Rain “Rebel” Crawford #2
Every bump in the road sent pain shooting through my arm. I clenched my jaw so hard it felt like my teeth were about to crack, but I refused to slow down.
“You’ve been bleeding this whole damn time,” Dice said after stealing a glance in my direction.
“I’ll live.”
“Bullshit,” she snapped. “Soon as we get back, I’m stitching your ass up.”
I laughed despite the pain. “You volunteering?”
“Hell no. I’m making Kash do it.”
“The fuck I am,” Kash shot back. “She can cry to Crow”
“I don’t cry.”
“The hell you don’t,” Dice laughed.
Even with police on our asses and millions of dollars behind us, we still found a reason to clown each other. That’s who we were. Then red and blue lights flooded the street behind us.
“Damn,” Dice muttered. “These niggas serious.”
I looked in my mirror. “They gaining.”
“They ain’t catching shit,” Kash replied confidently. “Stay tight.”
Without another word, the three of us tucked lower over our handlebars and twisted our throttles harder. Our motorcycles screamed as we picked up speed. The lead cruiser tried to squeeze between Kash and Dice.
“Watch this,” Dice grinned.
Without panicking, she yanked her handlebars just enough to close the gap. The cruiser had no choice but to slam on its brakes before clipping her rear tire.
“Dumbass,” she laughed.
“Kash, left!” I shouted.
“I see it.”
A delivery truck suddenly pulled into the intersection, but while most people would’ve slammed on the brakes, we didn’t.
Kash leaned first, squeezing through the narrow opening between the truck and a parked SUV.
I trusted her with my life, so I didn’t hesitate to lean right behind her.
Dice followed close behind me, barely clearing the truck’s bumper by a few inches.
“Shit!” she laughed. “That was fun!”
“You need help,” I said.
“I’ve been needing help.”
Behind us, tires screeched. One of the cruisers couldn’t make the same move. It clipped the truck’s bumper before spinning into the middle of the intersection.
“One down,” Kash said calmly.
The celebration didn’t last long.
“More coming,” I warned after looking in my mirror.
Three more cruisers had joined the chase.
“They called for backup,” Dice groaned.
“I’d call for backup too if three fine-ass women just robbed a bank,” Kash joked.
Despite everything, we burst out laughing.
That was us. We could be staring death in the face and still find something to laugh about.
After another twenty minutes of weaving through back roads, abandoned neighborhoods, and streets only people from Magnolia Valley knew existed, the flashing blue lights finally disappeared from our mirrors.
“I think we lost ‘em,” Dice said, finally easing off the throttle.
“They would’ve been on us by now if we didn’t,” Kash replied.
Kash took the lead, guiding us through a maze of narrow roads before turning onto an old gravel path hidden behind a row of abandoned warehouses.
Thick trees swallowed us as we rode deeper into the property until a weathered metal gate came into view.
Then Kash tapped a button mounted beneath her handlebars.
The gate slowly rolled open. One by one, we rode inside before it closed behind us.
The safehouse looked like any other rundown warehouse from the outside, but that was the point. Nobody would ever guess millions of dollars had passed through those walls. The moment we killed our engines, silence settled over us.
For the first time since we walked into the bank, I could finally breathe. Dice climbed off her motorcycle first and ripped the silicone mask from her face.
“Damn, I couldn’t wait to get this damn thing off.”
Kash pulled hers off next, shaking her blond bob before walking straight toward me.
“Let me see your arm.”
“I’m fine.”
“The blood running down your sleeve says otherwise.”
I looked down and sighed. “Shit.”
Dice walked over and lightly smacked the back of my head. “You always trying to play tough.”
“I am tough.”
“You also got shot.”
Before I could argue again, Kash grabbed my injured arm and carefully pulled my hand away from the wound. Blood immediately soaked through the torn sleeve.
“Damn,” Dice muttered. “That ain’t no scratch.”
“I said I’m good.”
“The hell you are,” Kash replied. “Sit your stubborn ass down.”
For once, I listened.
The three of us made our way inside the warehouse, where Crow was already waiting near a folding table talking to Donnie and Declan. The moment Crow saw the blood, his expression hardened.
“Who the fuck shot Rain?”
“I’m alright,” I answered.
“I wasn’t asking you,” he said before turning to face me. “What happened?”
“A bullet grazed me,” I said.
Crow jaw tightened. “It wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“It didn’t,” I replied with a small smile. “I’m still standing.”
He looked like he wanted to argue, but instead he slowly nodded and then kissed my lips.
Dice dropped onto the couch with a tired groan. “Can somebody please get me a damn drink?”
Donnie laughed. “You asking or demanding?”
“I’m exhausted. Figure it out,” Dice pursed her lips.
Kash disappeared and came back carrying a first-aid kit. “Roll your sleeve up.”
I let out an exaggerated sigh. “I hate all of y’all.”
Dice laughed. “No, you don’t.”
I still couldn’t believe we actually took down the infamous Ross Savings & Loan. After everything it took to get there, that was one hell of a way to end our final ride.