Hustler_A Second Chance Romance Read online

  I walked out with the money clutched in my hand and Jason hot on my heels. We got in the car and I drove him home, lecturing him on how he didn’t need to be going anywhere. He had homework that needed to get done and extra studying for the history class he was struggling with. I made him promise me that he’d stay put this time and threw him a few bills to order us a pizza for dinner. Then I traveled into town to look for our target.

  City Central was the biggest bank in Tell City, which wasn’t saying much since the town’s population was only seventy-five hundred. Luckily, it was surrounded by long roads that led far across the flatlands. Getting in and out with the money would be the hardest part of the job. Once we were clear of the bank and on the road, we should be able to get away to our stash spot without much trouble.

  I parked the car and took a deep breath before I walked on in. I spotted the teller Kenneth was talking about and I walked straight to him. I should spell his first week nerves from a mile away. No one was in his line and he looked like a fucking deer in headlights.

  My head was on a swivel as I clocked where all the cameras in the place were, without being too obvious about it.

  “Hello, sir. My name is Trevor. How may I assist you today?”

  “I’ve got some money I’d like to use to open a savings account for myself,” I said.

  “That’s a very smart financial move. Have you thought about investing it? Making your money work for you?” Trevor asked.

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself Trevor, just start with opening the savings account.”

  My head whipped up at the sound of a familiar voice, sultry and commanding, with rumbling tones that clenched my gut.

  I saw her walk behind my teller and our eyes connected instantly.

  I’d never forget those seafoam eyes. Grace and I dated years ago in high school, we had a hot and heavy relationship. I took her virginity, and then I fucked it all up. I was a reckless kid from the wrong side of town. Always getting into trouble. She broke up with me when I wouldn’t drop my self-destructive ways.

  She was waiting for me to change, but I didn’t.

  Not because I didn’t want her.

  She was and always would be the girl. No one ever came close to Grace.

  Grace had big dreams and I knew that having me around her life would be nothing but bad news.

  She deserved more. Better.

  And now, here she was. Working at the fucking bank my crew and I were planning to raid.

  Fuck.

  Fuck!

  Fuck you Kenneth!

  I should have put my foot down and done my due diligence before walking in this place.

  “Ryan?” she asked. “Is that you?”

  “Long time no see,” I said, with a grin.

  “You look good,” she said.

  Her eyes ran down my form and I felt my cock stiffen against my jeans. Damn it, she’d always had that effect on me.

  “A savings account it is, then,” Trevor said.

  “Actually, I’ll help him in my office,” Grace said. “Follow me?”

  She lead the way back to her office and I couldn’t help but enjoy the view as I watched her pace to her desk, in a sexy black pair of heals.

  By some fucking miracle, I also managed to case the back of the bank.

  They didn’t have many cameras despite the money they supposedly kept in this place. One security guard at the main door and no one at the back door. There was a black door that looked to have some sort of keypad someone had to use in order to gain entrance, and I assumed that was where the vault was.

  “Come on in,” Grace said. “Have a seat.”

  My cocked stiffened even more hearing her taking charge. We were now alone in her office. Just me and the women whose virginity I’d take years ago. I returned the favor by giving her my heart and soul, before I royally fucked it all up.

  I had a criminal mind, so I couldn’t help but look at Grace’s desk and see a small lock down button at her side. That would be a bit harder to get past. That meant I had to assume all of these back offices had lockdown buttons, which meant our timing had to be perfect. If one person pressed that button, it was game-fucking-over.

  “You look good too, Grace,” I said, sitting across from her.

  “It’s been what, eight years?” she asked.

  “Sounds about right,” I said.

  My eyes scanned her desk and it fell to a picture of her and a cute little girl who looked just like her, right down to the damn dimples. Light green eyes, dark brown hair, a broad smile and chubby little cheeks.

  “She’s beautiful,” I said, motioning toward the picture. “Yours?”

  Grace nodded, a brief flash of something I couldn’t quite name registering in her eyes and fleeing again just as quickly. “She’s five,” Grace said.

  “She must not look a thing like her father,” I said.

  “She doesn’t. Not sure if that’s a blessing or a curse.”

  “Rough marriage?”

  “I’m not married,” she said.

  Her answer was curt and I didn’t press the subject.

  She was as beautiful as the day I laid eyes on her in high school. Her body had more curves now than she had back then, which only added to her beauty

  Part of me wanted to lock her office door and take her on her fucking desk, even knowing that was a ridiculous idea. A man like me would never be worth her time, especially now that she had a kid. I had no desire to fuck their lives up.

  And, it had been way too long since we’d been in one another’s orbits.

  Even so, it was a good surprise to run into Grace after all this time. Of course, the conditions of our reunion left much to be desired.

  “I wasn’t aware that you were back in town,” Grace said, looking me in the eye.

  I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I was feeling hot under her scrutiny, and not necessarily in a bad way.

  “I haven’t been for very long. Just moved Jason and I back here from Detroit a few months ago. Been keeping my head down,” I said.

