Thief

I just keep still and sit back, letting the rage boil inside me. Before this is all over, I’m going to take care of Nick. That little motherfucker doesn’t get to talk about my girl like that and live.

Heavy rolls out the blueprint I provided him of the bank, and we go over the plan for Monday once more. There are a couple of last-minute changes, but nothing on my end to worry about.

We spend the next few hours checking and rechecking the plan.

What most petty criminals don’t understand is that a plan to break the law is the easy part. Anybody can walk into a bank and hold it up. It’s what happens after that, that’s where the work begins. These fuckers have no clue. This is how you get caught, worrying about the details on how to get in but never thinking about getting away and what comes after. They have every second of every minute of this job planned out until the money is in hand. Then they’ve sort of got an exit strategy. It goes beyond that. We have to study this further and map out all possibilities of things going wrong.

I’m sitting back and listening to all of it, knowing that once I’ve secured my package, step two commences.

After hours have gone by, I check my watch and see that Tessa should home by now. I pull out my phone and look at her tracker movements, and I see it’s moving away from her house.

My heart starts to beat faster, but I can’t just get up and bolt out of the room.

“Sparrow.” Heavy says my name like he’s said it a few times, and I turn my eyes to him. “We keeping you from something?”

Slipping my phone back into my jeans, I lean back in my seat and wait for him to continue. I’m going to kill all these cocksuckers by the time this job is done.

Chapter 8

Tessa

I run my fingers across my lips for the twentieth time since lunch. With every touch I can’t help but smile. I keep licking them like there still might be a trace of him left to taste. Who knew a kiss could be so—

“Earth to Tessa.” Harper snaps her fingers in front of my face, bringing me back to work. I feel like I’ve gotten nothing done today because all I’ve done is think about the kiss over and over again. Not to mention how I keep picking up my phone to read the text messages, waiting for another to arrive.

“What?” I bite out, agitated that she ripped me from my daydreaming. She eyes me for a second, probably a little taken aback by my tone, but I can’t seem to care this time. Nope. I’m on a kiss high, and that’s where I want to stay.

“It’s time to go.”

I glance over at the clock on the wall and see it’s already a little after four. “Oh, let me grab my stuff.” I hop off the high-top chair and smooth my dress before grabbing what I was working on. “Train?” I ask, wondering if she has a ride with her new guy. I’m hoping I don’t get offered another ride. I’d rather take the train alone, even if it takes me a lot longer to get home.

“Yep. Nick is just going to meet us there tonight.” She says it in a dreamy voice, making me wonder if I’d talk about Sean in the same manner.

“Just let me drop this off and grab my stuff.” I pick up my cookie and phone to take with me, but Harper grabs the cookie from my hand, almost making me drop the pile of paper I have stacked in my arms.

“Can I have this?” She starts unwrapping it from the plastic before she even finishes the question. “I didn’t get to go to lunch, and besides you don’t really need it.” The way she says it really makes my gut clench, breaking some of the kiss spell I’d been under.

I want to smack it out of her hand just for the comment, but I also know she didn’t get a chance to take a lunch break. By the time I’d gotten back, we had a rush come through. By then it was already three, so Harper said she’d just skip it. I’m not sure if it was because she was being nice or the fact that a suit comes in every Friday mid-afternoon who she likes to flirt with. Either way, I know she didn’t get to eat.

“Whatever,” I mumble, before turning to head to my office, wrapping up what I need to before grabbing my stuff.

Checking my phone again, I debate a response.

Sean: Then I want you for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to respond. He wants to hang out with me all day, and that makes more butterflies take flight in my stomach. They’ve been flying around since Sean walked into the bank today. Aren’t dates supposed to happen at night, and then you wait a day or two before you do it again?

It seems like our date was set, but he didn’t say anything after that. I don’t want to give a simple Okay. I want to engage him in conversation. I want to keep texting him.

Me: Sounds perfect. I can always cook if you like, or we can go out.

I send the text and slide the phone into my purse before making my way back to the front of the bank where Harper is waiting for me.

“Let’s do this.” Harper does a little shuffle of her hips. “Let’s stop and get a bottle of wine or something on the way home to drink while we get ready.”

* * *

When we finally make it home with a bottle of wine in hand, Harper grabs some glasses and pours each of us a drink.

I pull my phone out again and check the messages, but nothing new has come in.

“Why do you keep checking your phone? That’s like the tenth time now.” She sounds a little annoyed but I don’t know why. She keeps doing the same thing with her phone. Maybe it’s because I don’t normally even bother with my phone, but today I can barely let it out of my hands. This feeling is exciting, but also freaking scary. I don’t like how gone I already am. It’s as if at any moment a rug could be pulled out from under me.