Chapter Two

The next morning when I opened my door, I was met by Ivan with a wrapped breakfast sandwich in hand. 

 

“Thank you.” I said politely as I resisted digging in right away.  

 

“Do you have everything you need?” He asked as he strode briskly through the stone hallway, not waiting for me to catch up.

 

“I think so.” I panted out, already exhausted from hauling around my hospital in a bag and my fifty pound uniform. Once outside in the cool morning air, I felt a little better. With no heavy sun beating down on me I should be ok heat wise. I only hoped we would back before it started raining too heavily. The only thing worse than a uniform was a wet uniform. 

 

We all loaded up. Ivan, Alejandro, Julius, and a few others I didn’t know were in the back with me, Scott, and Barnabas in the front. When Scott started driving I finally let the salty mixture of eggs and bacon touch my tongue, savoring every cheesy bite. Julius was eying me up and down as I ate.  

 

“Hungry?” I mocked.  

 

“Not for a sandwich.” He smirked. It was a threat. An empty one. Still, Ivan's chest rumbled with a warning.  

 

“Forgive my brother, Ivan. He skipped breakfast this morning.” Alejandro explained.  

 

“And you thought that to be a wise decision before a job?” He glared at Julius. 

 

I watched as they took turns staring into each other's eyes. Sending images and messages to each other with only their mind. Alejandro and Julius didn’t trust me. They didn’t really seem to trust anyone but Ivan actually.  I couldn't really blame them though because I was in the same boat. All we had between us was familiarity, not friendship. Working together cordially, but not by choice. Ivan was the glue that held us together and he ironically didn’t trust any of us in return. 

 

“Remember, do not leave the scope of the department store. I’ve only hacked into their cameras and the internal ones of the bank. If someone runs let them run, we have insurance if we need to deal with cops, but we don’t have time to hack into another system.” Ivan warned us as Scott pulled up in front of a cute little storefront. One I may have been tempted to go shopping at under different circumstances.  

 

The mannequin was wearing a charming pink summer dress. Picnic baskets and blankets were displayed all around her and I longed for a life that would allow me to experience something so normal. To sit on the soft grass out in the open. Watch the birds fly by and the fish jump in a lake. All while sitting close to a loved one who gives you his jacket when the cool night air starts to come in. 

 

Barnabas opened the back of the van and we all filed out. The men much more quickly and agile than me. Even if I wasn’t weighed down, I could never compete with their speed and grace. I stumbled into the store behind them and was met with people screaming and crying, terrified that Ivan's gun would find them to be a target. One woman was so terrified she ran right into a display case. Two poor men were showered in perfumes and cologne as the case crashed down around them. My eyes lingered on the one. He was blond, muscular, and super hot. I was destined to be single so there was no use getting my hopes up. After all, what was I going to do? Ask Ivan to bring him home for me? 

 

The store smelled terrible because of the crash, but I could manage. I felt bad for my crew though with their heightened sense of smell. This worked to my advantage though. Any small nicks of blood would easily be masked by the fragrances of Chanel and Calvin Klein.  

 

A sharp pain in my head distracted me as I attempted to take off my heavy backpack. Not being able to twist my arm around enough it had got caught in my hair. Thankful for an excuse to take off my thick wool toque I shook my tangled hair out. When I looked up I was staring straight into a set of misty blue eyes that momentarily took my breath away. The blond who was covered in perfume was looking at me like he had never seen a woman before. 

 

Butterflies.  

 

I had never felt them before. Well, I had, but in an “I might die soon” kind of way, never like this. Quickly I turned and focused on my backpack. I reminded myself of what Ivan said. That we don’t get to choose our destiny. If I could though, perhaps this man would be the one to give me his jacket on the grass. 

 

There was a soft whimper of pain from the crowd and my stomach tightened. Standard job I muttered to myself. Forgetting about my bag I turned to the crowd to see who was in pain. Then I saw her. A young woman clutching onto her large round stomach. My own stomach twisted tighter and I felt like I was about to throw up. This was bad, this was very very bad. Pushing through the crowd toward the woman I asked the question that would make or break this heist, 

 

“When are you due?"