Love Against the Law

by Justine Klavon

  Sammi didn’t know what to expect as she climbed the stairs, leaving Kodi behind. She found Mack in their bedroom, sitting on the bed and cleaning his service revolver. He was facing away from the door and didn’t notice Sammi enter the room.

  “Is everything okay?” Sammi asked quietly from the door.

  “I’m kind of busy,” Mack stated coldly without turning to look at her.

  “Oh, okay. Well, I looked at wedding dresses today if you want to talk later,” Sammi told him, hoping talk of the wedding would brighten his mood.

  “Good, something new for you to steal,” Mack mumbled as Sammi left the room. But she had heard him and stopped dead in her tracks.

  “I’m sorry, do you have something to say to my face?” Sammi asked, regaining her confidence.

  Mack was quiet. He didn’t see any positive outcome happening from arguing with Sammi. He loved her, but something had happened at work that was making it difficult for him to be understanding of her previous lifestyle.

  “Come find me when you’re ready to be a man,” Sammi told him and finally exited the room.

  She originally wanted to go find Kodi but decided she didn’t actually want to talk to anybody and instead went out to the balcony at the end of the hall.

  Sammi sat out on the balcony for quite a while, looking out at the night sky. She got lost in her thoughts, trying desperately to think of what she could’ve done to piss off Mack so badly. As she gave up and got up to head inside, Mack appeared in the doorway.

  Without a word, Mack tossed a red folder onto the chair that Sammi had just been sitting in and waited for her to pick it up. As Sammi inspected the contents, she was confused. The folder contained a stack of several different case files, some being robberies of her own design and others seemingly similar but nowhere near as elegant.

  “I don’t understand,” Sammi said innocently as she held the folder out for Mack to take back. “Do you think these were all me?”

  “Are they not?” Mack questioned her.

  “I mean, some of them are,” Sammi admitted, “but some of those more recent ones are an insult to my name. Why anyone would even attempt a heist without hacking into the security system first is beyond me.”

  “Unless your hacker is dating the sister of the man who tried to kill you.”

  “Oh, wow, you really do think these were me. Look, you can bet that I miss it; I was so fucking good at it and I miss it every damn day. But I made a promise to you and I don’t break my promises.”

  Feeling hurt and fighting back tears, Sammi pushed past Mack to get back inside and went right for their bedroom. She quickly changed into sleepwear and then found Kodi to ask if she could sleep in her room that night. Feeling guilty, Mack almost tried apologizing, but decided it would be better to give Sammi some space.

  *

  Mack left for work the next morning without getting a chance to talk to Sammi. When he returned home that night, there was no sign of Sammi or even Kodi. But on his nightstand were Sammi’s engagement ring and a note reading, “I guess we’re too different people.”

  Chapter Nine

  Life on the Moon

  The day after Mack accused Sammi of still being a thief, Sammi and Kodi had a heart-to-heart conversation regarding their future. Sammi wanted to believe that Mack had made an honest mistake, but she couldn’t ignore the fact that he didn’t trust her. And she missed being a thief just enough that she couldn’t guarantee that she was done with it for good.

  “I hate to say it, but Mack ruined this by proposing way too soon. You guys don’t even know each other,” Kodi added her two cents into the debate.

  “I know. Believe it or not, we’ve never even had sex,” Sammi told her.

  “Oh, I believe it. That guy doesn’t have a clue, does he? Have you actually told anyone about your mom’s boyfriends?” Kodi questioned her best friend out of concern.

  “You mean other than you?” Sammi asked and Kodi rolled her eyes.

  While the girls continued their discussion in the living room, Sammi’s cellphone rang once. She assumed it was Mack and chose to ignore it. But it rang again so Sammi picked it up off the coffee table and looked at the screen. Her jaw dropped and she showed the screen to Kodi.

  “Do not answer that,” Kodi hissed. But the phone rang a third time and Sammi couldn’t resist.

  “What could you possibly want?” Sammi answered the call. Kodi exhaled loudly, and angrily sat back on the couch with her arms crossed.

