Page 14 of Keep Me (Rebel Hearts Heists 2)
I’m here because Sloane is here.
I run a hand through my blond hair, tousling it with my fingers: a part of me misses my long hair, that I used to wear in a bun on top of my head, but I notice that Sloan touches it a lot more since I cut it, so I have no plan to grow it back.
Sloane,my kitten.The best and the worst thing that could have happened not just to me, but to us. To all of us. Since she crossed paths with us, since Kaden took her during our last job, we’ve been in constant danger because of her.
Not that robbing banks is safe in any way, but I was right that having her in tow would get us caught. Damn, it almost cost me my life when her psycho FBI agent ex got us tied up in that boathouse. I still have the wounds to prove it, even though they looked worse than they were.
The most terrifying thing wasn’t that the motherfucker was going to kill me, it was not being able to save my kitten from him. Because despite the fact that at the beginning I wanted to get rid of her, I can’t deny that I’ve fallen for our hot, feisty, loving hostage. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her, including sharing her with the others.
Because the way I see it ... Sloane is falling for all of us. I see the way she looks at Royce, Blaine, and even at Kaden, even though right now she’s still mad at him. I’m not mad at Kaden, he had a job to do and he did it the best way he could. Ok so he wanted to get us arrested, but it’s the same thing as how I wanted to kill Sloane at first: it’s not personal. It was his job and I don’t blame him for anything he’s done.I know, way too fucking rational for my liking.
Before we met Sloane, if I’d learned about Kaden’s real identity, I would’ve put a fucking bullet in his head. None of us shared our secrets and our motives, not until we got to Seattle, including Sloane. So while I get the first shocked reaction at learning that Kaden had been lying the whole time, I don’t think any of us are really in a position to judge him. He did his job and yes he betrayed us but he also protected us and worked to get us out of trouble once he knew why each of us was robbing banks. And I’m under no illusion that he worked harder to negotiate a deal where if we’re successful in our mission we won’t serve any time, because of her.
I look at the fucker when he’s around Sloane and I know that he’s as much of a goner as I am. Because at the end of the day, we were robbing banks together, playing football and partying together, we were living together but we were barely friends. We were sticking together because of the circumstances and if Kaden hadn’t taken our girl, we would’ve gone our separate ways the minute we were done with the heists. Or maybe not, because Kaden would have thrown our asses in jail.
She’s the reason we’re here together, she’s the reason why our friendship deepened, why we started to care about one another. Hell, why Kaden even found out our real reasoning for the robberies in the first place, securing our possible freedom. Because we started to see each other through her eyes: I started seeing Royce’s undying loyalty, Blaine’s caring nature, Kaden’s protectiveness. She forced us to open our hearts not just to her but to one another. And this is why I love her even more and if what she wants is all of us, I’m fucking all in. Because Sloane is what made us a family.
I shake my head at how fucking sappy I sound. I don’t mind it though. I’ve been able to show that there is another side to me than the insane irresponsible bastard they thought I was, so I’m happy for it. As if summoned by my thoughts, her reflection appears behind me in the full-length mirror of my penthouse room.
“Hey Rivs, are you ready? Blaine and Kaden want to brief us before we meet Blaine’s mom.”
Holy hell.Sloane literally has the ability to make people’s, men and women, mouths drop at how gorgeous she is. She’s stunning with her hair down on one naked shoulder, in a short little black designer dress with a sweetheart neckline that enhances her perfect cleavage in a totally classy way.
“You look beautiful, Kitten,” I say turning to face her and putting both my hands on her hips, pulling her closer to me. I see her gaze soften as her jade green eyes meet mine but my kitten is a little mischievous thing because she openly teases me.
“You clean up pretty well too, Rivs. But the knot on your tie is a mess.” She fixes it with deft hands, brushing her fingers against the skin of my throat while she works. I chuckle, nuzzling her behind her ear and inhaling the sweet scent of her shampoo.
“Well fuck, I watched a tutorial on YouTube on how to do a fucking tie knot and they recommended the ‘Four in hand’ as the easiest knot. The fuck it was easy! You’d think after all the money we spent on these clothes, they could’ve thrown in a clip-on tie, right?”
She giggles and fuck if I’d give my left arm to hear that sound all the time. I think that having an ocean between her and that fucking psycho of her ex makes her feel less on edge, having us all close to her, makes her feel safer. I hope it does. I know it’s crazy, thinking about how this whole thing started between us but I’ve learned not to question the unexpected gifts that life throws at you. It doesn’t happen often, so when it does take what you’re given, punch your ticket and prepare for whatever ride you’re offered.
I don’t know what will happen after this is all over, I trust Kaden that even if we fail on our mission, he’ll find a way to help us. I know he might’ve lied about a lot of things but not about his personal feelings toward all of us. He promised me that whatever happens, my Josie will be taken care of and that is all I need. But I want to talk to the others alone about finding a way to get rid of Sloane’s ex. Not just because I have a score to settle with that motherfucker, but because my kitten deserves to live without having to constantly watch her own back.
We walk into the penthouse living room and it might be down to the fact that I grew up poor but this level of luxury always makes me feel on edge. Don’t get me wrong, I fucking love it but there’s something outrageous about gold moldings, frescos on the ceiling, white marble, fine china, and five thousand thread count cotton bedsheets. If I thought that the hotel in Beverly Hills was lavish, this is definitely on another level. It feels like being in a royal palace, it reminds me of the photos of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle that I saw during the last two royal weddings in England.
Yeah, I may have watched those. What? Josie got such a kick out of it; I couldn’t deny her that.
The others are sitting on the huge white sectional, Royce and Kaden drinking coffee from the most exquisite china I’ve ever seen. And I fucking shit you not, Kaden looks completely at ease in the situation but Royce is just fucking ridiculous, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. But really, how you manage to get a massive linebacker, the gruff bank robber who wears a very appropriate mask of the hulk during our heists, to look like James motherfucking Bond is beyond me. The fragile coffee cup looks even smaller in his huge hands but somehow Royce looks like he’s in his element. It’s weird as hell seeing him like this and it makes me feel better knowing that he could probably turn violent pretty easily. I know, healthy, right?
The one who instead is uncharacteristically nervous is Blaine, who decided to ditch the coffee and help himself to some kind of amber color liquor from the perfectly stocked bar on one side of the sitting area. He fills a crystal tumbler with a dark amber liquid from a crystal decanter and empties the glass in one long gulp. He immediately refills it again and that’s when our eyes meet.
“Rivs, Honey Bunny, would you like something a bit stronger than coffee?”
I’ve got a funny remark right on the tip of my tongue, but Sloane gives me a warning look and I decide to play nice. I can rib the motherfucker later on, once he’s a little less on edge.
