Black Girls and Bad Boys: Stealing Loretta (2 page)

“He, he’s not here. I’m in charge.” Her
voice sounded pathetic and she forced some more air into her lungs. “I’m the
manager.” That sounded more convincing. There was no need to confuse matters by
saying she was the assistant manager.

“You?” The taller one looked her up and
down and her throat burned hot.

“Yes. I’m in charge.” He came straight for
her and she resisted the impulse to back away.

He was so big. The other one hadn’t said a
word – this was obviously the boss. She’d have known it just by the swagger in
his walk.

He grabbed her arm above the elbow and she
caught a whiff of his musky aftershave. Not something she should have been
thinking about in the middle of an armed robbery.

Leaning in, he lowered his voice. “You’re
kinda hot for a bank manager.”

It took a while for the words to penetrate
through to her brain. He’d said she was hot. A prickle of excitement ran along
her spine. But he was holding up her bank. At gunpoint.

“Just get on with it,” she muttered under
her breath, but it came out louder than she’d intended and he stared at her
with his clear blue eyes. Blue eyes and dark lashes. The entire morning’s
events flashed across her memory, but then his face crinkled in amusement and
the fear got a little less overwhelming.

“Okay ladies and gentlemen, this is an
armed robbery.” His voice carried clear across the bank. This wasn’t a man who
knew the meaning of self-doubt. “If you all do as you’re told, you’ll get out
of here with nothing more lasting than a nice story to tell the grandkids.”
Turning back to Loretta, he actually winked at her. The cheek!

He headed for the cashiers, dragging her
along by the arm. “Everybody stay down and stay quiet. Your beautiful bank
manager here is going to fill our bags with money and then we’ll be on our
way.” He bundled a pair of cheap black shoulder bags into her hands. “If you’d
be so kind?”

She held her tongue and shoved the bags
under the window. “Melanie, you know what to do.” They all did. If there was a
robbery, you were supposed to hand over the money and wait for them to leave.

Had anyone managed to trip the alarm? She
glanced around, but Tom was down on the floor with everybody else and she
couldn’t catch his eye. It didn’t matter much now. The men in the balaclavas
seemed pretty capable. Surely they wouldn’t be hanging around long enough for
the police to turn up.

“You get the cash,” he called back over his
shoulder, “we’re going out to the safety deposit boxes.”

“No.”

The broad-chested thief smiled down at her.
“Sorry, you don’t get to say no.” He pulled her over to the security door.
“Enter the code.”

She shook her head. “No.” Money was one
thing – all the deposits were insured up to a limit. But there were heirlooms
and irreplaceable items in those locked boxes. Looking down at the floor, she
steeled herself for his reaction.

Something hard nudged her in the ribs and
she slowly came to the understanding that he was holding the gun against her.

“Please.”

“Sorry, sweetheart. I need as much as I can
get. Open the door.”

Loretta hesitated, but when it came down to
it she wasn’t willing to die for other people’s possessions. She tapped in the
first two numbers, but then her mind went blank.

“Come on.”

“I’m trying.” Her voice broke and he eased
up with the gun.

“Okay, okay.” He pointed the weapon at the
floor. “Take a few deep breaths. It’ll come to you.”

She closed her eyes and tried not to think
about the guns or all the customers and workers who could get hurt if she
didn’t give him what he wanted. The last two numbers dropped into her head and
she typed them in.

The latch clicked and he pushed her through
the door in front of him.

Jordan’s day kept on getting better. There
hadn’t been any mention of a foxy black bank manager in the reconnaissance for
the job. And he certainly hadn’t seen her on any of his planning visits.

Her perfect skin was the colour of soft
brown sugar. And her eyes... They were a shade lighter and piercing enough to
make him believe she could see right through all the macho bullshit that was
his stock in trade.

Then there was her berry-brown pout. Plump,
luscious lips that begged to be kissed.

He wouldn’t have forgotten a woman like
that in a hurry.

Raiding the safety deposit boxes was an
optional and risky part of the heist. Had he decided to go for it because it
meant being alone with her?

There’d been some serious sparks back there
when she’d met his eye. And she was a feisty little thing.

But nothing could happen. Even if she
wanted it to. This was work.

“Keys?”