  She nodded, understanding my implication. She, like everyone else in town, knew my father had gone to prison. She cleared her throat and I could tell she was going to change the subject, for which I was grateful. She always knew how to put me at ease.

  “So, like Trevor said, investing your money would work better in your favor in the long run,” Grace said.

  “A simple savings account will do for now, thanks,” I said.

  “Direct and to the point. I’ve always liked that about you Ryan. Anyway, I’ll get that started for you,” she said.

  I looked out the door and kept scanning the room as she typed away. I answered her questions as quickly as I could while I took everything in. This would take some plotting and we would need contingencies for our contingencies.

  Kenneth would eat shit for the position he was putting me in.

  It would probably be our biggest score to date, and I could set myself and Jason up for good.

  But as I sat there, I really felt uneasy about the whole thing. Not because I didn’t think we could do it, but because this was where Grace worked.

  Our crew had a no violence rule because shoving a pistol in someone’s face pretty much did the job, but what if something got screwed up and she was caught in the middle?

  I’d never forgive myself.

  I tried to shake away those thoughts as her voice reached my ears.

  “If you want to take this ticket back up to Trevor, he’ll take your money and get it deposited,” Grace said.

  “Thanks for your help,” I said.

  “Ryan?”

  I turned toward her from the doorway as I clutched the bag of money close to me.

  “It was good seeing you,” she said.

  She smiled and those cute little dimples shone against her skin. I used to kiss those dimples while she rode my cock in the backseat of my car. I buried the memory as I nodded my head, then resisted the urge to ask for her number.
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  I couldn’t rope her into my lawless world.

  I couldn’t rob her of a good life.

  That was my past and this was my present.

  And after this job, I was done. With all of it.

  That was my brain talking.

  My heart and my cock was a completely different story.

  CHAPTER 2

  GRACE

  How the hell does he still take my breath away?

  I watched from my office as Trevor plunked away at trying to deposit the cash Ryan had brought in.

  My gosh, he looked as good as the day I’d met him. Hell, he looked better. I sat at my desk as people passed by my office, but my eyes weren’t deterred. He was tall, taller than I remembered him being. He had that same beautiful sun-kissed skin from spending so much time in the sun and brooding dark eyes, with a strong jaw that foreshadowed the strength of his body. He still walked with his head held high and his shoulders rolled back, like the cocky jock he’d been in high school.

  He looked bored as he waited for Trevor to get him set up.

  I felt bad for the new guy. He was struggling with getting the basics down. He was nothing but a college kid in the area trying to make a few bucks for himself, but even I was getting impatient with him. He had been here for three weeks and he was still stumbling along.

  My eyes ran down Ryan’s back and landed on his ass. I smiled as his words echoed off the corners of my mind.

  I think he was actually flirting with me.

  The way he looked at me sitting in that chair and the way his snarky little grin never slid from his cheeks.

  I wondered if he still had feelings for me. If he had felt the same spark down his spine I had when I saw him standing there.

  He was my high school sweetheart.

  The man I had given my virginity to.

  The man that had opened my eyes to an entire world of pleasure I never knew existed. No one I’d been with since, had ever made me feel quite the way Ryan had.

  I shivered just thinking about our time together.

  “Grace.”

  I groaned as my boss came around the corner into my office.

  “Yes, Lionel?”

  “Why is Trevor still dragging ass?” he asked.

  “Because he wasn’t trained properly, and we’re paying the price now,” I said.

  “Why wasn’t he trained properly?” he asked.

  “Because I wasn’t here to train him. I was away at a conference.”

  “I didn’t give you that promotion because of your big doe eyes sweet heart. I gave it to you because I thought you could clean this place up a bit.”

  I furrowed my brow at his comment as I looked up from my computer.

  “I already have time scheduled with him for proper training later this week. I will get the situation handled,” I said, trying not to clench my teeth.

  I watched Lionel raise his hip and set it onto the corner of my desk. His eyes were hard on me, and I felt like he was trying to corner me. I slid my chair away from my desk as his eyes scanned my computer, a small grin plastering itself on his cheeks.

  “New account?” he asked.

  “Yes sir.”

  “Why did you take it in your office?” he asked.

  “Because Trevor was trying to sell him on a product he doesn't know how to operate yet,” I said.

  “Do you know him?”

  “Why would that matter?” I asked.

  Watching my boss, he shrugged as my heart leapt to my throat. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something was off. It wasn’t quite sexual harassment, but it rode a fine line. I scooted my chair back into the wall and crossed my legs, then watched as Lionel’s eyes ran up the curve of my thigh.

  I tried to keep my cool as I crossed my arms over my chest.

  “Retrain Trevor. Give him another shot. He’s a smart kid, but he needs help.”

  “Already on it,” I said.

  My boss just sat there nodding his head absently while his eyes continued to linger on my chest. I wanted nothing more than to get him the hell out of my office, and it must have showed on my face.

  “Something wrong?” Lionel asked.

  “Hey there, sweetheart. I brought you a snack.”

  I whipped my head up at Ryan’s voice as my eyes widened. My boss jerked toward the door as Ryan leaned against the doorway. He was holding a candy bar in his hand as his eyes held mine, and I felt a wave of relief cascade over my body.

