Page 34 of Tastes Like Misery

Ollie turned serious. It was sudden and startled me enough to wake me up fully. “Guys, what the hell are we going to do if we get caught? Or when we’re done? Before, it was just us and I didn’t give a shit. Death or jail, I was all in. But with Viv, I’m not willing to do that to her.”

The three of us looked at each other in silence. I thought about this new reality and hated the thought of something happening to her. He was right, we had to figure it out.

Dane broke the silence first, “We need to get out on our terms. Maybe cut off a few of the riskier ones. We can plan our last one to get out and leave the country.”

“You want to leave?” Ollie asked incredulously. “You’ve been the one pissing and moaning the loudest how much you miss Vegas and can’t wait to get back there.”

“So, maybe I changed my mind. Hell, we all know it was all just booze and bitches that just wanted the prestige of being with men of status. None of them enjoyed it, really enjoyed it like Vivian does. She isn’t some drugged up whore looking for a sugar daddy to feed her addiction.” His words hung in the air for a moment, hitting me hard with the truth of them.

Ollie too, since he finally found his voice, “You’ve changed. Love looks good on you.”

”As if you haven’t?” Dane scoffed. Before I could open my mouth, he turned to me, “And you. I’ve only seen you out for blood once since she’s come into our life. I know damn well you killed that bitch at the bank for Vivian.”

Still, I tried to deny it, despite having admitted as much to our girl that morning, “I killed her because we couldn’t have her spreading around her name. We’d have cops up our asses.”

The way his brows shot up was almost comical as he stared me down. We all knew why, but I wanted to keep that between my little vixen and myself. All of us had something special with her in our own way, and this was mine. My lips in a thin line, I looked away, signaling I was done with the conversation.

It wasn’t much longer before our temptress came back out and got in, pulling items out of her clothes as she did. I wondered how she managed to fit everything in with how much the shorts stuck to her skin and were so short they revealed her long legs. Then I noticed the flannel shirt she wore tied to show off her stomach when she left was now buttoned up and tucked in.

As she handed the drinks around, she jokingly cried out, “Start the car!” in the annoying commercial voice, making us all laugh. Putting the conversation on hold, it felt good to enjoy the little things with our girl. A woman who, despite having probably millions in the truck’s bed, still felt the need to steal drinks and snacks. I knew it was about the rush for her and nothing else, and damn did I love the fuck out of her for it.

Chapter 21

Vivian

We were so exhausted when we arrived at the cabin, none of us wanted to do much of anything. The guys brought in our bags of clothes and that was it. We stripped off our clothes and laid in the king-size bed, Dane on one side, Ollie on the other, and Finn curled up between my legs, using me as his pillow. It was the most natural thing in the world.

Ollie insisted we talk about the next job, and informed us of the new plan, “Vivian will work at the money counter. The job is already lined up, and the man paid off. All I have to do is call him tomorrow to let him know it won’t be a man coming in. I have a new identity for you as well.”

“Oh, who do I get to be this time?” I asked, curious of what name he made up for me, and quite frankly, a little worried.

“Mary.”

I groaned, “Please don’t tell me you made my last name Christmas or Virgin or anything like that.”

Finn let out a snort, knowing it was right up Ollie’s alley to do something like that, “You are no virgin, vixen.”

“Johnson. Mary Johnson. Simple and forgettable, not that you are by any means. You’re going to have to dress down and not look so fucking hot,” he told me as he booped my nose playfully. “I know you’re a master at changing your appearance, and this time I need you to look older and plain. Can you pull that off?”

I thought about it, unsure since I only ever made myself unforgettable in the past. I spent a lot of time picking out exactly what my targets would want me to be as a one-night stand. They wanted the horny career woman, alluring and demure, but oh so ready for the right man to take me to bed. Plain and Vivian didn’t go together, but that just meant this was another challenge for me, growing at my game. “I would have to get some clothes and makeup for it. Maybe some dye for one of my wigs, and some different makeup. I’m pretty sure I can shade in some wrinkles.”

“I’ll take you tomorrow to the shops a few towns over. You and I can go over the new plan and you can tell me everything I’m wrong on and how to make it better,” his dimples peeked out and if I weren’t so tired, I’d lick them. As it was, I was stuck between the three of them, unable to move. I sure wasn’t complaining, though. It was a cool night, and the cabin didn’t have much in the way of heat. My men exuded heat, and I loved it.

Sleepily, Dane spoke, “Business tomorrow. Tonight we sleep. Our woman has exhausted us with her incessant need for orgasms.”

I glared at him, “My need? Um, I seem to remember it was you who pulled me into the gas station bathroom to fuck me today, despite me sucking all the cum from you three at the club.”

“Details,” he waved me off. “One last question. If you could go anywhere in the world to live, where would you go?”

“Somewhere tropical, like an island with a private beach. I’ve never been outside of the U.S. and I’d love to lay naked on a white sand beach, sip tropical drinks, and see turquoise water,” an answer I’d dreamed about for years. Someday, I’d make it a reality. “Why? Are we going on vacation?”

“Not yet. We just were talking when you were stealing from that gas station and we might change up where we go,” Dane replied, his words slurring. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

I didn’t want to wait, but I was just as tired, my mind having a hard time focusing on anything as I drifted off. His question made me think of the sound of waves I’d only heard on television and I quickly gave into the sleep overtaking me.

For two weeks, I’d been working at this casino in the middle of nowhere. I hated it with a passion and the only thing that got me through was knowing all the cash passing through my hands each night would soon belong to me. I gathered all the intel and reported it back to Ollie each night when I showed my city boys how to enjoy nature to the fullest. Most of the cameras were pointed at me and the other employees, an important detail he needed to know.

For a small town, the casino was busy most nights, and it was hard to watch the same people sitting at the same slot machines night after night. Even harder to watch were all the gamblers coming to me to exchange cash for more chips for the card tables. They’d ask for as much money as their credit cards would allow, and most of them never came back to cash out. When they did, it was rarely as much as they took out in the first place.

---