She pulled a key ring off her belt. Having
the keys on her like that didn’t seem like bank protocol, but hell, it made
things easier for him.

“What’s your name?” He was trying to behave
himself, but it just slipped out.

She looked at him with her big hazel eyes.
Most women would have been scared witless, but not her. She was wary, careful –
all the sensible things – but not scared. Interesting.

“Okay, don’t tell me.”

He watched her open the door to the safe
room and gestured for her to go in first. “Let’s get into some of these.” It
would be foolish to hang around for more than an extra couple of minutes, but
those two minutes might be all he needed to hit the jackpot.

“Why don’t you just take the money and go?”
She stood in the middle of the room, her uniform navy pencil skirt not quite
frumpy enough to hide the shapely curve of her ass. She wasn’t as busty as
Gina, but it looked like she had a tight little body under that acrylic jacket
and stripy blouse. All she needed was a pair of glasses and she’d be the
perfect ugly duckling fantasy.

He’d be more than happy to take off those
glasses, let down her hair and show her just how beautiful she really was.

Jesus, Jordan. Keep your mind on the
job.

“What does it matter to you? Why do you
care if some rich guy has his diamonds stolen?”

“I could lose my job.” She folded her arms
and stood her ground.

“They wouldn’t fire you over this. They
don’t expect you to stand between an armed robber and a few boxes.”

“You don’t know that.”

“For crying out loud, woman.” He didn’t
want to threaten her with the gun again. There was still a bad taste in his
mouth from the last time. “Just open a damn box!”

She looked at the gun pointing harmlessly
down at the floor. He’d left himself with nowhere to go.

“Look, there’s a lot of money upstairs. You
got here before lunchtime so there’s plenty in the tills. Take it. The police
will be here soon. Just take it and go.”

Damn her. Why couldn’t she have been a
typical grey middle-aged man who didn’t give a shit? “Maybe I will.” He moved
closer and picked up the faint floral scent of her perfume.

If she wouldn’t let him into the safety
deposit boxes, he’d just have to take something else.

“What are you doing?” She took a step
backwards.

“You want me to take the cash and nothing
else?”

“Yes. There’s more than—”

“Make it worth my while.” He stepped closer
and she backed away.

“What?”

“One little kiss and I’ll go back out
there, take the bags and leave.”

She stared into his eyes. Now that he
looked closer, there were flecks of darker brown in the hazel of her irises. It
was a shame they hadn’t met under different circumstances. If he’d run across
her in a bar he’d have bought her a drink and given her his best line in chat.

But he had a feeling she was enjoying the
rush of an armed robbery.

“No!”

He stepped up to her again. This time, she
didn’t move away.

“One kiss.” His gaze fell to her full lips.
Gina was usually drenched in lip-gloss, but the bank manager’s lips were
tantalisingly bare.

“One kiss and you’ll go?” Her voice dropped
to a low murmur that made the breath catch in his throat.

He nodded, getting closer still. She was
even prettier at a second glance. Her lips parted ever so slightly. She was
thinking about it. Why did he get the impression she was one of those quiet
ones you were supposed to watch?

“Okay.”

So she was a naughty girl after all. He
swooped in before she decided to change her mind. At the last moment, he went
in softly, pressing his lips gently to hers.

She was so tender, it was like nothing he’d
imagined. A tiny sigh escaped her and it went straight to his crotch. She was
driving him crazy.

He kissed her harder, pushing his tongue
between her lips. She welcomed him in and a multitude of questions sprang up in
his mind.

This was not the way bank managers were
supposed to kiss.

Their bodies weren’t even touching, but he
was reeling. If just a kiss from her could have such an effect, what would it
be like to take her to bed?

The alarm on his phone went off, bringing
him back down to earth.

When he moved away from her, the room
lurched. She still had her eyes closed.

“Time to go, I’m afraid. No rest for the
wicked.” He turned on his heel and went back out to find Danny.

***

T
he robber was almost through the door
before Loretta’s brain caught up with the rest of her. She could still smell
his aftershave on her top lip. What was she supposed to do now? She followed
after him at a safe distance and watched him take a bulging bag from his
accomplice.

When they left without a second glance she
should have been relieved, but she found herself wondering how he could have
kissed her like that and then walked away as if nothing had happened.

