Play Along

by T L Swan

  “You okay?” I ask as I wipe his forehead and push his hair back to look at him. “You’re very quiet. Are you really hurt?”

  He nods and rolls his lips as if he wants to say something but is holding it in.

  “What?” I ask. “What is it?”

  He shrugs. “I just wonder why you are so worried about a little blood when you are the only one…” He stops himself midsentence.

  “The only one that what?”

  “Nothing.” He grabs the cloth from me and stands and walks back out into the room.

  I follow him. “Say it. Just say it.” I hold my arms open. “I want you to tell me what you were going to say.”

  He turns angrily. “You are the only person who hurt me today.”

  My heart skips a beat.

  He shakes his head. “And it fucking pisses me off that you have the ability to do that.”

  I don’t know what to say.

  “Stace,” I whisper softly. “I am sorry for not asking you if you took them, but what was I supposed to think?”

  “That I would steal from you,” he barks angrily. “Why do you tell me you love me when you obviously think so little of my character?”

  “I do love you,” I murmur.

  “Well, you know what I don’t love?” he sneers angrily.

  My heart drops. “Me?” I whisper.

  “Being made to feel like a piece of shit.”

  “I never said that,” I fire back.

  “Yes, you did.”

  “When?”

  “When you put me in the same category as your ex-boyfriends and your father.”

  My eyes tear up, because he’s right on target. That’s exactly what I did today. “I’m sorry,” I whisper.

  A knock bangs at the door. “Room service,” The waiter calls. I look through the peephole and see him standing with our champagne and ice. Stace walks back into the bathroom frustrated that we have been interrupted, I blow out a deep sigh as I open the door. “Thank you,” I murmur as I take the tray from him and lock the two deadlocks as he leaves.

  I wrap a handful of ice in my t-shirt and walk back into the bathroom where I find Stace now in the shower, his back to me as he soaps his body up. I take off my clothes and get into the shower and hold him from behind. I wrap my arms around his large body and squeeze him tight. I press my face on his back and the water that runs down the drain is a shade of pink, tinged with blood. We stay silent for a long time, both lost in our own thoughts.

  “I’m not an easy person to be with, Stace,” I murmur.

  He stays silent.

  A large lump forms in my throat. “I understand if you don’t want to fight for us. I’m damaged goods. I couldn’t be with me.”

  He turns to face me. “Don’t say that,” he whispers.

  “It’s true.” I shrug sadly. “I have more baggage than a 747.”

  He pushes the hair back from my forehead and then, with his finger under my chin, lifts my face to meet his. “You’re my damaged goods.”

  My eyes tear up at the words I so desperately needed to hear and he kisses me softly. “I have fallen in love with you, Rosh,” he whispers against my lips.

  “You have?” I whisper in hope.

  He kisses me again. “It’s annoying really.”

  I smirk. “Annoying?”

  “Well, right now my face is a mess and I should be making an escape plan, but the only thing that is on my mind is being inside my girl.” He grabs my behind and drags me across his hard body.

  I smile, wrap my arms around his neck, and I kiss him.

  Oh, I love this man. He knows me. He knows how fucked up I am and he is willing to try. Our kiss deepens and he really starts to grind me against the tiles.

  “I’m sorry for today. I was so hurt, I couldn’t see straight,” I murmur.

  He lifts me and wraps my legs around his waist and holds me up against the tiles. I can feel his tip at my opening.

  “I’m not going to hurt you.” He growls.

  He brings my body hard down onto his and I groan as I struggle to accept his size.

  We stay silent, our eyes locked on each other, and he slowly lifts me and then brings me back down hard so that he hits the end of me. “Trust me and let me love you. Let me protect you,” he whispers.

  I nod, unable to speak as his body takes full possession of mine.

  “Because I fucking love you and I need you to survive this.”

  Our kiss turns frantic and I can’t see straight. He raises his arms to the tiles above my head and really starts to slam into me. The burn is so intense, I can feel every vein of his thick shaft. Every ripple of his muscle deep inside of me makes me crave more. I can’t get enough. I will never get enough of the way he makes me feel, of the way he touches me. He stops suddenly and cups my face with his hand. The water runs down our faces and I feel like I can’t breathe. Our eyes are locked on each other and with the way he is looking at me, it feels like anything is possible. His hand on my face is gentle, his eyes are filled with love, and yet my sex is throbbing from the beating it is taking.

  This is love… Stace style.

  “So, you know the plan?” Stace asks me for the tenth time as he sits on the end of the bed watching me.

  “Yes,” I reply as I stuff my shoes into the overnight bag.

  “Tell me what it is.”

  “I already told you.”

  “Tell me again.”

  I roll my eyes in frustration. “I walk into the bank, withdraw all of our money, and then I get into the waiting cab.”

  He nods. “Then what?”

  “Then I catch the cab here and walk through reception as a decoy and get into the lift, but instead of coming up to the room, I go straight to the basement and get in the car with you and we leave.”

  “But I am following you to the bank in case anything happens.”

  “Nothing is going to happen. They were searching for us all night. They won’t be up at the crack of dawn stalking banks.”

