by Riley, Alexa
“Sounds like a chick from the name,” Samuel says from the back seat, not looking up from his phone. “I don’t have the whole file yet, but it’s on its way. From the bio it sounds like a cake job for a cool mil.”
“See? It’s all going to be fine. Samuel and I are going to go make some quick cash, and then you and I are gonna make this official.” I reach over, pulling her hand out from her crossed arms, and this time she holds mine back. After a second of me rubbing my thumb on the inside of her wrist, I feel her relax and squeeze me back.
We ride in silence as we make it to our hotel on the Strip. The three of us are used to rooming together, but this is our wedding night, so instead of adjoining rooms, Samuel got one across the hall from us. I sprang for the suite, wanting to treat Mary to a few luxuries, even if this was all last minute.
When we get upstairs and drop off our stuff, Mary goes to the master bedroom and closes the door. I know she’s not super happy with the two of us right now, but after this is over, I’ll have a lifetime as her husband to make it up to her. And who am I kidding? I know this won’t be the last time I mess up.
I pull out my laptop and download the file. “Let’s go over some of the details and see what we can find. From what the report says, I don’t think the skip has gone too far.” I scan the document and keep reading over the details, but something odd is standing out. I can’t seem to nail down what it is, and I keep looking, trying to pinpoint it.
I look over and see Sam pulling out his duffel bag and taking out a couple of handguns. He’s always packing heat, and I knew this trip would be no different. No matter where we go, I never have to worry about protection with him. I get up and walk to the window, look down on the Vegas Strip, and try to figure out what’s bugging me about this report.
“What’s wrong?” Samuel asks from behind me. We all know one another well enough to read body language. He can sense I’m churning something over in my mind just by the way I’m standing.
I turn around to face him and cock my head to the side. “That alert we got in the car?”
“Yeah. What about it?”
“Did you notice it only went to the two of us?”
He thinks for a second and then nods his head. “That’s not unusual. Sometimes the counties that know our reputation send to us directly instead of just a cattle call for bounty hunters. You know that.”
“I do, but this one didn’t come from a county. It came from an individual.” I go back to my computer and do a little more digging to find the trace for the request. “The alert was sent directly to us even though we’ve never worked with them. The request was generated elsewhere, but it looks like we were specifically requested. And I can’t seem to access who it was.”
“Maybe someone heard about us and wanted all this talent.” Samuel holds his arms out wide, showing off his big body. I roll my eyes. He’s an idiot. He’s GI Joe on steroids, and he’s always ready to go charging into a mission.
“I can’t seem to find anything that makes me think we shouldn’t do this one. It just seems a bit suspicious, that’s all.”
“So what’s this chick look like? All I saw was a name, and it sounded Russian. She’s probably some old grandma who’s still got spy ties in the motherland.” Samuel laughs at his own joke as he slides his handgun into his shoulder holster.
I turn the laptop around and sit back. “Samuel, meet Nika Kozar.”
Three
Anthony
Samuel just stares at the computer screen like he’s in shock. His mouth is hanging open, and he isn’t blinking.
“You know her or some shit?” I ask, trying to figure out where his head is at.
After a few seconds, he finally speaks. “She’s fucking beautiful.” He’s still in a trance as he looks at the screen, and I can’t think of a time I’ve ever seen him act like this.
I flip the screen back around to have another look, and he growls. I just ignore him and look at the girl. Yeah, she’s cute, but she’s got nothing on my Mary. Where my Mary is bright light, this girl seems a little dark. She looks like she might carry a knife in her boot. She has short, dark-brown hair, honey-colored eyes, and the fullest lips I’ve ever seen.
“What the fuck are you looking at?” Samuel barks, flipping the screen back around towards him.
I hold my hands up because I know that fucking look he has on his face. It’s the same one that was on my face the first year of college and Mary was surrounded by all those pricks who thought they could take her from me. I broke a few noses my freshman year, but those fucks stayed away from her after that.
I’ve never seen Samuel this bent out of shape over a chick before, but in all fairness, I haven’t seen him with many either. It’s not like we went out partying. Sam was on the road a lot and didn’t like getting tangled up with them. I’m glad I never had to worry about shit like that. I’ve always had my girl and never had to worry about anyone but her. Thank fuck.
“That’s it.” It finally hits me, making my snap my fingers. “Kozar. I know that fucking name.” I search my mind but it doesn’t seem to want to come to me. I feel like it’s on the tip of my tongue. “Can I have the computer back for a second, or you want to take it into the bathroom with you for a minute?”
“Fuck you,” he bites out, but turns his back to the computer. “Send me her pic. So I have it. You know.”
“Yeah…I know.” I want to give him shit, but it’s probably not the time. With the way he was looking at just her picture, I can already tell there’s going to be problems. Maybe this isn’t a mess we want to get into. The more I think about it, the more uneasy I get about the whole thing, and my dad always told me to go with my gut.
“You sure you wanna do this skip? You seem off,” I say, flipping the laptop back my way and digging into Nika Kozar. She was last seen in Vegas this morning at the Blue Diamond casino. Other than that, the file on her doesn’t give us much.