What was she thinking? The kiss should
never have happened in the first place. She’d only gone along with it to stop
him taking anything from the safety deposit.

But was that the whole truth?

Tom came over and put a hand on her arm,
making her jump. “I pressed the alarm while they were filling their bags.”

“Oh. Good.”

“And I think someone’s called the police.”

She nodded, still trying to process what
had taken place. “Can you go and wait on the door? Stop people coming and
going.” Now it was over, her legs felt boneless. She managed to make it to the
customer service desk and into a chair before she crumpled in a heap.

Someone placed a cup of tea in front of her
– she couldn’t remember who or when. A few minutes later, the police arrived
and started taking statements.

Loretta gave her account of events to a
sympathetic female officer. She left out the part about the kiss. There was
nothing to be gained by going over that again. Not to mention how mortified
she’d be if Sean Thomas found out.

No. Those were five minutes she’d take to
her grave with her. It had been a reaction to the shock of the robbery. Her
life had been in danger.

But then she remembered the way he’d
carefully pointed his gun at the floor. He’d never intended to hurt her.

That didn’t excuse him from armed robbery.

The police finished up and people started
to leave. Where the hell was her boss? A sudden burst of anger put her on her
feet. That lazy sod was out doing who knew what while she had to deal with
robbers and guns and the police.

“Okay everybody, we’re closing for the
day.” She’d wait until Sean came back and then leave herself. He could hang
around for the forensics team to turn up.

The last of the customers drifted away and
everyone else got their things from the staff room. Loretta fetched her handbag
from her office and waited by the door.

***

W
ith their firearms stashed away and their
balaclavas gone, Jordan and Danny looked pretty inconspicuous walking into the
shoe-shop next to the bank. Ursino had made a small investment to make sure the
security cameras wouldn’t be working in there.

There was no need to tell Danny to keep his
cool. Thank god they didn’t have Bill to worry about.

“Well, that went pretty smoothly.” Danny
cracked a smile for the first time that day and Jordan slapped him on the back.
They changed out of their black jackets into colourful green and red ones.
They’d agreed to split up for the next part. Jordan went first, walking out of
the side entrance and out into the shopping centre. Danny would catch up with
him in the car park.

He wasn’t handing the cash over to Ursino
until that evening so he had to stash it in a safe place for the meantime.

As he strolled past the shop windows,
Jordan felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. It was bound to be Gina. He
brought the mobile out and sure enough there was a text from the lovely lady
scrolling over the display.

Are you done yet? How about lunch? And
then we could get some food.

She just didn’t stop. His thumb hovered
over the screen lock. More sex would be good right about now – his blood was up
from the robbery and he had an abundance of nervous energy.

His mind went back to the bank. To the bank
manager and her irresistible lips.

He put the phone away.

Yes, he was horny. But he didn’t want to
screw Gina. And there was something he could do about that.

––––––––

L
oretta had a clear view of the high street
from where she was standing, so she spotted Sean coming long before he noticed
anything was wrong.

His expression grew more sour the closer he
got to the bank. “Where is everyone?” he asked when he reached her.

“We’ve been robbed. The police have been
and gone.” She stepped outside, holding the door for him.

“What are you talking about?” He swapped
places with her without thinking.

“While you were out, there was an armed
robbery. They cleared the tills.” She clammed up, remembering how the gun had
felt pressed into her ribs.

“You let them take the money?” His face
puckered and her last nerve gave way.

“That’s what we’re supposed to do, in case
you’ve forgotten. Or would you rather they’d shot me?” Her hands curled into
fists and her chest got tight. “Look, I’m going. You’ll have to wait for
forensics.”

“Forensics?”

She sighed, tears gathering at the edges of
her eyelids. Explaining it to him was more than she was capable of. She needed
to go home. Actually, she needed a stiff drink. “Not now, Sean. Please.”

She made to leave, but he caught her by the
arm. “You can’t go. This is your fault.”

“My fault—”

“Just wait till head office find out.”

Anger filled her head, squeezing out her
ability to speak. She stood there, just looking at him, remembering all the
times he’d palmed his work off on her and invaded her personal space.

A switch flipped somewhere inside her. She
didn’t need to take this any more. He was nothing more than a bully and he only
got away with it because she let him.

