Charming Lily Read Online Free PDF Page A

her home. I won’t call the police if that’s what’s worrying you,” Matt said.
    â€œI-don’t-think-so. Get in the car and keep that dog quiet.”
    Matt climbed into the backseat and sat down. “Carjacking and kidnapping are serious offenses. You could go to jail for a very long time,” he said tightly.
    â€œSo’s murder. Now shut up.”
    â€œTell me what you want. This isn’t about taking twenty-dollar bills out of my account. It isn’t about stealing a Jaguar either. Let’s save us both a lot of trouble. Tell me what you want and let me get the hell out of here.”
    â€œThis is the last time I’m going to tell you to shut up” the high-end sneakers man muttered as he steered the car onto Business 61. He made a left turn at the light, drove a half mile on Wilson Road before he hit Highway 555, the Old Pine Ridge Road, then made another right that would take him north to Anna’s Bottom.
    It didn’t look like he was going to make his cozy evening with Lily after all. Matt felt his insides start to shrivel when he pictured Lily making explanations at the rehearsal dinner. The vision of her waiting for him a second time at the altar made him sick to his stomach. Why hadn’t he waited till morning to hit the ATM machine? He could have done it at anytime tomorrow. Oh, no, he had to do it tonight. Now look what happened, you sorry son of a bitch.
    Where was the damn cell phone? On the front seat? No, Gracie had been sitting on the passenger side. He would have seen it if it was there. It wasn’t in the console either. It must either be on the floor or somewhere on the backseat. Shit, maybe he was sitting on it. Gracie whimpered next to him. He patted her head just as something pricked his arm. At first he thought it was a twitching nerve in his arm, then the world turned black.
    â€œNow what?”
    The driver turned to look over his shoulder. “You tell me. That guy is one of the richest software giants in the country. Yeah, he looks like a bum, but maybe he’s just eccentric. I’ve seen pictures of him plastered all over the place. He always dresses like this.”
    â€œIf he’s that rich and that famous, someone is going to come looking for him. He was right, carjacking and kidnapping are serious business. Why don’t we clean out his account and let him go? The most we planned on getting tonight was a few hundred each. You have his PIN number. I wouldn’t do well in prison,” the man sitting on Matt’s right side said.
    â€œLook, do you want a few paltry hundred or do you want thousands ? People like him have more than one account. I say we stash him somewhere and clean out as much as we can. Let’s take a vote.”
    â€œOkay.”
    â€œOkay.”
    â€œSo where are we going to stash him?”
    â€œThere’s an abandoned shack at Anna’s Bottom. I know how to get in and out. I’m banking on this guy having a line of credit. We’ll just tap into it.”
    â€œI read something about him in the Wall Street Journal the other day. I read the headline at the newsstand while I was waiting in line. Damn, I can’t remember what it was. Yeah, yeah, he’s getting married on New Year’s Day. It said something about one of the world’s richest men was tying the knot and there was no prenup. They made a big deal out of the prenup. The chick lives here in Natchez. I think he’ll cooperate.”
    â€œLooks like he’s going to miss his wedding. We’re probably doing the dumb schmuck a favor. What about the dog?”
    â€œWe dump the dog first chance we get. That gives us two bargaining chips, the girl and the dog, Sneakers said. ”He’ll play ball.”
    â€œHow long is that shot going to last him?”
    â€œSix hours, maybe a little more. I have one more on me, and that’s it.”
    â€œWe’ll worry about that later. I’m going