Read Flawless for Free Online Page A

bright, and you’re definitely pretty—there’s got to be a guy out there somewhere who wants you alive. And you’re obviously the type who would really like to see everyone survive here today. So if you listen carefully to my every word, we’ll all be able to sleep in our own beds tonight.”
    She wasn’t sure if being called bright and pretty by a gun-wielding thief was a compliment, but there were three men in her life who loved her very much: Declan, Kevin and Daniel.
    She clung tightly to the concept that everyone would live.
    â€œSo, Red,” the thief continued, “scoop up those diamonds on the counter. Now. And you, guy behind the counter, get out the other diamonds down there in your safe. The really good ones. And you, Red, you make sure he does it. I want all of them.”
    â€œDo what he says,” Mr. Krakowsky advised.
    â€œAnd, Red, watch him, because if you lie to me, Screaming Mimi over there gets it first.”
    Matt ducked beneath the counter again. He was shaking.
    â€œIf the alarm goes off, I shoot every one of you,” the thief promised. “I’m a crack shot. Six bullets, only four of you. No problem.”
    Townsend was far too terrified to hit the alarm. He brought out five velvet cloths filled with loose diamonds and set them on the counter.
    â€œNow, man behind the counter, go ahead of me. Get out your keys so you can open the back door. Old man, you and Screaming Mimi get down on the floor. Come on—move. Time is of the essence.”
    Everyone stared at him—frozen—for a split second.
    â€œDown,” Mr. Krakowsky said, pressing the young woman to the floor with him.
    â€œYou,” the first gunman snapped to Kieran. “Get those stones and come with me—now.”
    Kieran stared at him. She wondered whether she could even move, she was shaking so badly. Some instinct came to her rescue. She swept up all the diamonds while the thief who had done the talking headed to the back with Matt Townsend. A second one moved to stand close to her. Even though she knew that his gun wasn’t touching her, she still thought she could feel it.
    The third remained near the door, oblivious to the camera, his gun ready.
    The thief in charge shouted from the back that the door was open. Kieran stood with the velvet-wrapped diamonds in her hands, frozen once again.
    Then the nearest gunman grabbed her arm and turned, walking backward and keeping his eyes on Krakowsky and the other customer as he pulled her down a hallway and toward the back door.
    He fired a shot as he walked; she felt the pistol’s kick shoot through her via his grip on her arm. The sound was deafening.
    She couldn’t tell if anyone had been hit or not.
    All she knew was that she was being hustled through the store and out the back door.
    The alley beside the store had once been an open-air path. It was still a pedestrian passage, but now it was flanked by new buildings—new as in maybe only fifty or so years old—and boasted sidewalk cafés at both ends.
    â€œMove!” the third man shouted, hurrying to catch up to them. “Someone in there must have set off the alarm. Hear the damned sirens?”
    Her captor shoved her toward the wall, and all she could do was wonder if they would or wouldn’t shoot her in the back.
    But before she hit the wall she was grabbed by the third man. “Keep her—we may need her,” he said, wrenching her around to face him. His eyes were like chips of blue ice. “If you—”
    He stopped speaking for a moment, and she saw his eyes widen. Did he know her? she wondered.
    He quickly found his tongue again. “We’re going to run, and you need to do everything I say. If you don’t, I will fucking blow a hole right through you. Got it?”
    Kieran was trying so hard not to shake that she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to move. She finally nodded.
    â€œGood. Now run. And