by Katlynn Rose
Lance was driving again, and they both decided the best course of action was to ditch the current car to pick up another rental. Although neither one of them thought Conner had seen the car, it was still the safer course. They found a little roadside motel on the other side of town, and after a brief argument, Ashley convinced Lance to leave her there with the boxes while he turned in the rental.
When he left, Ashley paced the room, staring from one box to another. She was so eager to find out what Hal had stashed away, but also wanted to wait for Lance before she dove in. After all, it was Lance who led them there. She knew she should wait…
But she couldn't wait.
Ashley opened one of the boxes, dumping the clothes on the bed. As she started to shuffle through them, she heard an odd crinkling sound that she hadn't heard before in the storage shed. Grabbing one of the shirts, she shook it violently. Some cash bundles fell to the ground with a thump, and other loose bills fluttered down slowly.
"That was probably the smartest thing you've ever done," she said regarding Hal, and grabbed the next garment on top of the pile to give it a shake. Again, there were thumps of bundles hitting the ground and more fluttering twenties scattered in the air.
She laughed, overjoyed at seeing the cash fall from the clothes to pile on the floor. She grabbed garments and shook them wildly over her head. Money flew everywhere. One bundle flew from a pair of pants so hard it thumped into the wall, and loose bills rained down on her.
She collapsed to the ground near the biggest collection and started pulling it to her, her laugher continuing. There were fives, tens, twenties! She even thumbed through a few stacks of one-hundred dollar bills. She wasn't even half way through the first box, and this was more money than she'd ever seen in her lifetime. She lay on top of it, rolled in it, completely indulging herself in a dream come true.
That was the moment Lance returned. Bright sunlight flooded her vision as he opened the door. He shut it quickly when he saw the mess, and she stared at him, realizing he was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. Likewise, he couldn't take his eyes off her, but she figured that was for different reasons. The bewildered look on his face was priceless. She launched herself from the floor to throw her arms around him. He held her tightly for a few moments as he surveyed the mess of a room. Clothes and cash were littered everywhere.
"What the hell?" he managed to get out, and Ashley threw her head back in laughter.
"Please let it all be over now." She buried her face in his neck, snuggling against him. "Let's run away forever. Find someplace we can be normal." Her ecstatic laughter had died away quickly. "I just want to be normal."
He kissed her forehead and cradled her against him. "You know I want that too, Ash. More than anything, that's what I want."
She pulled back to look at him and kissed his wonderful, beautiful lips, and suddenly, she was giggling again. Her nerves frayed, she wasn't able to get a grip on her wild emotions. "Look what I found."
"Do tell." he replied, moving to the pile of money in the center of the floor. "Was all this in the boxes?"
"No," she smirked at him as he looked at her in surprise, and she clarified. "That's what I found in one box, and that box isn't empty yet!"
He was incredulous, thumbing through a stack of one-hundreds. "I think we need to get the hell out of here as soon as possible."
Ashley agreed wholeheartedly, and immediately began gathering up the scattered cash so they could organize it. Lance worked with her, and only a few minutes passed before they were going through the boxes, folding clothes and stacking bills.
"Do you think Hal will try to find us?" she asked while they worked.
Lance was silent for a moment. He didn't know Hal well enough to judge what he would do, but there was so much here Ashley couldn't imagine giving it up without a fight. "He might. Conner might. We need to get very far away from here very quickly." His green eyes flashed as he glanced at her. "What about Nikki?"
"She's gone," Ashley replied. "If she had wanted any of this, she would have taken it back there. Of course, she probably didn't know how much was here or she would never have let us walk away with it."
He nodded, watching her intently. "Who was Bobby?"
Ashley stilled, the name calming her instantly. She met his eyes as sadness crept into her mood. "I think he was Nikki's brother, and I'm pretty sure he died in Jacksonville."
"Oh," was Lance's reply.
Ashley continued, "I knew there was something different about their relationship. Nikki never did anything for anyone she didn't want to, but Bobby could always persuade her. I never noticed it until today, but I'm positive they had to have been related," she ended with a shrug and went back to searching clothes.
"I hope you're right. This needs to be over," Lance nodded somberly. "I'm sorry about the friends you lost."
Ashley didn't reply for a while as she continued to sort through the clothes. When her piles were done, she moved to Lance and intrusively sat down in his lap. He caught her, pulling her close, and they stared into each other’s eyes as the moments slipped by. Ashley reached up to run her fingers down his strong jawline and admired his perfect face.
"I love you," she whispered to him, and he answered her with a passionate kiss, his lips claiming hers softly, completely
He broke away. "Forever," he whispered against her.
"Forever."
"How much do you think is here?"
Ashley shrugged and smiled. "I don't know. I wasn't actually counting. I'm guessing close to two hundred thousand from just the two boxes I went through. What are we going to do?" she asked as she traced the outline of his lips with a soft fingertip.
He laughed, a rich baritone laugh that sent sparks surging through her. "Whatever we want to."
"Well, where do we want to go?"
He looked at the ceiling in thought for a moment before meeting her eyes again, and his green eyes sparkled like dark emeralds. "Have you ever seen Paris?"
She laughed in response, "Of course I've never seen Paris."
"Neither have I, and Paris is very far away from here." He looked at her expectantly. The realization swept over her like a wave of euphoria. The option was suddenly very real for them. They had so many options. She glanced at the money stacked on the bed and back to those sparkling eyes. She could see her whole life in those beautiful eyes, and she felt her heart was about to burst.
Ashley smiled and nodded at him, tears of joy spilling down her cheeks.
"Paris it is then."
This is the end of
Thief
The Dove in the Darkness
If you enjoyed the book, please leave a review. Your kind words are appreciated.
If you would like to reach out to Katlynn Rose, you can reach her through
[email protected].
Additional works from DRJ Publishing
The Phoenix Curse by D.R. Johnson
After – Part One
Look for After – The complete book one of The Phoenix Curse to be published in February 2015.
About The Author
Katlynn Rose currently has a day job working in procurement. She lives with her loving husband and three wonderful children in Grand Prairie, Texas. Katlynn dreams of one day becoming an accomplished author and sharing her many stories with the world.