  “I need your help,” Eli said on the other end of the call. There were no signs of cockiness nor confidence in his voice.

  “Why the hell would I help you?” Sammi scoffed.

  “Do you remember Frank Nardino?” Eli asked, ignoring Sammi’s question. The name was familiar, but it took Sammi a minute to connect the dots.

  “You mean that sleazebag who got arrested during our first date?”

  “Yes, but I can’t tell you any more over the phone. Sammi, you are the best thief I know, and I really need your help. I will explain everything if you can meet me at the bar where we first met. And bring Kodi if it makes you feel better.”

  Eli hung up and left Sammi speechless. She put her phone back down on the coffee table while Kodi looked at her in disbelief, awaiting an explanation. Sammi took a minute to collect her thoughts before taking a deep breath and telling Kodi everything that had been said.

  Both girls knew that they would be helping Eli before they even began discussing their options. Sammi was dying to get back to the work that she loved and Kodi was desperate to never allow Sammi to be alone with the man who almost killed her. So, an hour later, they came to the agreement that it was the only way out of their current situation and proceeded to pack their bags in a hurry. Sammi knew that no words could justify her decision to Mack, so she wrote a short, vague note to leave on his nightstand with the undeserved ring.

  “Let the record show that running away from your problems seems to work for you, Samantha Reilly,” Kodi said dramatically as they walked along the sidewalk together, about a block away from the bar.

  “When life hands you an easy way out, leap through it,” Sammi laughed as they turned the corner to their destination. She held the door to the bar open for Kodi and the two friends crossed the threshold back to their previous life.

  *

  The tension in the air was undeniable as Sammi and Kodi entered the bar to discover that Eli, Shay, and Howard were the only people there. They sat at a table along the back wall and looked up as the pretty blondes approached them. There were no warm greetings nor talk of any kind as the five thieves traded untrusting glances.

  Eli pulled the chair next to him out from the table, offering it to either of the ladies. Both Sammi and Kodi pretended not to notice as they turned around and sat at the bar instead, sitting on the stools so that they faced the rest of the group. They were not a real team anymore and there wasn’t any reason to play pretend.

  “So, what are we doing here, Eli?” Sammi spoke first, trying to regain her alpha position in the group.

  “Nardino thinks that Eli set him up that day in the restaurant,” Shay spoke for her brother. “His people hunted Eli down and threatened him.”

  “What do they want?” Sammi asked aloud as she internally asked herself if she even cared.

  Both Shay and Howard looked at Eli, as did Sammi and Kodi. Eli avoided eye contact and stared at a spot in front of him on the table.

  “They want you, Sam,” Eli said without looking up.

  Sammi’s eyes widened as she stared blankly in the direction of her former love. Thoughts flooded her head, but first and foremost was that she had made a terrible mistake trusting Eli and showing up there. Upset but not truly panicked, Sammi stood up and walked outside for some fresh air.

  Eli waited a beat before chasing after his old girlfriend. He found Sammi outside of the bar, leaning against the front window. Approaching her very slowly, he stood by her side close enough to feel her warmth
without actually touching her.

  “So, this apology is well overdue, but I didn’t know how to say sorry for almost killing you,” Eli said quietly, looking down at the ground. “But I really am sorry.”

  “What do Nardino’s guys want with me?” Sammi asked, not wanting to dredge up the past.

  “They want you to be a thief,” Eli told her, finally looking at her face.

  Eli then explained that they had followed him to the team’s hideout and demanded that he continue running heists and cutting them in on his earnings. He had planned and poorly executed two or three jobs before having to admit that Sammi was the brains behind the team. Nardino, having known that all along, made Eli a deal that he could walk away unharmed in exchange for Sammi planning and running one major heist for him.

  “Well that explains why Mack thought I was still active,” Sammi said, shaking her head.

  “What does ol’ Mack think of you being here?” Eli asked, showing his true colors again.

  “He doesn’t know,” Sammi told him.

  “How could he not know? Where does he think you are?”

