Fall Into Place (Taking the Fall 5)

“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.