  “Thank you so much,” I said breathlessly. “I’ve been starving for the past hour.”

  I held out my hand for the candy bar as Lionel took his ass off my desk.

  Ryan approached me and sat the candy bar down before he bent toward my face and did the most alarming thing.

  My cheeks flushed with blood as his lips pressed against mine, leaving my body pulled taut.

  What the hell was that?

  My eyes fluttered closed and I fell into the kiss, his thumb raising to stroke my cheek.

  My head was spinning as Ryan pulled back and gave me a playful wink.

  “Sorry for the intrusion. I came in to open a savings account and Grace was a little hungry. The name’s Ryan,” he said.

  “Lionel Baxter,” my boss said. “I didn’t know you were dating someone, Grace.”

  “We’re taking it slow for now, especially since I haven’t met her daughter yet,” Ryan said.

  “So this is a new thing,” my boss said.

  “Relatively,” I said.

  I watched Ryan grip my boss’s hand a little too tightly and Lionel backed down. Ryan’s eyes followed him as he walked out of the office, his shoulders a bit hunched. A breathless giggle fell from my lips as I looked at the candy bar, my hands shaking as I drew in a deep breath.

  “You okay?” Ryan asked.

  “I don’t know where you came from, but thank you,” I said.

  “I saw him come in as I was on my way out the door. I didn’t like how he blocked you from the only exit out of your office.”

  “I didn’t like it either.”

  “He always like that?” he asked.

  “Not until recently,” I said. “But thank you. For, you know—coming back and interrupting.”

  “If the kiss was too much, I’m sorry,” he said.

  “Oh, no, no. It—it wasn’t.”

  “You sure? You look a little flustered.”

  “It might’ve taken me aback a bit.”

  “Aback—or back?” he asked with a grin.

  I blushed slightly before shaking my head. “Since you’re back in town and all, we should do dinner and catch up,” I suggested. “And I can repay you for saving me from my creeper boss.”

  He didn’t even appear to think before he nodded. “That sounds really good,” he answered.

  “How about tomorrow?” I said, trying not to look too eager.

  “It wasn’t this easy to get you on a date the first time around,” he said.

  I fluttered my eyes up to him and caught his cocky grin.

  “Here,” I said as I handed him my address. “See you tomorrow.”

  “At six. Got it,” he said.

  Then I leaned back into my chair, grabbed the candy bar off my desk, and watched as he walked away.

  I couldn’t help but admire the view.

  The flashbacks were too much. I grabbed a folder from my desk and fanned my face, as I tried to quiet down all the naughty thoughts from my mind.

  It’s really good to see you, Ryan.

  Really good.

  CHAPTER 3

  RYAN

  What the fuck are you getting yourself into?

  I’d already impersonated myself as her boyfriend to her dick manager, so now I had to make my cover believable.

  My crew had no idea I’d be taking Grace out on a date. Sooner or later they’d find out and I’d have to tell them it was my ploy to get inside information for our operation from an unsuspicious source.

  Grace.

  Of course, that
’d be complete bullshit. Seeing Grace’s manager behave the way he did lit a fucking fire inside me. I was practically two seconds away from knocking his teeth in, and that would send our operation down the toilet.

  I could see clearly from the expression on Grace’s angelic face that he made her uncomfortable. I wanted to send him a message to step the fuck down, and posing as her boyfriend was the first non-violent thing that came to mind.

  Today was the day after my run-in with Grace. I left Jason a home-cooked meal, plenty of movies, and a stern warning that he was not to leave the house or have any of his friends over.

  Practically all the kids in our neighborhood were trouble.

  I told him to call me if he needed anything and he rolled his eyes and rushed me out the door.

  I typed Grace’s address into my phone. She wasn’t far from me. Maybe a ten-minute drive. I rode through town as the sun began to set, thinking about where I could possibly take her.

  There weren’t many nice places to take a woman like Grace. Though it had been eight years since we’d last seen one another, I knew that Grace still deserved to be treated like a queen. She was beautiful, smart, and a single mom.

  If I was going to take her on a date, I wanted her to enjoy herself.

  I’d leave it up to her, but nothing in this town suited the kind of date I wanted to take her on.

  I pulled into her driveway and saw her standing on her porch. She smiled and came walking toward me and I couldn't take my eyes off her. She was wearing a beautiful little summer dress that showed off her ample cleavage and clung to the dip in her waist.

  Fuck, it’s gonna be hard to concentrate on dinner.

  “Right on time,” she said.

  “No man should keep a beautiful lady waiting.”

  “You know, you used to call me that all the time in high school.”

  “It was true then, and it’s true now,” I said.

  I backed out of the driveway and got us on the road. I turned onto the main road leading into town and caught a whiff of her perfume. It wasn’t the same sweet Victoria’s Secret scent she wore as a kid. Now she wore a clean scent with very subtle floral notes like a grown woman should wear.

  I took deep breaths to try and tame my cock.

  Because it was itching for her already.