  “He doesn’t know because I left him.”

  Annoyed, Sammi took a step away from Eli and a step away from the building. As she stood by the side of the road facing the bar, she saw Kodi in the open doorway and motioned for her to come outside. Kodi obliged and stood by her friend.

  “What’s in this for us?” Kodi finally asked the question that had been bothering her since Eli’s phone call. She knew the answer, but she wanted Eli to say it to Sammi’s face.

  “They’ll let Sammi live,” Eli said, more to his shoes than anybody.

  Sammi walked to Eli and slapped him across his face with as much force as she could muster up. Eli brought his hand to his cheek where it stung the worst but still wouldn’t look up. Realizing that she had never seen him look so small and helpless, Sammi’s anger settled and she backed away from him. She suddenly felt bad for him and remembered that she had once loved him.

  She couldn’t look at Eli any longer so Sammi turned to the unbusy street and sat on the curb. Burying her face in her hands, she sobbed a couple of times while Kodi stood protectively next to her. There was complete silence other than the city sounds of traffic and sirens in the distance that were easily blocked out by the New York natives.

  Eventually, Shay and Howard joined Eli, Kodi, and Sammi outside. Paying customers had begun to arrive at the bar, eliminating the group’s privacy. Since the cops had begun staking out outside of Shay’s and Howard’s apartment, the two of them had been staying in a hotel suite with Eli, which is where they moved the meeting.

  The hotel suite had two private bedrooms, one full bathroom, a separate living room, and a kitchenette with a small, round dining table. Kodi and Sammi could have gotten their own room but they didn’t want to draw attention to themselves in case Mack decided to look for Sammi. So, Eli offered his bedroom to the two girls and moved his things to the living room area.

  “So, does this guy want a specific job done or do we have creative freedom?” Sammi asked as all five of the band of thieves sat around the kitchen table.

  “I’m sure he wants a Sammi original,” Eli said with a grin.

  “Perfect,” Sammi replied, returning his smile.

  Sammi already knew which job she wanted to run, but there were too many people at the table that she no longer trusted. She decided that she would talk it out and plan the robbery with Kodi and keep the others on need-to-know terms. With nothing else to say to the group, Sammi and Kodi got up from the table and retired to their bedroom.

  Around midnight, Kodi was fast asleep but Sammi lay wide awake next to her with every thought she had had in the last twenty-four hours attacking her head at once. Desperate to break free from her worrying mind, Sammi quietly left the room to get a drink of water. All the lights in the suite were shut off as everyone else had also gone to bed. But as Sammi turned to walk away from the kitchen sink, she bumped into somebody in the dark.

  “Don’t do that,” Sammi whispered with a heavy sigh, easily recognizing Eli’s body shape.

  “I’m sorry,” Eli whispered back with the sound of a smile in his voice.

  Suddenly Eli’s lips were on Sammi’s and she shoved him in his chest as hard as she could. He didn’t budge even an inch, but he stopped kissing her and turned on the kitchen light. Sammi was watching him with flames of hatred dancing in the skies that were her eyes.

  “I won’t be that girl again,” Sammi said. Her voice was shaking but she meant what she said.

  “I wasn’t even doing anything,” Eli replied with a nervous laugh.

  “Please just move out of my way so I can go to bed,” Sammi nearly pleaded as Eli took a step toward her, cornering her.

  “Are you still afraid of me?” Eli asked, genuinely surprised.

  He reached a hand out toward Sammi to touch her arm as she flattened herself against the wall behind her. She trembled at his touch and refused to look him in the eyes as she pulled away from him.

  “Don’t touch me,” Sammi growled under her breath.

  But Eli ignored her and carefully pulled her away from the wall and into his arms. Turning around, he placed her where she could easily escape and loosened his arms around her. Sammi regained her balance but didn’t run away. She looked into Eli’s eyes that were begging for forgiveness and had to sit down on the floor as tears began pouring out of her eyes. Eli was immediately on the floor next to her, holding her as she cried.

