Blake Crouch: Grab

"When's the last time you slept?" Letty asked.

"I don't know. I think I've forgotten how."

"Let me get you some help," she said. "Someone to talk to."

"Psychobabble doesn't work on me. I know all the tricks."

He stared out the window by their table, but she could tell that he didn't see a thing. The restaurant turned imperceptibly. At the moment, their view was west. Miles of glittering sprawl and development. Beyond the city, the desert climbed into a range of spruce-covered mountains.

Letty checked her phone—no missed calls or texts.

"I'm not keeping you, am I?" Christian asked.

"Not at all."

The waitress came.

Letty ordered Christian a coffee.

He reached into his wallet, pulled out two small photos, laid them on the table.

"This is Angie, my wife. My daughter, Charlie."

Letty lifted the photo of a thirteen or fourteen year old girl. Kneeling in a blue and white uniform in front of a goal, holding a soccer ball.

"She's beautiful. And Charlie is short for..."

"Charlene."

"That's lovely." Letty reached into her purse, took out a photo of her son—his kindergarten photo.

"Jacob?" Christian asked.

"Yeah, I don't think I ever showed you his picture."

Christian leaned over the table to get a better look.

"Good-looking kid."

Christian collected his photographs and returned them to his wallet with the care and focus of a ritual.

Letty said, "Don't you have family or friends back in Charleston who can help you?"

"They certainly think so."

"But you don't."

"When my girls died, all I got was a bunch of platitudes. Cards that said things like, 'She is just away.' People lining up to tell me they knew what I was going through. I'm never going back."

"Then what will you do?"

"Kill myself. That was the deal I made. I shouldn't be telling you this. I'm a terrible therapist."

"What deal?"

"If I doubled my money, I'd see it as a good omen. I'd try to push on. If I lost, that was it. I was done."

"And there's nothing at this point that might change your mind?"

"Let's be clear. You really don't know me. Don't really know anything about me. You don't love me. You're trying to help me and in the sense that I'm not alone in this moment, you are. And it means more to me than I could ever tell you. But don't try to convince me that my life has value. How there's an end to this pain. There isn't. And I know it."

"You told me my life had value."

"You shouldn't see me like this," he said. "I don't want it to undo all the progress we made, just because I'm weak."

"You're in this bad spot now. You will feel different one day."

"My girls were my life, and it was over the moment that truck came over into their lane. I'm just trying to pin down my exit strategy."

"How did I miss this?" she asked. "Every week for months, I came to see you. And you were hurting—badly hurting—and I completely missed it. Am I that self-obsessed?"

"No." He smiled. "Let's just say I was that dedicated."

"But you didn't leave town until I did."

"You were my last patient."

"So I was the only thing keeping you from this insanity?"

"No, my loyalty to you as a patient was. This isn't your fault, Letty. You know that, right?"

# # #

The food came, but Letty's appetite was shot.

They ate in silence, and when she'd finished her sandwich, she threw her napkin down and fixed her stare on Christian.

He said, "Trying to figure out how to change my mind?"

She shook her head. "It's your call. Your choice. I respect that."

"Thank you."

Letty felt her phone vibrate.

A text from Isaiah: the wynn in 30...we go tonight

Christian must have caught the sudden intensity in her eyes.

He said, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Christian smiled. "So what are you doing in Vegas, Letty? I thought you were headed west to see your son."

The waitress brought the check.

Letty waited until she walked away.

"A slight detour. I love Vegas."

"Just here for the shows and the slots, huh?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Let me guess. You're a huge Neil Diamond fan."

Letty said, "How did you know?"

"Wouldn't happen to be running with your old associates? Back to your old tricks? This is a dangerous city for someone with your triggers."

She pulled out enough cash to cover the bill and a twenty-five percent tip.

Said, "Speaking of, I almost used last night. I did have a drink, but I was on my way to score."

"What happened?"

"Long story short, I went to a meeting instead."

"Good for you. That's great, Letty."

She reached across the table and took hold of his hand.

"Christian, I have to go."

"Thanks for lunch. Thanks for stopping in the lobby when you saw me. You could've walked right on past. I'd never have known."

"This isn't goodbye. You're having dinner with me tonight," she said.

"That means I have to be alive tonight."

She smiled. "Yes, it does."

14

There were now four people waiting inside of Letty's room at the Wynn.

Isaiah.

Mark.

And two men she'd never seen before.

Isaiah sprang off the bed, said, "There she is."

As the door closed behind Letty, she noted that the temperature in the room had changed. There was now a palpable pregame energy. The air juiced with nerves, fear, anticipation.

Ize walked over and took her by the arm, said, "Meet Jerrod." She smiled at the tall, rugged man leaning against the dresser. He sported a patchy beard and long, walnut-colored hair bundled up into a ponytail.

Isaiah motioned to the other man. "And this is Stu. Three of us helped spread freedom to the Middle East."

"I'm Letty, nice to meet you."

Stu didn't rise from the bed.

Just gave her a slight nod.

His hair was curly and black, and he didn't boast the intimidating build of either Isaiah or Jerrod. But his eyes were as hard as any she'd ever met.

Letty looked at Isaiah. "You intercepted the call?"

He smiled.

"It came in two texts. First the time. Then the room number."

"And it corresponds to a room in this hotel?"

"Tenth floor. East side of the building. In terms of location, it's pretty close to perfect."

"How so?"

"If they took the money any higher, we couldn't rappel out from the room below. We'd have to get a second room closer to ground level. That would mean riding elevators. Exposing ourselves to cameras. It would represent a substantial escalation of risk."

"Rappel?"

"What'd you think, Letty? We were going to tote this shit out in duffel bags through the lobby?"

"What's the time frame?"

"They're moving the money at oh-two hundred. To your civilian ass, that's—" He glanced at his watch. "—a little more than eleven hours from now." Isaiah looked at Mark. "Our rental van is ready for pick up. Go get it and scope the parking deck one last time."

Letty said, "What about Richter?"

Mark grinned. "One of the cooler things I managed was to program an incoming call control feature into Richter's phone."

"English."

"Using the clone, we can call him from any number."

"So tonight," Isaiah said, "just before we suit up, we'll send Richter a text from his Secret Santa, hit him with a fake room number and a fake ETA on Sunday night."

Letty said, "So by the time he realizes the grift..."

"We'll all be long gone."

She had to smile. "So what happens now?"

"While Stu and Jerrod bring over the toys, I got a little job for you."

"Okay."

"Your outfit's in the bathroom."

# # #

Letty walked down the hallway on the ninth floor.

At the door, she straightened her hunter green blazer and smoothed her skirt.