Thick As Thieves

by Mariah James

  When it was time for him to pay for his stuff, he took out a wad of cash. Erin was not impressed, especially having come from money. He followed Erin out the store once he realized his little antics weren’t enough to awe her. Against Erin’s judgment, she gave him her number anyway. They talked every once and a while, but Erin always made up an excuse once it was time to meet up. He ain’t think nothing of it, though. Stephon knew she was young, even though she never gave up her age. Shit, he figured, what he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him. Right? Little did he know that would be his downfall.

  Stephon was hype when Erin finally agreed to come chill with him. He was tired of chasing her stuck-up ass and was ready to put it down. Just as they arranged, Stephon picked Erin up at the store around 8 pm that Friday night. Erin wasn’t paying much attention to anything Stephon was saying, she was too busy focusing on their final destination.

  Once Stephon pulled into a driveway, Erin sent Ryan a quick text of the address. He lived in a town just outside of Rochester. It would take a minute for Ryan to get here, she wasn’t the best driver, but ever since Don got locked up, she’s been taking his car for practice. Ryan drove good enough to get from point A to point B, so this plan was solid enough.

  “You, uh, want something to drink, sexy?” Stephon asked walking over to the bar.

  “Sure.” Erin had to play the part if she wanted to pull this off. Her eyes fixated on a gorgeous painting that hung above the mantle. The painting had an abstract feel to it. The colors the artist choose to use were like no color palette, Erin had seen before. It didn’t match the rest of the décor which she thought was kind of odd. Erin reached for the artwork.

  “Don’t touch that!” Stephon demanded. Erin pulled back her hand quickly.

  “I didn’t mean to yell, but that bad boy is worth a lot. I don’t want any dirty fingerprints on it.” Stephon’s serious face turned into a smile, and Erin laughed, nervously.

  “You like it out here?”

  Stephon handed Erin her drink, she took a sip and tried her best not to show how bad it burned her throat.

  “It’s cool. Nice and quiet. I like to stay out the way.”

  “I couldn’t tell,” Erin said under her breath.

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing.”

  “You like what you see? I can show you around.” Stephon’s ego was growing as he watched Erin admire his spot. His dick swelled at the thought of him gaining brownie points. He was too busy boasting that he didn’t see the money bags in Erin’s eyes.

  Erin was elated about her ingenious plan to set-up Stephon. She finally felt the same thrill Ryan felt. Well, maybe not to that extreme, but it was close enough.

  “And this is where all the magic happens,” Stephon said about his master suite. Damn, what does this nigga do? She thought to herself. Inside was magical indeed. By the way, he dressed, Erin was convinced he hired an interior decorator. His place was laced.

  “This is beautiful, Stephon,” Erin admitted.

  “Not as beautiful as you are.” Stephon walked up behind Erin and started kissing her neck. Erin was grossed out, but she played it cool. She turned around to face him, and before he leaned in to kiss her lips, she backed up.

  “I need something more to drink.” Erin pleaded.

  Stephon laughed, “I see you a little nervous. Go ahead and refill both our glasses.” Just as Erin assumed, he was as dumb as he appeared to be.

  Erin strutted out the room to let Ryan inside. Erin poured a shot of cognac in their glasses, emptying a capsule into Stephon’s glass. She held his glass in her right hand so she wouldn’t get them mixed up. Ryan looked on like a proud parent, watching her sister work.

  When Erin reached the bedroom, Stephon was lying across his king size bed with nothing but his tighty-whities and socks on. Erin almost threw up in her mouth at the site of his sloppy gut.

  “Took you long enough.” He joked.

  Erin cracked a half smile, “Your house is so big, I almost got lost.” They laughed in unison as she watched Stephon down the spiked drink she just handed him.

  “Now, where were we?” Stephon reached his hand out for Erin but was reaching for air. His last visual was a double of Erin, blowing a kiss at him. Erin ran out of the room back to where Ryan was.

  “Okay, look there’s a whole lot of money in her, but we gotta work fast.” Ryan followed Erin into the living area and watched as she removed that colorful painting from off the wall. Behind it, was a huge hole full of stacks.