“Fuck yeah, I wanna do this. It’s already messed up because we’re the only ones to get the alert. Besides, what could a little thing like her have done to have a million dollars on her head? She looks like she couldn’t hurt a fly.”
Shit, this isn’t good. Because the picture of the girl I just saw looks like she can swing a good left hook if she wanted. Sam isn’t seeing clearly here, which is scary because he’s better at sizing people up than I am.
“All right.” I know he isn’t going to let this go so there’s no point fighting him. And it’s not as if I’d let him do this alone.
I search through the casino footage that tracks her out of the casino, and then switch over to traffic cams to follow her path. She’s good at keeping her head down, but if you want to stay hidden, Vegas isn’t the town for that. Eyes are everywhere, and there isn’t a camera I can’t get into here.
After some searching we catch a break when she finally darts into the Snake Eyes. My feed starts catching up to real time, and I see where she’s headed. “Gotcha.”
Sam rushes over to stand behind me, scanning the screen. “Where is she?” he asks. She’s off the video feed.
“She went into the bathroom.” I point, and both of us watch for her to come out.
She finally comes out about five minutes later, and I almost miss her. She has changed outfits, and I barely recognize her. Gone are the jeans, baggy shirt, and tennis shoes. Now she’s in a dress that leaves nothing to the imagination.
“Fucking hell,” Sam growls behind me, and he makes his way back over to the couch, strapping up to leave.
Mary comes out of the bedroom at the same time, looking fresh and warm from her bath. Her cheeks are extra rosy, and I rise from my chair, pulling her into my arms instantly.
“You’re going to marry me when I get back here. So get ready,” I tell her, holding her snug to me. Her body fits me perfectly, and there’s an ache in my chest as I think about having to leave her like this.
“Be careful,” she says, letting her body melt into mine.
“I promise,” I whisper against her lips before taking them in a deep kiss. I have to stop before we get too carried away, and I break the kiss, resting my forehead against hers.
“Next time I kiss you you’re going to be my wife.”
“I love the sound of that.”
“Me, too, princess.”
“Can we go?” Sam barks, breaking our little love fest. I want to smack him on the back of the head, but I’m going to give him this one.
“What’s his problem?” she whispers, looking over my shoulder at her brother, who I know is glaring at us.
“He just wants us to get this done so he can walk you down the aisle to me,” I lie, because I don’t want her to worry any more than she needs to.
“All right, get going, you two. I’m going to order everything on that room service menu while you’re gone, and I won’t save you anything.”
“The only thing I want to eat is your pussy.”
“Anthony, my brother is right there!” She playfully smacks me as I put her back on her feet.
Grabbing my laptop, I pack up anything I might need, transferring the feed I have on Nika over to my phone.
“She just took up residence at a bar,” I tell Sam as I put the rest of my shit into my backpack. Picking my phone back up, I watch her as we walk out of the room. “It looks to me like she’s looking for an easy score.”
Four
Anthony
We load into my truck, but this time Sam does the driving since I can’t navigate and drive at the same time. Something still doesn’t feel right, but from what I’ve searched this should be straightforward. If Samuel wasn’t so twisted up about her I’d be pulling him out of this one, but as it stands we’re going to take care of this and then end it. I’m ready to get back to my woman and make her mine.
I’m watching the feed on my phone, and suddenly the phone starts buzzing.
“Shit. It’s my mom.” I contemplate hitting ‘Ignore,’ but I know that won’t do any good. I look over at Sam, and he nods, knowing the same thing. “Just keep straight at the light, then go up two blocks and it’s on the right. You can’t miss the Snake Eyes.”
“Got it,” Sam says. He’s cool and controlled, and it’s more like what I’m used to when we’re on a run.
I put the phone to my ear and smile. “Yo, Jeanette, what’s shakin’?”
“Don’t ‘Jeanette’ me, Anthony. Where are you?” She sounds pissed, and that’s not good.
“Well, Mom, if you must know, I’m in Vegas with Samuel and Mary. We decided to drive down for the weekend, you know, have a good time.” It’s mostly the truth, but I know with my mom, the truth is the safest bet. There’s a pause on her end of the phone, and I have a funny feeling. “Mom, is everything okay?”
“Your dad and I rode by your apartment and you weren’t there. And your landlord was kind enough to let us in. Mind telling me where all your shit is?”
Fuck. Not good. “I can explain.”
“When will you be back?” I can hear my dad mumbling something in the background, but I can’t make it out. ‘Shut up, Saint. I’m talking to my baby.”
Great, this is the last thing I need. I’m in the middle of catching a half a million dollar skip, getting married, and losing my virginity all in twenty-four hours. I don’t need my parents asking about my living situation.
“Tomorrow.”
My mom lets out a huff of frustration, but what can she really do besides wait? “When you get back, come straight over. And bring Mary with you. We need to talk.”
Fuck. They know.
“Sounds good, Mom. Love you.”
“Love you, too, Anthony.”
Goddamn it. I hang up the phone and lay my head back on the headrest. I don’t need this right now. I take a second, and I make my decision. I need to focus, and this isn’t my priority. Mary is. There’ll be time to make money later. I want to marry my woman now.