Well, he was right about one thing – she
certainly hadn’t got what she wanted by being nice. That robber knew what he
was doing – he didn’t work for anything or ask nicely, he just took. So maybe
she should stop being such a goody-goody.

She opened and closed her mouth, thinking
of all the things she could say to him.

And then she came up with the perfect
retort.

“If you want to make trouble at head
office, I think they’d be very interested to know where you were. And I think
they’d like to hear the recordings I’ve got of you sexually harassing me.”

Now it was time for him to stand there in
silence.

“You should come to the conference with me,
Loretta,” she mocked. “It would be so good for your career prospects.”

“You didn’t record that. I don’t believe
you.”

“Fine. You tell them how it was all my
fault and I’ll play them something they won’t forget in a hurry.”

He spluttered, began to say something then
changed his mind.

“I’m leaving now.” She turned her back on him
and didn’t give him another glance.

Of course she didn’t have any recordings.
Nice girls didn’t do things like that.

She didn’t know how she managed to walk
away when her whole body was numb, but she did it with her head held high and a
nervous grin twitching her lips. Had she really said those things? That pitiful
excuse for a boss had more than deserved it.

With a few gallons of adrenaline pumping
through her system, going home was no longer on the agenda. She’d just lived
through a dangerous robbery and got one over on the lecherous Sean Thomas. An
afternoon working on Edna wouldn’t quite cut it after the highs and lows of the
day so far.

There was one of those basement bars
nearby, she was sure of it. But where exactly? As she walked on, she scanned the
street for somewhere to stop. The thought crossed her mind that it was too
early for that sort of place to be open, but then she imagined men in suits at
boozy business lunches and felt more optimistic.

She caught sight of some steps on the other
side of the road. It looked like the bar she remembered. Looking up and down
the street, she tried to find a place to cross. A gap opened up in the traffic,
but before she had the chance to take advantage of it, someone collided with
her and she ended up flat on her ass.

“I’m so sorry.” Strong hands pulled her to
her feet. She looked up into a pair of clear blue eyes that made her heart
lurch.

“It’s okay.” She brushed herself off and
turned to cross the road.

“No, it’s not okay. I’m so clumsy. Let me
make it up to you.”

She glanced back at him. “Don’t worry about
it.” What was it with her and men? They were either pointing a gun at her,
making indecent suggestions or knocking her down.

“Wait, please.”

But the cars had thinned out and there was
a chance to get to the bar. “Really, it’s fine.” She stepped out into the road.

He came with her.

“I insist. You’re on your lunch, right?”

Breaking into a jog, she made it over to
the other side. He was quite handsome in a rugged sort of way. Lots of dark
hair and a five o’clock shadow. Tall and broad.

But he was too pushy. What kind of man
behaved like that?

She ignored him and walked down the steps
to the bar.

Of course, he followed her.

Despite walking past it countless times,
Loretta had never actually set foot in Under the Table before. The decor was a
lot better than she’d imagined – monochrome and minimalist instead of red
leather and sticky floors.

The place was busy enough for her not to
feel too uncomfortable about him coming with her. Several groups of people were
dotted around the various booths and tables, but the bar itself was bare of
customers. She headed straight for it and climbed onto a stool.

The barman came over and gave her a subdued
smile. What did she want? She never drank this early in the day.

“A rum and coke, please.”

He served it up and the man from the street
held out a crisp ten pound note.

She thought about protesting, but what was
the point? If she stayed quiet, he might get bored and leave her alone.

“You work at the bank, don’t you?”

“Yes.” That much was obvious from her
outfit.

“I didn’t think they let you drink at
lunch.”

She gulped down half of the rum and coke.
The alcohol burned pleasantly at the back of her throat. Swivelling on her
stool, she gave him another look. Being objective, he was a good looking guy.

But not as irresistible as he thought he
was.

The rum hit her bloodstream, loosening her
up. “Today’s a special occasion – we got held up so I get the rest of the day
off.”

“Seriously?”

She nodded.

“Jesus. Were you there?”

“Yep.” She finished the drink and asked for
another, getting her purse out before he could pay for that one too. Now that
she’d mentioned the robbery, it was very tempting to tell him everything.

“I’m Jordan, by the way.” He held out his
hand.

She looked him up and down, then decided
there was no harm in shaking it.

Strong grip, big hand.