  “This nigga is rich as fuck,” Ryan said eagerly.

  “And dumb as fuck, but I’m glad we don’t have to waste time cracking a safe.”

  “Show ya’ right.” The girls worked together until the black hole was empty. Erin put the painting back where it was. Next, they entered the bedroom, clearing out his jewelry box.

  “What about those chains he wearing? Them shits chunky.” Ryan glossed over them with heart eyes.

  “Ry, don’t be so fucking greedy, get out of here before the shit wears off.” Erin rushed.

  “Okay, damn.” Ryan waved.

  “Of all the things we should’ve said that we never said/all the things we should’ve done that we never did.” Ryan juggled the duffle bag she was holding, looking for her phone to turn the ringer off. Deuce was calling, at the wrong fucking time.

  “Hurry up, Ry,” Erin whispered harshly.

  Ryan continued to fumble until she could forward the call, “I’m trying.”

  Erin watched on helplessly, as Stephon opened his eyes. He felt the other side of his bed searching for Erin.

  “Sexy, where you at?” He mumbled groggily.

  “I’m right here, Daddy.” Erin was scared and started pushing Ryan out the door before he noticed her in there. Just as Ryan was about to leave, she tripped over the duffle bag strap.

  Stephon jumped up, “You okay?” Ryan froze where she was. They were caught, red-handed.

  “What the fuck you bitches doing?” Stephon voice was weak, but he mustered up enough strength to reach toward his nightstand.

  BANG! BANG!

  “Ryan, why the fuck did you shoot him!” Erin shouted at her sister once she checked his pulse.

  “He’s dead!” Erin was mortified.

  “It was either him or us.”

  “Oh my God! Oh my God!” Erin paced the floor.

  Ryan was unbothered, “Erin don’t bitch out on me now, let’s go.”

  “Bitch out? He’s dead!”

  “And we will be under the jail if we don’t get the fuck up out of here! Now, wipe down everything you touched and take the glasses with you. No evidence, no case.”

  Erin stopped debating Ryan and did what she said. While she made sure to wipe her fingerprints from every surface, Ryan assembled the money and jewels, careful not to leave anything worth keeping.

  It wasn’t until they were inside the safety of their apartment, that Erin had enough courage to speak.

  “Where’d you get that gun from? You almost got us killed back there.”

  “But we alive and well, ain’t we?” Ryan emptied the duffle bag onto the kitchen table. She was glad she packed Don’s pistol, if not, sure enough, that would’ve been the end of them.

  “Shit ain’t funny, Ryan.”

  “Who laughing?” Ryan shot Erin a dirty look. She licked her thumb and fanned through a stack of 100-dollar bills.

  Erin sat down across from her, still uneasy about the situation, “Phones must always be on silent, Ryan.”

  “Where’d you get those whack ass pills from?” Ryan questioned, “ain’t no way he shouldn’t have slept through that.”

  “From here on out.” Erin ignored Ryan’s question, just as she had neglected her statement.

  “Okay, okay. Keep our phones on silent. Gotcha.” Erin had a point; her ringtone was what woke Stephon up in the first place. Ryan was willing to agree to whatever kept Erin wheeled in. If they kept catching licks like that, they’d be straight. Of course
, with no dead bodies.

  Knock! Knock! The girls immediately shoved everything back into the duffle bag. Erin ran into the bathroom with the bag while Ryan saw who was at the door.

  She opened the door after realizing it was Deuce.

  “Yo, where’s your phone? I’ve been calling you.” Deuce pressed Ryan before he even stepped into the apartment.

  “My bad, I was a little tied up.” Ryan answered, “Wassup?”

  June 2017

  It was hard for Erin to recover from what happened to Stephon. Her conscious ate her up as if he was the one who physically pulled the trigger. Meanwhile, Ryan walked around as if it didn’t haunt her one bit. Granted, the twins came up from Stephon, and they weren’t ready to call it quits just yet. What they needed to do was tighten up their style, so they didn’t run into any more mishaps. It was bad enough they had a body under their belt.

  “You sure this gonna work?” Erin was having second thoughts, looking down at the fake ID Ryan just handed her.