  “It’s okay,” Eli whispered over and over again as he rocked her gently in his arms.

  Sammi was completely mortified by her display of weakness, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop crying. After months of her thoughts and her feelings being pulled every which way, she needed this release. Her heart was torn between two entirely different lives and as much as she loved being a thief, she had wanted to love Mack just as much or possibly even more.

  As Eli held the beautiful mess in his arms, his legs began to ache underneath him. Wanting to get more comfortable so he could hold Sammi longer, he stood up with her in his arms and carried her out to the living room. He laid down on the couch on his back with Sammi lying on his stomach. The sudden change in location had quieted Sammi’s sobs, but she kept her face hidden against Eli’s chest. Eli continued to hold her, and he caringly rubbed her back until they were both asleep.

  Chapter Ten

  Come Back to Me

  A week later, the group of thieves was ready to put Sammi’s plan into action. There was an intersection just inside the city limits that had a different brand of bank on each corner. What the competing brands didn’t realize was that each of their individual security systems were actually all a part of the same larger security firm, which made it that much easier for a hacker to get inside all of their systems at once.

  The group waited until closing time on a less busy day, wanting to involve as few bystanders as possible. Howard broke into their systems within five minutes and took control of the automatic locks, the security cameras, and everything in between. He remained inside an unmarked van in one of the parking lots while Eli, Kodi, Sammi, and Shay each walked up to their own corner bank.

  Armed with only handguns, the team had to rely on intimidation and communication. Using their earbuds, the thieves let Howard know which doors to unlock and when, until they made it to their assigned bank’s vault. Then they loaded duffel bags with cash and waited for Howard to pick them up in the van with their winnings.

  With everybody needing to communicate with Howard, the chatter over the earbuds was distracting. Sammi did her best to block it out while she tied up her bank employees at gunpoint and made her way to the vault. But after she had her duffel bags packed and ready to go, she realized Eli was calling for help over the earbuds.

  Abandoning her bags, Sammi told Howard to grab them through the earbuds as she ran to Eli’s aid. She crossed the street to Eli’s designated bank and was alarmed t
o find the front doors still unlocked. Howard was supposed to lock them once Eli had gotten inside but Sammi didn’t have time to worry about the mistake. She ran into the bank and found Eli in the vault. Surprised to see Shay and Howard were also in the vault, Sammi stopped dead right inside the opening. The three people she trusted least in the world were standing around a man they had apparently taken hostage who was on his knees with his hands zip-tied behind his back.

  “Shit,” Sammi said mostly to herself, starting to realize this may have been a setup after all. Mack Johnson looked up at her from where he sat on his heels as Shay put her gun to his head.

  “I should’ve known you were behind this,” Mack said to Sammi, shaking his head in disappointment. He couldn’t help but chuckle at how stupid he felt.

  “Let him go,” Sammi growled at Shay.

  “But he’s a cop and he saw our faces,” Shay argued. “Someone’s gotta do something about him always being in the wrong place at the wrong time!”

  Sammi was still frozen in the doorway so Eli walked over to her and put a hand on her waist. He tried assuring her that everything was going to work out okay but Sammi couldn’t tear her horrified eyes away from Mack. She didn’t even notice when Eli planted a kiss on her golden hair.

  “Even better,” Mack scoffed and continued to shake his head in disbelief.

  “No one asked you,” Eli snarled and drove his elbow hard into Mack’s skull.

  The blow knocked Mack onto his side, leaving him unable to get up because his hands were tied behind his back. Suddenly, Eli was on top of him and beating Mack’s face with his fists. Mack was spitting out blood as Sammi finally shoved Eli away from him and dropped to her knees next to him.

  “You weren’t supposed to be a part of this,” Sammi spoke quietly to Mack as tears glistened in her blue eyes.

  Sammi removed her lightweight blue flannel shirt and used it to wipe the sweat and blood from Mack’s face. Then she took her switchblade knife from her right boot with the intention of cutting his hands free, but Shay slapped it out of her hands before making her stand up at gunpoint.