He clicked the mic button. “Found it. Very nice. Now he’s armed.”
A few moments later, the black BMW took a sharp turn onto Mulholland Drive. Phillip shoved his gun back into his jacket before speeding through the turn, almost T-boned by a sedan going in the other direction.
As the Audi reached the intersection, Stone slowed enough to take a quick look at traffic before slamming down on the accelerator and slipping through a slot between cars to rejoin the chase.
Dino contacted Viv again and updated her, as the chase wove around the other vehicles, drawing honks and flashing headlights.
Phillip tried to pull alongside the BMW several times, but each time Petry whipped the wheel toward him, forcing the motorcycle to fall back.
At Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Petry turned south toward West Hollywood, and the motorcycle and the Audi followed. As traffic got worse, Petry veered into the oncoming lanes, forcing vehicles heading up the hill to swerve out of his way.
“Hold on,” Stone said, then did the same.
A Tesla missed them by mere inches, but Stone was able to return to the right lane unscathed.
“If you could try not to kill me tonight, I’d appreciate it,” Dino said.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
When they reached the bottom of the hill, a spotlight lit up the BMW from above. Stone looked at the sky and spotted three helicopters, one the LAPD chopper with the light, and two from local news outlets.
“Smile,” Dino said. “I think we’re on TV.”
Petry flew through the intersection at Santa Monica Boulevard, causing several vehicles to plow into each other in his wake.
He had no idea where he was going. At first, he’d just been trying to get away from the psycho on the motorcycle. But now he had this damn light on him, which meant the cops wouldn’t be far behind.
What he needed was an enclosed parking garage where he could ditch the BMW and make a run for it.
When he saw the sign for Melrose Avenue, he felt a dash of hope. Simon’s gallery was on that street, and he remembered seeing a big shopping mall with a huge parking garage not too far from it.
He took the turn and immediately regretted it. There was even more traffic here, and the only way he could keep moving was to weave back and forth across the center line.
Movement in the corner of his eye caused him to jerk his head to the left. The motorcycle was just outside his window, the gun in Phillip’s hand pointed at Petry’s head. Petry slammed the accelerator to the floor.
The crack of the gun caused him to jerk on the wheel, and his car slammed into the side of a city bus. As he pulled away, he heard a dull pop, followed by the flap-flap-flap of a shredded tire.
“No, no, no!”
He tried speeding up, but the ruined front tire pulled the car to the right.
He looked ahead for somewhere he could ditch and run. But there was nowhere, not even a—
A sign on a building ahead caught his attention.
He wasn’t going to make it to the parking garage, but at least he could exact some revenge.
The wheel sparked off the asphalt as he kept the BMW moving. When he came abreast of the gallery, he whipped the car toward it. The few people inside ran out of the way just before Petry crashed through the glass wall across the entrance.
The airbag punched him in the face, so he didn’t see the window display fly into a wall or the two easels that somersaulted over the car. But he did feel the impact of the BMW crashing into the back wall and coming to a sudden halt.
He sat there, stunned, as the airbag deflated. For a moment, everything was silent. Then he heard the rumble of a motor.
Petry’s eyes went wide at the sight of Phillip pulling up next to him.
He scrambled over the center console to get out on the passenger side, but the door had been damaged and wouldn’t move.
He tried to spin around to punch the glass out with his feet, but there wasn’t enough room.
Phillip hammered the driver’s-side window with the butt of his gun until it fractured. He pushed the glass out of the way and smiled.
“Hello, Mr. Petry.”
Chapter 53
Stone and Dino jumped out of the Audi, ran to the gap in the shattered entrance, then peered inside.
The BMW had smashed against the back wall, collapsing a portion of the divider into the employees-only area beyond. The driver’s door hung open, and a few feet from it stood the motorcycle. Neither Petry nor Phillip were present, but Stone could hear muffled voices coming from deeper in the building.
Teddy pulled up in his Porsche and hurried to join them.
“Dino, go around to the parking area in the back,” Stone said. “Teddy and I will try to flush them out.”
“Try not to get shot,” Dino said.
“Top of my to-do list,” Stone said.
Stone and Teddy crept carefully into the gallery.
The wall that concealed the entrance to the back room was teetering but still intact. Stone gestured that he would go in that direction and for Teddy to approach the hole in the wall.
Keeping low, Stone moved to the wall, then checked around the edge. The short passageway was empty. He stepped quickly into it.
“Five million right now if you let me walk away,” Petry pleaded. “I can do the transfer right here.”
Phillip snorted.
“How — How about ten million?” Petry said. “You can walk away and never have another worry in your life.”
Stone chanced a peek into the staff-only area. Petry was cornered against one of the couches with Phillip looming over him, his gun ready at his side.
“Ten?” Phillip said. “Why not twenty?”
“Twenty? Sure, sure. Just let me use my phone and I’ll make the transfer.”
“What about thirty?”
“Um... okay. I... I should be able to do that. You have to understand, some of my money is tied up in—”
Phillip pointed his pistol at Petry’s head. Petry yelped and cowered behind his arms.
“How much is your life worth? What about every penny you have?”
“Please don’t. I’m sorry for what happened to you. It was Nico’s idea. I didn’t know until it had already happened.”
“I’m not that stupid.”
Stone was sure Phillip’s patience had just about run out, so he aimed the SIG at him. “Drop the gun, Phillip.”
Phillip whipped around, his pistol following his gaze.
“Barrington?” Petry said, confused.
“I said, put the gun down.”
“Huh,” Phillip said. “So, you’re the guy all the fuss has been about.”
“I’m the guy. And I’m telling you there’s no need for anyone else to die.”
“I would think you’d be happy. I am about to do you a favor.”
“I’d be happier to see him spend the rest of his life in prison.”
Phillip nodded. “I can see how that might be attractive, but it ain’t going to happen. You put your gun down. I don’t have any reason to kill you, but if you insist on getting in the way, I will.”
From the rift in the wall, Teddy said, “That would be a mistake.”
Phillip twisted toward him, surprised. “Who the—”
Before he could say anything else, Petry launched onto Phillip’s back. Phillip’s finger twitched and the gun went off, kicking up a spray of concrete near Teddy.
Phillip threw an elbow into Petry’s face, then grabbed the man’s hair, yanked him off, and shoved him to the floor.
Stone squeezed off a shot a second before Phillip pulled his own trigger. Stone’s bullet hit Phillip in the chest, spinning him as he fired. Phillip’s shot ricocheted off the concrete floor and smacked into the wall near Stone’s head.