She imagined telling this man she didn’t
know that she’d just kissed a bank robber and stifled a giggle.

“What?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

He ordered himself a whiskey mac.

“So you don’t have work this afternoon
either then?”

“No.”

She thought to ask what he did, but it was
such a boring question. “Any plans?”

“Well,” he smiled and a twinkle came into
those lovely blue eyes. “I was hoping I could persuade a certain attractive
lady to have lunch with me. If she hasn’t already eaten.”

She wished she had some smart quip ready to
feed him. Flirting was one of those things she’d never quite mastered. “I
should go home.”

“Says who?”

It was too hard not to smile. Men never
came on to her. Well, not men like this anyway.

“You didn’t tell me your name.”

“Loretta.”

“Loretta. Hmm.” He pulled his stool a
little closer to hers. “So. What’s your answer?”

“Sorry, I can’t.”

“Am I coming on too strong?”

Yes.
She
shook her head and took another sip of her drink.

“What can I say to tempt you?”

She looked him right in the eye. He’d
already tempted her. He was a very tempting man. But she shouldn’t. Nice
girls didn’t go for lunch with strange men they’d bumped into in the street.

“What’s on the menu?”

“What do you fancy?” That twinkle was still
firmly in his eye. He was a bad boy. She could tell.

“What’s good after being held up at
gunpoint?”

He laughed. “I think that calls for steak
and oysters.”

She drained the last of her drink and
plonked it down on the bar rather harder than she’d meant to. “I know a place
that does great steak.”

What had being a nice girl ever done for
her?

***

P
icking up the sexy bank manager had been
easier than he’d expected. She must have been buzzing from the robbery too.

Life and death situations are always the
best aphrodisiac. She’d never been in any real danger, but she didn’t know that
and now she wanted to seize her destiny with both hands. He’d seen it happen
before.

The important thing was to keep the
situation moving and avoid giving her the time to stop and think about what she
was doing. There was enough of the sensible businesswoman about her to throw
things off track if she got the chance to be rational about this.

But Jordan knew what he was doing. With the
right amount of flattery and alcohol she’d be begging him to take her back to
his place. There was plenty of time to seal the deal before he had to worry
about Gina or her father. The cash was safely hidden away and Ursino wasn’t
expecting him till seven.

Actually, Loretta’s place might be better –
no chance of Gina turning up there unannounced.

“It’s not far from here.”

“Hmm?”

“The restaurant. It’s not far.” She gave
him an uncertain smile.

“Good. I’m starving. You?”

“I... I suppose I am too.” All the certainty
she’d had when they left the bar was gone.

“Are you okay?”

She shrugged.

“I can’t even begin to imagine what it must
have been like for you – having a gun pointed at you.”

She didn’t say anything, didn’t look at
him. All she did was put one foot in front of the other.

“Look, you don’t have to come for lunch if
you don’t want to. I just thought you might appreciate the distraction.” It was
a risky strategy, but she was on the verge of leaving anyway.

“No. No, you’re right.”

“I don’t like to see a stunning,
intelligent woman upset.”

The smile she gave him wasn’t very broad,
but it was better than her previous attempt.

“I mean it.”

“You’re terrible, do you know that?” But
she was warming to him, it was there in the way she walked a little closer.

“I’m not going to apologise for finding you
attractive.”

She put a nervous hand up to smooth her
hair.

Jordan had a sudden flash of inspiration
and stopped walking. “I know what’ll cheer you up.”

“What?”

“Lunch first.”

She half squinted at him. He got ready for
the questions, but she didn’t ask any.

Wow. Gina would have nagged him until all
the joy drained out of the surprise and they were both in a bad mood.

“Here we are.”

Oh crap. It was that fancy French
restaurant he’d heard about. Just as well he’d robbed a bank that afternoon.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have any of the money on him. “You been here before?”
he asked as he followed her inside.

“No. I heard it was expensive.”

Yeah, me too.
And now he couldn’t ask to split the bill without sounding cheap.
Oh well, it would have to go on the credit card. A few more jobs and he
wouldn’t need to worry about cash for a while. “My treat, of course.”

“Why, thank you.” There was more than a
hint of mischief in her smile. She’d brought him to the priciest restaurant in
town on purpose. He had no one to blame but himself.