  “They might be.”

  “Will you please say the glass is half full for once instead of being so damn negative?”

  “I’m realistic, not negative.”

  I roll my eyes as I continue packing. “Whatever,” I mumble under my breath. Honestly, there is no use even arguing with him when he’s like this. We have decided that if we want to really disappear, we need to fly to Vegas where Stace has another fake passport contact. Unfortunately, we need money to do this, and if we don’t withdraw all the money now they will easily be able to trace where we go. The guy who made my last passport has obviously ratted us out. It’s no coincidence that they found us. They have traced my bank card usage by matching it with my fake name.

  “Are you sure that they don’t know who you really are?” I ask.

  “Positive. I have a house and everything set up in Mac’s identity. They think that’s me and my house and have no idea who I really am.”

  I shrug. “If you say so.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means my father is an intelligent man. An evil, intelligent man and if he smells a rat he will find out your real identity as easy as pie.”

  “He won’t.”

  I zip up my bag and Stace rings reception. “Hello, can you please tally up the bill and let me know the amount, please?” He waits for a moment. “Yes, of course.” He waits again and then scribbles down an amount onto the notepad next to the phone. “Thank you. My wife will be down shortly to settle the bill. We are checking out this morning.” He listens to the receptionist. “Yes, we have had a very pleasant stay.” He smiles. “We’ll be back.”

  I watch him and feel myself swoon. My wife. How I wish that were true. He hangs up and sits down on the bed. I sit on his lap and kiss him gently. “How’s the face feeling?” I ask.

  “Tight.” He screws his face up and I touch his eyebrow gently. It’s a dark shade of purple and his face is still swollen, the harsh bruising appearing. I can s
ee a distinct shoe mark on his cheek.

  “Tell me something,” I say.

  He kisses me, distracted by me being on his lap.

  “Do you think my ring would be ready to pickup today?” I ask hopefully.

  “No, not for another four days.”

  My heart drops. “Do you think we can—?”

  “No, Rosh.” He cuts me off. “We can’t wait for it. We don’t have time.”

  My face falls. “Oh.” I sigh sadly.

  “I will get you another one.”

  “When?”

  He smirks. “When I can.”

  “When do you think that will be?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Hmm, I don’t like that answer at all. I stay silent, still hoping to get my way.

  He lifts me off his lap. “You ready to do this?”

  I nod. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  He picks up my wig and puts it on my head. He then passes me the fake glasses and I slide them on. “I hate this fucking wig,” he mutters to himself as he adjusts it on my head.

  “I thought fake blondes were your type.” I smile sweetly as I remind him of Chelsea.

  “Not ones with horse hair,” he replies, distracted as he combs his fingers through it.

  “Although horse heads are okay?” I tease.

  A trace of a smirk crosses his face. “Do you need to be punished today?”

  I smile broadly. “Probably.”

  The cab pulls to a halt. “So you will wait here?” I ask the driver.

  “Yes.”

  I point to the road underneath us to make sure he understands me through the language barrier.

  “Wait here?” I ask again.

  He nods an over exaggerated nod. “Yes.”

  “Right here?”

  He rolls his eyes in frustration. “Yes, miss, I wait here.”

  I nod quickly, embarrassed at my pushiness. “Okay, I will only be five minutes.”

  “Yes.”

  I glance left and then right. The coast seems clear. The black Ferrari is parked up the street across the other side of the road and I know my love is watching over me. Somehow, I feel even closer to him today. It’s as if our huge fight last night has only brought us closer to one another. I blow out a steadying breath. Let’s do this shit and get it over with. I slowly get out of the cab and walk into the bank. I take out my identification and slide it over the counter and the bank teller smiles warmly. “Hello,” she greets as she types my information into the computer.

  “I would like to make a withdrawal, please?” I ask.

  “Sure. How much would you like?”

  I roll my lips. “Two hundred and twenty- seven thousand, please?”

  She frowns. “Cash?”

  I nod.

  “Umm.” She scratches her forehead. “Did you ring ahead and tell us you would be withdrawing this amount of money today?”

  Panic starts to set in. I don’t have time for this. “No, I shouldn’t have to. It’s my money. I would like it now, please,” I demand nervously. Shit, why didn’t I think of that?

  She frowns. “I will have to see my manager.”

  I nod as my heart starts to beat hard. I turn and look out the window as she disappears.

  Fuck.

  I glance up and down the street nervously. I can’t see anyone suspicious. She reappears. “That will be about fifteen minutes. Please take a seat in one of the offices.” She smiles and gestures to an office to the left.

  Shit.

  I fake a smile and walk into the office. At least I am out of sight in here. I take out my phone and text Stace.

  It’s going to take about fifteen minutes.

  A text bounces back.

  What the fuck?

  We don’t have time for this.

  I roll my eyes and text back.

  Feel free to come and rob the bank.

  Because that will be so much quicker.

  I turn and peer out the glass panel in the door to see if I can see anyone lurking around., I wonder where Stucco is this morning. My nerves raise to another level.

  A text bounces back.

  Don’t tempt me!

