Without taking his eyes off the road, he talked. “They’re on us…
Right. Plan B.” He hung up and handed her the phone.
“What’s plan B?”
He smiled, but it looked cold. “You have a jacket or something in your bag?”
“Yeah?”
“Unbuckle your seat belt and get it. And while you’re back there, open my duffel bag. In the top, there’s a bulletproof vest.”
“How are you going to put it on if you’re driving?”
He looked at her. “I’m not. You are. And put your jacket on over it.”
It’s a Sweet Life
257
Allan swore as he changed directions and jumped back on the Turnpike. He knew what plan B meant, and he didn’t like it in the least. This time, he paid close attention to who was following him and easily lost both cars. As he drove, he pulled up Ben’s friend’s number in West Palm. By the time he got him updated and got off the phone with him, he wondered if Ben’s plan would even work.
He made it to the storage unit complex thirty minutes later. Jake was already waiting for him in the parking lot. When Allan got out, he saw Jake Suarez was also wearing a vest. “Everything ready?”
“Yeah. I unlocked the unit already. I’ve got SO scrambled and on their way now. They’re going to coordinate with the Feds.” The grizzled retired cop nodded. “Those assholes get here, they’re fucking trapped inside the gate.”
They turned as three unmarked units and a SWAT wagon rolled into the parking lot. Jake conferred with the commander of the group, who quickly went inside the storage complex office to commandeer the premises and position his men.
Allan pulled his car into the complex and drove around to Ben’s unit, where he parked in front of it at an angle. The plan was for Ben to pull up behind him, and Libbie could jump out of the car and duck into the unit, shielded by vehicles from both directions. He’d have the door open a couple of feet and would pull it down as soon as she was safely inside.
Jake rode with him, a shotgun lying across his lap.
“You sure you want to be in on this?” Allan asked.
The old Cubano grinned. “Fucking Bianco’s goons killed one of my friends in Narcotics a few years ago. Bastard skated on the charge.
We catch these fuckers, some or all of them will flip. They’re not his A-team, that’s for fucking sure. They’ll have enough against Bianco to revoke his bail and sit his ass in jail for the rest of his miserable goddamned life.”
258 Tymber
Dalton
“What’s going on?” Ben hated the fear in Libbie’s voice, but he knew this was the only way they would ever be free of Bianco’s men.
“Detour. We need to go meet Allan.”
“Then why the vest?”
“Because I don’t know what might happen.”
“Can’t we call the police or something and have them stop these guys?”
He laughed. “Well, I am the police, sweetheart. And believe me, they’ve been called.”
As long as Jake and Allan didn’t screw things up, they should have some of Bianco’s men trapped in the storage complex, which only had one entrance. The SWAT team should have men positioned at the perimeter and on rooftops inside the complex to provide backup.
All he had to do was get Libbie inside the storage unit, pull the door down, and get her deep inside behind boxes until the all-clear was sounded.
That was the one variable he hadn’t counted on when he had created the plan weeks ago when they returned to Miami. They couldn’t very well bring in every single one of Bianco’s men piecemeal with no cause. It wasn’t against the law to safely drive a vehicle on the streets of Miami.
But more than one of them following him into a private facility would show cause. Cause that the Feds could leverage against the assholes to make them flip.
When it was just him and Allan, he felt confident the plan was a slam dunk.
All he had to do now was make sure Libbie stayed safe.
It’s a Sweet Life
259
Libbie fought the nausea rising in her gut as Ben calmly told her what was going to happen. She suspected he was leaving out details out of fear she’d be scared, but she didn’t want to get sick and ruin the plan.
She pulled the jacket on over the bulletproof vest and buckled her seat belt. “This sounds dangerous.”
“It’s okay, baby. We never thought we’d get a chance like this.
It’ll be fine. There will be SWAT all over the place.”
Florio beat on his steering wheel when the ones following the first Donohue lost him. “You fucktards! How the fuck did you lose him?”
He braked hard and hit the horn when a car cut him off, then swerved around the car to pick up the Toyota again. “Fucking get your asses up here, now.” He told them where they were. “Catch up with us.”
Five of them, including himself, were now following the Toyota.
When the Donohue driving slowed down to the speed limit upon hitting the Turnpike and heading north, Florio wasn’t sure if it was sleep deprivation or joy that something had finally gone right that made him smile.
“He thinks he’s clear. Stay close and switch positions often. Don’t lose him.”
One more of his guys had caught up with them before they turned off at West Palm and headed west.
“We’re getting close, I think,” Florio said. “Stay sharp.”
Ben made sure not to lose his pursuers as he made the turn into the storage unit complex. Only once he saw two of the cars pull in behind him did he floor it, whipping the wheel to the left as he braked 260 Tymber Dalton
hard and took the corner at the end of the main aisle. He jammed the accelerator to the floor, braking at the last possible second and sliding in behind Allan’s car with a squeal of tires and a jolt as the Toyota’s front bumper made contact with the rear of Allan’s car.
The airbags deployed, startling Ben. “Fuck! Libbie, get out, now!”
He clawed at the airbag deflating in front of him and unbuckled his seat belt.
Behind them, he heard tires screaming on the concrete and the sound of one of them making impact with a building somewhere.
She struggled with her belt when Allan yanked her door open and grabbed her arm. Ben reached over and got her seat belt unbuckled.
Allan swore as Ben overshot and hit his back bumper. Despite Jake warning him not to, he ducked through the door and yanked the passenger side door open. Libbie was still belted in, but Ben got her unbuckled as he heard the sound of approaching vehicles.
As he pulled her from the car, he handed her over to Jake, who bodily dragged her under the door and into the unit when she tried to resist.
“Go!” Allan screamed at her. He started to see if Ben needed help when the driver’s door opened. He turned back to the overhead door to duck under, into safety, when he realized the impact had pushed the front bumper of his car into the other side of the door.
No way it would go down.
Four cars had made their way into the aisle and were racing toward them. One slid to a stop sideways, catching the rear of Libbie’s car with the passenger door. The driver pointed his gun at Allan and fired.
It’s a Sweet Life
261
Libbie screamed, thrashing, still disoriented from the impact as the man dragged her under the door and into the unit.
“Lady, stop it! I’m a friend of Ben’s!”
She let him lead her through a narrow passageway of boxes in the unit when she turned at the sound of a crash, followed immediately by the sound of a shot.