Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 56149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
“Hands up where we can see them. Everybody out here on the ground.”
My eyes immediately look for Tessa, and I see her in the doorway of her office. Harper lets out a scream, but other than that, it’s silent.
Tessa stands there, frozen, but after blinking a few times, she holds up her hands and lies on the ground. Harper sees her and starts crying, then follows suit. Another teller stands in shock, and one of my men goes over, pulling her out from behind the teller line and making her lie face down with the others.
Paul turns and points to me, Nick, and the other guy, Brian. He nods towards the vault, keeping his weapon trained on the three women as we carry out the rest of the plan.
So far, so good.
I take the keys to the vault door out of my pocket and let the three of us in. Brian and Nick go to the inner vault to take the cash while I stand guard and cut the lines for the alarms inside the main vault.
Or so they think.
I wait until I hear them in the back, bagging up the cash and loading it onto the dolly in the vault. We’re planning on taking this out the same way the guards were, keeping it as easy as possible.
Once I know they’re in the back, I reach over to the desk where Tessa pulled out the safety deposit box keys. I pull key number 425 out of my pocket and use it and the deposit keys to open the dual lock.
Opening the box, I don’t take a second to look at the contents. I take out the single small yellow envelope and silently close the box again.
It takes me thirty seconds, tops, and I’ve got the keys back inside the drawer, with no one the wiser. Just as the drawer rolls shut, I turn to see Nick standing there with Brian.
For a second, I see something flash in Nick’s eyes, and I think I’m busted.
“We good?” I ask, nodding at the bags of money on the dolly behind them.
“Yeah. Piece of cake,” Brian says, pushing the dolly out of the vault.
Nick grips his gun tighter, and my fingers start to tingle.
“Less than two minutes,” I say, reminding him we’re running out of time. Nick nods in acknowledgement and makes his way out of the vault behind Brian.
Just as I exit the vault, I lean over and hit the button for the police. Remember when I said criminals always play up to the job, never after? This is where my plan begins.
Brian wheels the cash out of the lobby and down the small hallway. Nick and I walk over to Paul, letting him know it’s done, so we can get the fuck out of here.
Just as I walk over, I can feel the shift in Nick. He’s just fucked up both of our plans.
Before I can blink, he’s over by Tessa and pulling her up by her hair off the floor.
“Put her down!” I shout through the room, my voice echoing off the marble. I raise my gun pointing it as his head, but he pulls Tessa closer, putting his own gun to her head.
“What do you say you tell me what was in that box, Sparrow.”
I finally make myself look at Tessa, her gold eyes terrified. I see the look on her face as she realizes who we are.
“Nick, what the fuck are you doing! Let’s go, man!” Paul shouts, clearly wanting to get the fuck out of here like Nick should, too.
“Not until pretty boy gives up what he’s really after. Because it wasn’t this piece of ass. Was it?”
He’s got his gun pressed against her head, and tears are streaming down her face. She’s terrified, and she hasn’t spoken a word. My heart is nearly beating out of my chest, but my gun is straight and my aim unwavering.
“Don’t make me do it, Nick. Let her go. Now.” I don’t want to have to kill him like this, but I will.
“Nick?” Harper says from the floor, but he doesn’t turn to acknowledge her. He shoves his gun harder against Tessa’s temple.
“You tell me what was in that box, or she’s dead. I don’t give two shits about killing this bitch.”
Rage boils inside me, but I take a breath and calm myself.
“Close your eyes, little fox.” She looks at me for a half second before doing as I ask. In that quick look, I see that the trust is still there. She may not know what’s going on, but she trusts me.
“Maybe you should close yours,” Nick says, pulling his trigger.
There’s a moment of complete silence after the sound rings out, before all the women start screaming.
The sound of a second bullet reverberates around us as I pull my trigger and land a shot right between Nick’s eyes.
Before a heartbeat has passed, I’m there in front of him, catching Tessa and holding her face to get her to look at me.
“Look at me, baby. Tessa! Open your eyes.”
She opens them, looking at me and blinking rapidly. Her ears are probably ringing from the blank going off, and I’m sure she can’t hear what I’m saying. I replaced everyone’s gun but mine with blanks, knowing some stupid shit might happen.
I pick her up and throw her over my shoulder. I turn back to look at Paul.
“Stick to the plan!” I shout at him, and he bolts out the door.
Running behind him with Tessa over my shoulder, I make my way out of the bay door in time to see three of my guys loading up the cash as the other two wait with the van.
I slip off to the right and out the side door of the bay before they spot me. Once I’m outside, I see an unmarked car waiting for me. The guys have their money, so they won’t wait around, and I hear the sirens already on their way.
I open the driver side door and help Tessa in and over to the passenger seat. When she’s there and finally looks at me, I take off my mask and reach for her.