17. Sammie
17
SAMMIE
W e hadn’t expected to hit the Cartel tonight but we aren’t the type to ignore when fate is shining on us.
Plus, what’s a girls trip without taking down our enemy?
When we got to the casino and saw a high stakes game being set up we instantly went into work mode.
Tessa had made sure that we had an escape route setup, in case things got bad and we needed to make a quick exit out of there.
Maddie had gone back to the house, grabbing her laptop and renting a room in the casino hotel. Once she was set up, she had hacked into the camera system.
This allowed us to go over how many people were in the room and figure out how to get Ilaria in there to play.
A few clicks later she had everything settled.
She made sure to hack into the cameras so that others couldn’t view it from anywhere except her laptop or whatever control room they had. Once the game was over she would wipe away the evidence.
Becca had sweet talked her way behind the bar, laughing with the bartender as he taught her to make drinks that she already knew how to make. Drinks she was carefully dosing as they were carried towards the room.
Ilaria had presented the fake ID she used along with a fat stack of cash so that she could get accepted at the table.
And me?
I was the muscle in the operation if things went bad. But I was also very good at making the others security forget about their jobs and focus on me.
The dress I had picked out was doing work for me, hugging my curves as I sashayed closer to the group of men who were smoking and talking to each other in low voices.
Ilaria had sat down at the table twenty minutes ago and we were supposed to be in and out in one hour.
The plan was that the drinks should really hit the men about forty five minutes in. At that point Ilaria should be up enough that when she walks out of the room with the winnings we wipe the footage and get out of there.
After we leave we drop the money at her house and party.
We’re all on operation cheer up Ilaria because her mafia father got her engaged to the son of the Boston family.
We never told Ilaria that we know about her family. Her mother had told us when she is ready to talk about it she would be open up about it. So far she keeps that secret close and we all just let her think we have no idea about it.
Whatever helps her sleep at night.
“You lost, chica?” The man is a few inches taller than me and covered in black and gray tattoos. I can’t see them all because of his black t-shirt and dark pants but,I wonder if I ask very nicely if he will let me see.
Can I even do nice?
Whatever .
Smiling, I tilt my head, smiling at the man in a way that gets his attention.
Staring at him for a second longer than I should as he runs his tongue along the paper of his blunt to seal it. I’m thinking very impure thoughts about this man and wondering if I fuck him in the bathroom if that would be enough distraction.
No .
Focus, Sammie.
Can’t fuck him in the bathroom.
“No,” I finally answer, “I think I’m right where I’m supposed to be.” He smirks at this, holding up the joint he just rolled like he’s offering to share.
“You want to go outside with me?”
Not really.
“Sure.” I respond, following him out a side door, making sure to kick down the stopper so I can sneak back in without any trouble.
Men are simple creatures.
They haven’t developed in the last hundred years so you can expect them to do the same shit over and over again. Fall for the same tricks every time. They’re predictable creatures.
Which makes it easy when he leans in close to me, licking his lips and trying to be seductive.
Ugh .
My hand comes out, catching him in the throat and making him choke. The joint falling to the ground as he tries to catch his breath from how I took him by surprise. He won’t.
I press my fingers into his pressure point, watching him crumble and pass out.
One down. Nine to go.
I don’t really have to take out any of the security. As long as they don’t interfere it’s not a big deal to let them hang around.
They didn’t see Ilaria go in and they won’t see her come out because she will use the service entrance that I know Tessa is already waiting at to help her escape.
Checking my phone I see we’re running on time.
By now Becca is gone from behind the bar, already in the car and ready to take off. There is about ten minutes left in this card game and we can leave.
Most of the guards aren’t paying attention still and none of them have noticed they’re down one.
Of course they haven’t.
My hands itch and I pull out a cigarette, lighting up as I move over to the bar playing the fit in game so that I don’t have to stand around anymore.
I order a gin and tonic, paying in cash.
Can’t leave a trail for them to find us.
My mind goes back to our first time playing this game against the Cartel.
We had been in college still, Becca had just lost her boyfriend and was a shell of herself.
We wanted her back. Wanted revenge on the people who had taken her away from us. Wanted to see her smile again.
It wasn’t about her boyfriend who had gotten himself mixed up with the wrong people. Honestly, really didn’t even like the guy when I met him and knew that Becca deserved way better.
I don’t like many men after-
Not letting my mind go to that subject.
Ilaria had always been good at cards. Maddie was a genius with computers. Becca was the potion master. Tessa and I had always been violent.
So we made our own little girl gang. A sort of Robin Hood where we take from the Cartel and donate to charities that benefit women around the world.
Of course we keep a portion of the money too so that we can live too.
Taking from them made us feel good and gave Becca a purpose. It made her smile again and we kept doing it even after she didn’t need help smiling anymore.
What do people say?
Bad habits die hard.
My phone vibrates.
Meet at the car
Maddie must see me drinking in one of the cameras so I lift my glass towards it, saluting before downing my drink and standing to walk away.
None of the guys know their bosses are passed out in the card room or too fucked up to alert them that something has gone very wrong.
Dummies.
I’m slinking out the door, walking calmly so not to alert anyone that something is wrong but also keeping my eyes peeled to make sure that nothing is wrong.
Maddie is deleting the footage from the card games right now and then following the trail of us from the hotel. She will leave her room in about thirty seconds, deleting her own trail in live time until she is in the car with us.
When we get home she’ll scour for traffic cams and anywhere that might have gotten a glimpse of us. She’s very good at what she does.
Turning the corner, I see the getaway car.
Becca is in the back with Maddie, who has her laptop out as she cleans up, and I slide in beside them. They smirk, the tension from what we’re doing a mix of excitement and fear in the vehicle.
We’ve never been caught yet and there is something about it that makes it harder to be afraid of when we do.
Tessa and Ilaria get in the front, a big bag that I know is full of money on Ilaria’s lap.
“Good night?” I tease, getting a smile from my friend.
We had started doing this to get Becca to smile but it seems that Ilaria is the one that needs to now.
She nods her head, her thumb running absently over the empty ring finger. Her engagement ring is locked up at her fathers house because she was afraid someone would try and start something if they saw it.
Really she is attached to it and refuses to admit that she might GASP have actual feelings.
Ilaria is the only one in the car that hasn’t been in love before.
There’s something beautiful in the idea that she can fall in love with someone for the first time in her life now that she is a bit older and has the space for it.
I wasn’t ready for it. The intensity of it. The flames of it. The poison. The pain.
Love is a lot of things but mostly it’s not for me.
For my friends I’d love to see them in love.
Sure, we love each other and that fulfills me enough in some ways but each of my girls deserves that nauseating happily ever after that you see in books.
Maddie deserves someone that isn’t afraid of how smart she is. Who sees that she is beautiful but also sharp, deadly in her knowledge. Someone that isn’t afraid of being with a woman who is always going to have an edge on them.
Tessa deserves a man who uses his hands to hold and cherish her. There have been too many men who had touched her and ripped her apart with their rage. She deserves a man with patience and laughter in his eyes to bring out the laughter in hers.
Becca deserves someone who won’t back down from a fight. Someone with spine who can protect her and cherish her. Her ex had just gotten them in trouble and almost killed because he was greedy. She needs someone who is only greedy in the way that they love her. She deserves a second chance at that forever love.
Ilaria deserves a love that understands her world. Someone who gets that her family and friends are taking up so much of her heart but they’re happy to share that with her. She deserves someone who will give her passion and a lifetime of joy.
And me?
I deserve a drink after tonight.
As we pull up to the house I can see the way my friends are looking at me and I know we’re about to have a very wild girls night.