“Sam, I need to get back to Mary. I’m gonna have to call this one. I’m out.”
Samuel pulls into the Snake Eyes casino and parks off to the side. We can see the entrance from here, and he’s squeezing the steering wheel so tight his knuckles are white.
“I’m sorry, Sam, but this is off. I haven’t had enough time to do some research on this skip. We’re going in blind, and I don’t like it. On top of that, I came here to get married, not chase a bounty. That’s enough for me, man. I’m going back to the room, I’m getting Mary, and I’m making her my wife. You coming?”
He looks over at me, and after a second he closes his eyes and shakes his head. Relief washes over me, but then I realize he’s not disappointed, he’s telling me no.
He turns off the truck, tossing me the keys. “Sorry, Tony. I’m staying.”
“What about walking Mary down the aisle?” I can’t believe he’d miss that for anything on this Earth.
He gets out of the truck and stands at the open door. He puts on his leather jacket, covering his weapons and winks at me. “Oh, I’ll be there. You guys don’t start without me.”
With that, he shuts the door and makes his way into the casino. I should probably be worried, but I’m not. No matter what happens, Samuel can handle himself, and if all else fails I’ve got every camera feed in Vegas at my fingertips and about ten trackers on his body. I can find him anywhere on the face of the Earth. I climb over into the driver's seat and put the keys in the ignition.
Waiting just a few moments, I watch the feed on my phone as Samuel walks into the bar and heads straight for Nika. “Good luck, buddy,” I say out loud and crank the truck.
I turn around and head back to the Blue Diamond. I make one pit stop on the way back to the hotel. I’m thankful that nothing in Vegas closes. You can literally get anything you want twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
Once I’m back at the hotel, I go to our room and knock on the door. After just a second, Mary opens the door, smiling at me, and steps out of the way for me to come inside. My arms are full of boxes, and she looks at me with shock.
“What’s all this?” she asks, seeing me set them down.
“Well, I know this was last minute, so I stopped and got a few things. Sit your cute ass down and I’ll show you.” She laughs and goes over to the couch, and I walk over with the first box.
“New,” I say and set the box in her lap. She opens it up and puts her hands over her mouth in shock.
“Anthony, you bought me a wedding dress?” She pulls out the simple white dress that I know is going to look perfect on her.
“I know we’ll have a big wedding later, but I still wanted you to feel like a beautiful bride, even if it’s just for you and me.”
I see a few tears slip down her cheek as she touches the dress. I don’t want her to be sad, so I go to the next box and hand it to her.
“Old and blue,” I say, and watch her open it.
“Oh, my God. They’re beautiful.” She gently touches the vintage blue sapphire earrings.
“I tried to find a pair that matched your eyes, but nothing was as perfect.” I feel my face heat with embarrassment saying that, but it’s true. There’s nothing as perfect as she is. And no piece of jewelry can compare to her.
I wait for her to put them on, then I pass her another box. “Borrowed.”
“What’s this?” She pulls out the gold band and looks at it and raises her eyebrow.
I laugh and point to it. “That’s mine. I’m letting you borrow it for one hour, then I want it back.”
She laughs with me, and then I see more tears fall down her cheeks. I kneel down in front of her and kiss them away, then touch my forehead to hers. “Go get ready, princess. Don’t make me wait any longer.”
She closes her eyes and nods, taking her things with her to the bathroom.
While she’s getting ready, I check the feed on my phone and feel my smile spread from ear to ear. “Well, well, well. Looks like Samuel’s having fun.”
Five
Mary
“Damn. Seeing you in the dress makes me harder than this past Halloween when you dressed up like a slutty pussy cat,” Anthony growls against my mouth, taking my lips again. This time he picks me up and shoves me against the wall, my legs locking around him the best they can in this dress. So much for not kissing me again until we’re married, but fuck it, we’re at the chapel so close enough.
“Are you at least going to let me go outside dressed like this?” I tease. Pulling back, I try to catch my breath because he’s been all over me since I put this thing on. I didn't even make it out of our bedroom with that Halloween costume on, but I hadn't wanted to. The point was to once again try to bait Anthony into finally making love to me. He ended up doing everything but that that night, over and over again for hours. Who would have thought I should’ve just bought a wedding dress and walked around the apartment in it? My virginity would have been long gone.
“Only long enough to make you mine.” He pulls back, his voice husky as he nibbles on my neck.
“No marks. We have to see our parents this week for Thanksgiving. Let’s not add any fuel to the fire.”
“You saying I can’t mark you?” I feel him suck harder on my neck, and it makes me buck into him. My neck is my weak spot, and he knows it. He barely has to run his fingers across me there and I’m instantly wet and clawing to get at him.
“Anthony.” I moan out his name, my eyes falling closed, and I just enjoy the feelings running through my body. It’s all I can seem to say at the moment. I should tell him to stop, but I can’t, and I don’t want him to.
“You saying I can’t leave my love marks on you? I like my love marks on your body. Lets people know you belong to someone. Someone who can’t keep his hands off you. Someone who likes to see the signs of me all over you.”