Page 5 of Steal Me (Rebel Hearts Heists 1)
“Dunno, dude. Of all days Rivs decided to act normal today. I don’t know how to fucking handle it.” Royce’s deep green eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror and I’m the first to avert my gaze under his probing facial expression.
“Kaden, is there anything that is amiss or doesn’t add up? If that’s the case we can abort mission. Give up on it entirely or reschedule. We haven’t done anything wrong yet but you know full well that once we set foot in that bank, it’s showtime and the fucking show must go on. So this is when you tell me if we’re not going in.” Something in his tone is rubbing me the wrong way and really, I have no reason to quit now. I know I can’t quit now, not when I’m so close to my objective.
“Nah, we’ll be fine. It’s just weird when Rivs acts like a fucking normal human being rather than a loony.” Blaine and Royce chuckle and River is totally unperturbed when he explains that he noticed that hookups go better when he’s sober. We have no time to discuss River’s antics any further because our driver parks the car and announces that we’re there.
“Your stop, gentlemen. I’ll be here, ready to go. Try to be out in ninety seconds, you know that the faster you do it, the better our odds. Plus, I need to soak in the hotel’s jacuzzi before I’m ready for all the pussy I’m gonna get tonight.”
We get out of the car. As usual, we’re all wearing olive green jackets and black slacks, black combat boots. We’re all similar heights and builds and we carry identical black duffel bags for the cash. We don black beanies to cover our hair: the brothers have dark hair, mine’s a golden blond, a few shades lighter than River’s and it’s almost shaved on the sides and longer on top in a faux-hawk. We decided at the beginning that the more similar to one another we look, the harder it’s gonna be for anyone to provide any info to identify us. This is why Blaine doesn’t wear his Rolex anymore during jobs because that’s how I immediately knew that it was him.
We walk toward the bank keeping a measured stride: not too slow, not too fast, so as to not draw attention to us. There’ll be time to sprint on our way out. I’m the one entering first and while the guard at the entrance is distracted looking at me, the brothers put on their masks and draw their guns. They both carry Heckler and Koch MP5s, while I opted for a more discreet Glock 27, which is easier to conceal and I always fit a silencer on it. Royce is normally the one that makes all the noise and so far, I’m glad that I’ve never had to fire a shot. Blaine hits the guard on the head with the stock of his rifle and supports the guy’s weight on his way down, while Royce fires a shot aiming at one of the CCTV cameras that look over the entrance.
He yells, “Everybody freeze! This is a bank robbery, ladies and gentlemen. As long as everyone stays put and doesn’t try to be a hero, you’ll be back on your way before you know it! Keep your eyes on me while Captain America and Deadpool get some money. Move and you’re dead. Understood?”
His voice is imperious and commands everybody’s attention. I look around and there aren’t more than ten customers in line between the three tills. I advance quickly towards the middle till and that’s when I see her: Sloane is at the till, her jade green eyes fixed on me, shock distorting her gorgeous features.Sorry for the scare, gorgeous.
“Fuck!” I grunt under my breath, hesitating for a split second and considering going to the till on my left but abandoning the idea when I spot the ashen grey color on the face of the branch manager. A guy who frankly reminds me of a certain president with his bright blond hair and the orange hue of his cheap spray-tan. He’s shaking like one of the dead leaves outside when a light breeze lifts them off the ground and his terrified expression makes me think that he’ll either shit himself or have a heart attack, either way, I don’t have time to deal with it.
Blaine is already approaching the till on my right, so I point my gun at Sloane and I command: “Empty all your cash in here!” Throwing the duffel bag on the counter. “Now!”
I yell when she doesn’t immediately do as told but she shakes her long brown hair and her voice sounds scared but surprisingly steady when she explains why she can’t. “We … there’s almost no cash. We didn’t get our normal delivery today. Something to do with the company that transports the money giving its employees the day off. So maybe there’s two grand in my till, not a lot more in the others.”
Shit!This is a fucking problem. We normally raid the tills on days before a weekend and holidays. That’s when even a relatively small branch like this one is flush with cash. We always avoid the vault, that takes time and gives people the time to think about being heroes and calling the cops. I turn my head toward Royce but his face is covered by his Hulk mask and I can’t decipher his intentions.
I feel my hands getting clammy in my black leather gloves and when I notice Sloane’s eyes dart behind me and dilate in terror, I make a split second decision and grab her by her shoulders, hauling her out from behind the counter. I could’ve signaled to the others to abort mission and leave but this is our last job and I’m not failing. I need to take the cash I came for. I hate myself for getting this beautiful girl in a headlock and pressing the gun against the side of her head.
“The vault! There’s money there. Open it and don’t even think about doing anything stupid. Remember that the money is insured.” She keeps looking behind me as if she’s seen a ghost but I don’t fall for it, I know that if something was wrong, Blaine and Royce would react.
“I … my badge doesn’t open the vault. Only the manager’s—”
“Deadpool!” I yell and Blaine crosses to the other side of me and rips the lanyard from the branch manager’s neck in one fluid motion. We never use our names, nothing that can be remembered and used to identify us later. During jobs, we’re the Avenger we wear the mask of.
I drag Sloane toward the vault and despite her badge not opening the vault, she must know the code, because she enters it with trembling fingers. I let her go, shoving her against the wall and ordering her to stay there, while Blaine and I begin filling the bags with cash. I keep flicking my gaze between the task at hand and Sloane’s petite but sexy figure, relieved that this will be over soon and that next time I’ll speak to her, it’ll be after class, to ask her out.
