
I gritted my teeth, showing Gray the text really quick. If she thought she was going to order us around, this little peace we had wasn’t going to last long. We turned the corner, and I scanned the outside eating area for her.
“If she expects us to be on time, she should be too,” I said, scanning the busy tables again.
“She is.” Gray pointed toward the back, where a couple of tables were right near a glass wall. “The only reason I recognized her was because I caught her eye.”
I looked at her table again, wondering how I’d missed her. Until I saw her appearance. Unease made my pulse thud as we made our way over to her. She was wearing a pink sundress with flip-flops. Her black hair was braided and hung over her left shoulder. A paperback book sat on the table in front of her. The way she could blend into any crowd was unnerving. When she was in our club the other night, she was dressed like the ultimate party girl. The night she stole the Rolls-Royce, her role of a rich socialite was perfection.
“Hi,” she greeted us in a bubbly voice. “I ordered crepes for all of us. I hear this café has the best in town.”
I sat down stiffly, realizing it wasn’t just her clothes. It was everything. The pitch of her voice. The look in her eyes. Even her posture. Like right now, if anyone was watching her, they’d see a cheery young woman who looked like she attended church every Sunday. Taking a moment to study her bare arms, I wondered if she had any other tattoos besides the one she’d shown us. As far as I could tell, she had no identifying marks at all. That probably made jobs easier.
Gray sat down between her and me. The round table was small, and if she was nervous about Gray sitting so close to her, she didn’t show it. Unlike the night at the club, I could guarantee she came here armed.
“Is there a reason you didn’t want to meet at our club again?” I asked.
“I thought a public place was better. Until I know you aren’t planning my demise.” She giggled as if she’d told a joke, catching the eye of the server who was setting down the food she ordered. She shot him a flirty grin, and he returned it before quickly averting his eyes when he met my glare. He quickly shuffled away, and she cast a disapproving look at me.
“You two attract too much attention,” she stated, her gaze drifting to my tatted arms.
“You’re the one who wanted to meet here.” Gray snagged a crepe from the plate. “We have no reason to hide. This is our city, and everyone knows who we are.”
“Why’d you want to meet?” I asked, wanting to get down to business.
Her smile changed, going from bubbly to lethal in an instant. “Your bosses wanted us to work together. I have a job tonight and decided to extend an invite.”
“Tonight?” I repeated. “That gives no time to plan.”
“I already have it worked out.” She sipped her iced coffee. “But it’s two cars, so having you both with me will make it go faster.”
“We don’t even know your name,” Gray muttered. “We’re not doing a job when we don’t know who we’re doing it with.”
“You can call me Mili,” she told us without hesitation.
I raised an eyebrow. “That’s your real name?”
Her grin widened. “It’s my real nickname.”
Since she gave it up so easily, I doubted we’d find anything with that name if we tried searching it.
“How long have you been Sapphire?” Gray asked.
“Long enough to know how to survive without people catching on.”
“Who was Sapphire before you?”
Her smile stayed, but her eyes went cold. “Sorry, we don’t talk about our predecessors. I was chosen, and I’ve had the keys to the kingdom for a long time.”
“Is he dead?” I pushed, trying to get one straight answer from her.
“Why are you convinced it was a guy?”
“No one has laid eyes on Sapphire in over ten years.” Gray cocked his head to the side, studying her. “Why is this job against the Panthers important enough for you to come to us?”
“They have a car I’ve wanted for a long time.” Setting her coffee down, she pulled keys out from her designer purse. “I didn’t call you here to be interrogated. If you don’t want to help me on this job, then I’m leaving.”
“Wait.” Gray grabbed her arm when she tried standing. The façade of the innocent woman dissolved, and her frigid glare went from Gray’s hand to his face.
“You have three seconds to get your fucking hand off me,” she warned, her free hand moving for her purse.
“Well, if it isn’t the two most upstanding citizens in the city,” a voice said from behind me.
Mili’s eyes flashed with surprised recognition as she looked behind me. I groaned, not having to look at him to know who it was. Gray tensed, letting go of her arm. A shadow came over me before the empty chair next to me was pulled out.
Forcing a smile, I faced him. “And what can we do for the great mayor today?”