  “Positive! Nakiah uses hers to get in all the time.”

  “Nakiah looks like she is pushing thirty.” Erin drilled.

  “You ain’t right.” Ryan chuckled.

  Erin and Ryan walked up to security ready to show their new IDs. He looked them up and down. The twins were looking extra fine tonight, prepared to sink a bait or two. He finally let them in, when he was done lusting over them.

  “Damn, I thought that nigga was gonna nut on himself.” Ryan blurted out.

  A female guard snickered at Ryan’s comment as she patted them down.

  “Don’t mind her.” Erin excused her twin.

  The girls paneled around the room, scanning the scene. There were clouds of smoke everywhere matching the smell of Kush in the air.

  “Hey ladies, you want a dance?” A dancer came up to the twins and started shaking her titties in front of them.

  “Not right now.” Ryan grabbed Erin’s arm and walked away. She could sense Erin’s apprehension. They stopped at the money exchange machine before they occupied one of the booths in the back of the strip club to finish scoping.

  They ordered drinks to sip, neither one could stand the taste of the liquor, but they had to fit in.

  “What about him at three o’clock?” Erin asked.

  “Nah, he’s too flashy, which means he ain’t got shit. What about ol’ boy next to him?”

  “He is draped in diamonds,” Erin concurred, “Your turn!”

  “Watch a sister work.” Ryan walked over and found a spot close to the stage near their newest mark. The stripper got excited when she saw how many ones Ryan was holding. She dropped down in a split in front of Ryan being sure to put on a show. The more her plump ass bounced, the more dollars Ryan placed in her G-string and the louder the crowd got. The fellas were eating it up.

  Money started falling from behind Ryan. She looked up to see, just who she wanted to see.

  “What’s a pretty lady like you doing in a place like this?” He asked.

  Ryan broke their gaze and focused back on the ass in front of her, “the same thing you doing here.”

  “Brian.” He reached his hand out to introduce himself.

  “Jessica.” Ryan took his hand giving out the bogus name that matched her ID.

  Erin grinned as she saw them shake hands. She was impressed.

  “You ready for your dance now?” The stripper who greeted them was back.

  Erin swallowed hard and shifted in her seat, “Uh, sure.”

  “I’m Nala, what’s your name?” The stripper wined slowly in front of Erin.

  “Tamika.” Erin lied.

  “This your first time, Tamika?”

  “It’s that obvious, huh?” Erin was embarrassed.

  Nala didn’t answer her, she just turned around and made her ass jump. Erin was in a trance, she was mind blown by what she saw.

  “You’re supposed to throw the money,

  love.”

  Erin looked down at the dollars she forgot she held in her hands. She stuffed a dollar on each side of her and Nala moved faster.

  “You can touch it, too.” Oh, hell nah! Erin thought. This was as far as she was willing to go. Erin looked over all the ass, that was in her face and searched for Ryan. She got nervous when she didn’t see her where she was seated before. She finally spotted her at the bar and Ryan made a signal.

  “Thanks, Nala but I gotta go.”

  “So soon?”

  “Uh, yeah. I got something I gotta handle.” Erin gave her the rest of the money she was holding on to and hurried out the club.

  She sunk into the driver seat of Don’s car waiting to see Ryan and ol’ boy come out the club. It took them about 10 minutes before they appeared. Erin got happy because she was beginning to worry.

  A few seconds after Brian peeled off so did Erin. She followed close enough to catch every turn, but far enough not to be detected. Erin was a much better driver than Ryan, so this plan worked perfectly. All she needed to do was stay close because if she lost them, it was over. Ryan left her phone in the car this time, they didn’t need a repeat of last time.

  Erin parked a few cars down from where Brian stopped.

  “Niggas, don’t bother taking strangers to a motel anymore. I guess all you need is a fat ass and an all-access pass to the crib is granted.” Erin spoke out loud.

  Brian was falling all over Ryan.

  “I see you ready for me, Daddy.” Brian hinted at how Ryan flirted, while she watched him open the door.

