Page 25 of All The Happily Ever Afters

“And what if I want to?” I ask her, staring into those baby blues.

She’s breathless and her eyes are heated with desire, but she pulls away. Damn. This time I let her go.

“Sorry, Vinny. I’ve gotta work tomorrow.” She slips out from under my arms, and I groan in disappointment. My dick is so fucking hard again already.

“You gonna leave me like this?” I ask her, gesturing to my obvious hard-on with a grin. “Come on Cherry, I didn’t think you’d do me like that.”

She gives me a wide smile and leans in, putting her knee on the bed and planting a kiss on my lips.

“Maybe tomorrow?” she asks, vulnerability shining in her eyes. “Late tomorrow night?” She kisses me one more time. “I get off, and then you get off?” she asks, looking straight at my dick.

Fuck, I want that. So damn bad. But tomorrow night… she might know. There’s no way she’s not gonna recognize my voice. I gotta figure this shit out.

“You alright?” she asks with concern obviously written on her face and laced in her voice. I realize then that my expression has turned.

“Yeah, yeah Cherry.” I give her a small, chaste kiss, my hand cupping the back of her head. “I’ll take you back and see you tomorrow night.”

CARY ANN

Ever since I grabbed the duffel bag, my heart’s been beating out of my chest. I have that ready, along with the tape with the evidence on it. I already wrapped and addressed the tape so all I need to do is mail it, and the video footage has been stopped. I removed that tape altogether and got rid of it, so they’ll have no idea it was me. There’s nothing stopping me from opening up every register with my PIN number and emptying out the drawers. There aren’t even any more shoppers left. For the last twenty minutes this place has been dead. I’m waiting until we're closed though, just in case.

Being open on Christmas Eve is a fucking stupid thing to do in a small town. Everyone’s done their shopping and they're either at the annual parade, or hunkering down and telling their kids Christmas stories as they try to settle them down for bed.

If I wasn’t planning on using this situation to my advantage, I’d be pissed that I had to work.

But here I am, prepared to right a wrong and steal this money back. I click the button on my phone and see it’s eight. Closing time.

I’m staring at the two cars in the parking lot that aren’t mine. They need to leave and get out of here so I can do this and get itover with. I don’t know why they’re here. Nothing else is open on this strip, and the owners don’t seem to be coming in. My palms are sweaty, and my heart’s racing. I just want this to be over with. I’m sick to my stomach over it.

I tear my eyes away from the parking lot. I just need to stay calm and do everything with ease.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, calming myself.

But then my eyes snap open and my heart sputters faster in my chest. Someone’s come in. Fucking hell. My nerves can’t take this.

I slowly turn, expecting to find Mr. Morose there, ready to thwart my plans because that would be just my luck, but instead it’s worse. I’m frozen in place. Fuck. My heart slams against my chest so hard it hurts.

Much worse.

I should scream, but my lungs are paralyzed in my chest, and my legs are shaking. I grip the counter to stay upright as two men in black ski masks walk through the door and the second one locks it behind him.

Oh my God.

I shake my head in disbelief, every ounce of strength replaced with fear. My legs feel weak, and my body feels freezing cold.

“Stay,” the first man commands, and some small part of me notes his very deep voice. They each have a gun in their hands, but neither are pointed at me. They have on gloves and masks and all black clothing. Oh shit. No! This can’t be happening to me!

My eyes dart to the parking lot as I take in a shaky breath. Both cars are still there. Fuck. I bet they belong to them.

I shake my head, wanting this to all be make-believe.

“It’s gonna be alright. You just need to listen and do what we say, and this will all be over with as soon as possible,” the manon my left says calmly. His voice is lighter, and sounds more southern.

With the ski masks on all I can see are his deep chocolate eyes. Both men are tall, with broad shoulders. The one on the left is heavier than the other. Internally I start to track all the features that can be used to track these assholes down. I stand a little straighter, feeling my determination come back to me.

I’m not letting them get away with this.

The man on my right slaps a large black backpack on the counter as the man on the left says, “Just put the money in the bag and we’ll leave.” I stare at the black backpack, feeling the anger rise in my body as my hands ball into fists.

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