  I sit and bounce my foot up and down impatiently. Come on, come on. My phone beeps a text.

  We got company.

  My eyes widen.

  Who?

  A text bounces back.

  They are walking up the street, two men. I recognizse one of them from Vikinos’s team. Stay where you are.

  I put my head into my hands., Ooh no. This is a disaster. I text back.

  What if the cab leaves?

  A text bounces back.

  Then we are screwed.

  Tell them to hurry the fuck up!!!

  I peer around the door jamb like a mouse and smile sweetly at the bank teller. “Excuse me, I have a plane to catch and I am in a really big hurry. How much longer will it be?”

  “Of course, my apologies. Another teller is just cross checking it now. You are so lucky that we just had a delivery of cash this morning or we wouldn’t have had that amount here for withdrawal.”

  Oh hell, that would have been a disaster. “Okay.” I gesture back to the office. “I will just wait in here.”

  She fakes a smile.

  I sit back down and text Stace.

  Where are they now?

  I watch my phone as I wait for him to answer. I wait and wait.

  What’s he doing? Why is he not answering if he’s sitting in a damn car? My mind goes to last night and how they broke his cheekbone. Cowardly bastards. Who kicks a man in the face at full force when he is fighting another man and has his hands full? I text again.

  What’s going on?

  Answer me!

  No reply. Oh God, this is fucking stressful., I start to perspire. I put my face into my hands. What if they have him? The windows are so black that you can’t see inside the car…. unless, they know what car we have hired. It is a possibility, a strong possibility. Shit.

  The bank teller comes into the office with a large box and starts to unload the money onto the table and her assistant follows her with a note counting machine. They start to count the money out in front of me. I sit still pretending to watch, but my mind is far from money.

  Where is he?

  Why isn’t he answering? I dial his number and it rings a few times.

  “Hi,” he answers, and my heart flips.

  I fake a smile. “Why aren’t you answering your phone, sweetie?” I act nice in front of the bank tellers when all I really want to do is scream at him for worrying me sick.

  “Sorry, I took a call.”

  “Ha, what a time to take a call.” I pretend to laugh.

  “It was my mother,.” hHe snaps. “She was getting worried and I thought I may not be able to talk to her again for a while.”

  My heart drops. “Oh, fair point.” I stand and walk away from the table. “What are we up to?” I speak in code.

  “All good, the cab is still there. Walk out and get straight into it. Continue with the plan.”

  “Okay?” I ask hopefully.

  “It’s still ok, see you soon.”

  “Bye,.” I whisper though my dread.

  I sit for another five minutes as they count the last of the cash and I load it into my small overnight bag. “Thank you.” I smile as I sling the bag over my shoulder.

  I push through the double glass doors and put my head down and go straight to the cab. “Hello, thank you for waiting. Back to the hotel, please.”

  “You took a long time. I nearly leave.”

  “I know, I’m so sorry. I will pay you extra.” I glance through the back window and down the street in front of me., I can’t see anyone suspicious. The cab pulls out into the traffic as my phone beeps another text.

  They have seen you. Keep your head down and stick to the plan.

  I drop my head as fear starts to make me nauseous.

  Holy fuck.

  I see the Ferrari pull out into
the traffic and turn back towards the hotel. The cab comes to a stop at the hotel, and with shaky hands, I pay the driver and get out. I walk straight to the lift and push the button as planned.

  The lift doesn’t come. Why is it taking so long?

  Hurry, please hurry. I watch the numbers above the doors and they are going so slow. I push the buttons again and glance outside to see a car pull up out on the street and two men get out. Ahh, I push the up button on the lift and run into the fire stairs. I take two steps down at a time, nearly frantic. The bag of money is heavy and swinging around and hitting me as I run. I burst through the door at the bottom and see the black Ferrari sitting over by the lift where he is expecting me to come from. I run through the parked cars and open the door and dive into the seat.

  “Go,.” I yell.

  Stace revs the engine and we fly through the parking lot.

  “Come on, faster,.” I yell. “We need to get out of here now.”

  20

  We fly through the underground parking lot and up towards the exit ramp. Stace slides the parking ticket into the machine and the roller door slowly creeps up.

  “Get down,” he says as his eyes flick over to me.

  I nod nervously and bend down over my knees as he drives the car out slowly. “This car was probably a good idea after all.” He turns out of the driveway and onto the street as I watch him from my crumpled hunched position. “They aren’t expecting us to have money. They won’t be looking for this kind of car,” he replies as he drives down the street.

  “Can you see anyone?” I whisper.

  His eyes flicker up to the rear view mirror. “No.” He pauses. “They are still inside the hotel.”

  “Do you think they know that we have the diamonds?” I ask.

  “I doubt it,” he replies as he reaches over and pulls the wig from my head and throws it onto the floor. “The ship is still at sea. Nobody would even know they are gone yet.”

  We drive for a while longer in silence and his eyes continuously flash to the mirrors to check if anyone is following us.

  “See anything?” I ask again.

  “No, it’s okay.” He reaches over and rubs my back and I blow out a breath and shake my head.