Rarities Unlimited 02 - Running Scared

He had a date with a million dollars. The gun that had been put in the motel room before he got there was a sweet, hard weight against his belly. Fully loaded, semiautomatic, ready to party. All he needed was an address.
    The phone rang.
    He picked it up, listened, smiled.
    Party time.

Chapter 67
    Las Vegas
    November 5
    Night
    A s Shane drove swiftly down the Strip, rivers of colored lights flowed in silent glory over the windshield. He didn’t notice. To him the lights were like the night—just one more thing to get through before Risa was safe.
    Niall glanced sideways with eyes as dark as the bottom of a well. “What if we lose the gold?”
    “As long as we don’t lose Risa, I can live with whatever happens.”
    “Yeah, I got that impression. So did Dana.” Niall smiled. “She told me you wouldn’t stay behind. Then she told me to stick to you like fresh shit on a hiking shoe.”
    Shane didn’t say anything.
    “I won’t get in your way, boyo.”
    “Do what you have to do.”
    Niall grimaced. He had worked with enough commando groups to recognize Shane’s state of mind. It was beyond anger, beyond rage. Take no prisoners didn’t even begin to describe it.
    Men were never more dangerous than when they were cold and calm.
    “If you tell me what you’re planning, I can help,” Niall said.
    More silence.
    Lights, buildings, and other cars flowed past in a rainbow river. Shane pushed the yellow on two stoplights and took the third red. He wasn’t careless about it, but he was quick.
    Just when Niall thought he’d lost whatever trust the other man had had for him, Shane shifted his grip on the wheel and braked for a light that would have been too dangerous to run.
    “I’m going to take Cherelle down before Risa gets there,” Shane said. “You want to help, fine. You want to get in my way, fine. Either way Cherelle goes down.”
    “What are you going to do—kick in the door?”
    “If I have to.”
    “What if she’s armed?”
    “So am I.”
    “You think she killed that pawnbroker?” Niall asked.
    “Possible, but not my first vote.”
    “Socks?”
    “Probably. Socks’s police profile shows someone with a ninety-one IQ and a short fuse.”
    Shane switched off his headlights before he turned at the Midas Motel entrance. A glance at his watch told him he had perhaps six minutes to spare. He reached into his wallet, pulled out some twenties, and handed them to Niall.
    “I might be recognized by the night clerk,” Shane said. “Damn all news photographers anyway.”
    “Serves you right for having such a pretty face.”
    Shane ignored him. “Can you find out if the room on either side of 121 is available?”
    “Will you be here when I get back?”
    “If I’m not, you know where to find me.”
    Niall strode quickly into the office.
    Shane didn’t wait to see about rooms, empty or otherwise. He left the car and walked along the bottom wing of the motel. If the parking lot and the amount of lights showing through room windows were any indication, the Midas Motel was on a steep downward slide toward bankruptcy or flophouse status.
    The room to the right of 121 showed lights. The room to the left didn’t. The door lock on the left-hand room was the old-fashioned, nonelectronic kind. Easy, in a word. Shane pulled a credit card from his wallet, worked it between the door and the jamb, and finessed the lock in less time than it took for Niall to check in.
    By the time Niall got to the room, the curtains were drawn, the lights were on, and the television was chattering loudly about the latest fashion trend—neon mesh underwear worn outside a black bodysuit. The door leading to the parking lot was slightly ajar. He didn’t knock and he didn’t lock the door behind him. They might want to get out in a hurry.
    Shane was working on the inner door that opened into Room 121. The lock was proving much more difficult than the front-door lock had.
    “Step aside, boyo.”
    Shane looked over his shoulder. Niall had a tire iron in one hand and an assortment of lock picks in the other. Shane got out of his way.
    “I didn’t see a good hiding place outside,” Shane said. “How about you?”
    “That’s why I’m in here. We don’t have a lot of time. Dana and Risa are about two minutes away.”
    “How do you know?”
    “Cellular connection.”
    For the first time Shane noticed the nearly transparent earpiece and cord that connected Niall to a cell phone in his rear pocket. “Is Dana giving you