  “I can’t wait to taste this.” He palmed her ass tightly. Soon as the door was closed, Brian had her pinned up against the front door, kissing all over her body. Ryan let out fake moans, all the while reaching to make sure the door was unlocked.

  “Damn, if your skin tastes this sweet. I can only imagine what that pussy like.”

  “Oh yeah!” Ryan continued to flirt.

  “Um-hm.” Brian was making his way to pull up her dress.

  “Wait!” She pushed his hands away.

  Brian was shocked, “Wait? I thought you were down.” He stood up.

  “I am, I am,” Ryan tried her best to recover, “I need to go freshen up. Where’s your bathroom?”

  Brain’s grin returned, “I’ll show you,” he showed Ryan to the bathroom, “there are rags under the sink.”

  Ryan closed the door and turned the water on. She was shook, she never had a man, besides Deuce, kiss and touch up on her like that. It seemed easy enough, but she felt guilty that it wasn’t Deuce caressing her body.

  “You got this, Ry.” She chanted in the mirror.

  “Jessica, you alright in there.”

  “I’ll be right out.” She called back.

  “Good, hurry up. I’m ready to feast.”

  “I’m ready to feast,” Ryan mocked him, “fucking pig.” She walked out the bathroom and walked near the blaring light.

  “It’s about time.” Brian stroked his dick as he stepped out his jeans.

  “One thing before we start.” Brian threw his hands up. He was annoyed at this point. All he was trying to do was knock her off and kick her out. She was doing way too much.

  Ryan reached into her titties and pulled out a small baggy full of white powder.

  Brian licked his lips, giving away the fact that he snorts. She was glad because it was less persuasion she needed to do. Ryan walked over to his dresser and emptied the baggy. She picked up a postcard to make a few lines.

  Brian wasted no time, he snorted three of the four lines.

  “Damn, save some for me.” Ryan pretended.

  “My bad Jess, but this some good shit. Where you get it from?”

  “If I tell you, I might have to kill you.” Ryan made a gun figure with her hands and Brian backed up to the bed with his hands up. Ryan turned around and pretended to snort the last line.

  “Now, where were we?” As expected, when she turned around, Brian was knocked out cold.

  Ryan rushed to the front door, signaling Erin to c
ome in.

  “About damn time.” Erin let out as she rushed to the doorway, her heels echoing as they clicked on the pavement.

  “You remember what happened last time? Let’s just hurry up. He sniffed three lines and was out in seconds.”

  “Sniffed?”

  “Now is not the time for questions, I can explain later.” There was no way Ryan was able to pour it in a drink, so she had to be creative. She was lucky to have had it in a baggy and not the original capsule it came in.

  The girls went straight to the bedroom’s closet to look for a safe.

  “Yes!” Ryan found the safe and started working on the code.

  Erin looked back and forth at Brian snoring on the bed. His feet were hanging off the side, and his dick was still hard.

  “Come on, Ryan.” She urged.

  “Don’t rush me!” Ryan spat before opening the safe and retaining all the stacks he had inside.

  “Okay Ry, now let’s go.”

  Ryan closed the safe back and put things back the way they initially found it.

  “Go get the car and pull around the corner and wait for me.”

  “What? No, that wasn’t a part of the plan” Erin pleaded.

  “E, he knows what I look like. If this nigga wakes up and I ain’t here, he gonna get suspicious. Not to mention when he realizes all his bread is gone. Who you think he is coming for?” Ryan had a good point.

  “Jessica?”

  “Ha, ha, ha. Real fucking funny. Now get out of here, I’ll be out in a minute.”

  Erin did not want to leave her sister inside his house alone after they just robbed the nigga blind. What if he caught on?

  “Ry…”

  “E, go!” Ryan spoke through clenched teeth.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Erin hoped in the car with the duffle bag in tow and pulled around the corner, just like Ryan instructed her to do.

  Ryan cleared the substance off the dresser to make it appear that she had some too. She shook Brian vigorously to wake him up when he didn’t wake up. She sprinkled a little cold water on him.

  “What the fuck?” Brian jumped up, looking at Ryan like he just saw a ghost. “Damn baby, that was some good smack.” Brian was oblivious to what just took place.