Page 20 of Gang of Roses: Rebel

“You ain’t have to jump in.”

“I know. But I’m not built to stand there and watch somebody disrespect somebody I care about.”

She held my gaze for a second longer than usual before looking away.

“Usually you’re calm,” she said quietly.

“Don’t ever think I’m gonna stand there and let somebody put their hands on you, regardless of whether you can handle it. That ain’t happening.”

Rebel looked at me for a long second before a small smile crept onto her face. Without another word, she climbed onto her bike and fired it up. I watched her pull out of the parking lot before twisting my throttle and following behind. Her taillight cut through the night as she weaved through traffic with the same fearless confidence she’d always had. I shook my head and laughed to myself. That woman rode a motorcycle the same way she lived her life, fast, reckless, and on her own damn terms. I stayed a few car lengths behind her, making sure she made it safely onto the highway before peeling off toward my own exit. She would probably cuss me out if she ever found out I did that every chance I got, but I didn’t give a damn. Some habits were hard to break, especially when they involved someone you cared about.

Chapter 6

Rain “Rebel” Crawford

Robbing banks wasn’t something I planned on doing forever, but I couldn’t front, I was damn good at the shit. Every job made me a little richer and a little closer to leaving that life behind. My real dream wasn’t stealing money. It was building my own tech company from the ground up. Computers had always made more sense to me than people ever did. The problem was dreams like that weren’t cheap. Between buying equipment, securing office space, hiring the right people, and everything else that came with starting a legitimate business, I needed a whole lot more cash than I had buried away. But I was working with a financial advisor who was helping me build a legitimate financial portfolio so I would be ready when it was time to launch my tech company. She was helping me invest my money the right way, establish legitimate income, and make sure everything looked clean on paper. Every meeting brought me one step closer to leaving this life far behind.

Although I was getting close, hitting Ross Savings & Loan would set me up for good. It had always been the plan. For years, the three of us talked about that bank knowing it was the final mission. I was glad Dice and Kash still wanted to see it through. Truth be told, all three of us were doing just fine financially. None of us were hurting for money anymore, but we all knew Ross would guarantee we would have financial freedom for the rest of our lives.

Just thinking about that bank made me laugh. That motherfucker wasn’t a bank. It was a damn fortress. The place looked like somebody took Fort Knox and gave it a corporate makeover. Armed guards patrolled every entrance twenty-four hours a day. Bullet-resistant glass separated customers from the tellers. Cameras covered every hallway, every vault door, every parking lot entrance, and damn near every blind spot a normal bank would’ve missed.

And that was just the physical security. Their cybersecurity was just as ruthless. Facial-recognition software tracked everyone who walked through the front doors, while license plate readers logged every vehicle that entered the property. From everything I’d gathered, they had an entire team monitoring the bank’s network around the clock, backed by AI systems designed to detect suspicious activity before it ever became a problem.

Plenty of crews had convinced themselves they were smart enough to pull it off. None of them succeeded. Some got caught before they ever reached the vault. Others made it inside only to find themselves trapped behind reinforced security doors until the police arrived. A few never made it out at all, becoming nothing more than chalk outlines baking on the pavement outside.

Most people would’ve heard all that and walked away. We weren’t most people. We knew taking on Ross meant putting together the right team. One mistake would’ve gotten us all killed or locked away for the rest of our lives. That’s why every person involved in this job had earned their place. Nobody was there by accident, and nobody was expendable. We trusted one another with our freedom, our futures, and our lives.

Kash’s husband, Declan, was our ace in the hole. Ross Savings & Loan was in the middle of a massive renovation, and nobody suspected one of the people working on the project was secretly feeding information to a crew of bank robbers. As our inside man, Declan had access to updated blueprints showing exactly where the new vault would be built, how the security corridors were being rerouted, and where the weak points would exist before construction was complete. Information like that couldn’t be bought. It had to be earned, and Declan was risking everything by putting it in our hands.

Of course, blueprints alone weren’t enough. Ross’s security wasn’t something one hacker could dismantle by herself. That’s where Crow came in.

Crow and I handled every piece of technology tied to this job. While I focused on penetrating Ross’s network and exploiting weaknesses in their cybersecurity, Crow built the tools we’d need to stay one step ahead. From custom electronics and surveillance equipment to modified devices that could bypass security measures, if it involved technology or engineering, Crow was the man behind it. Between my hacking skills and his engineering mind, we planned to beat a security system that had embarrassed every crew before us.

Technology could only take us so far. Every crew needed muscle. That’s where Oats came in who was a kingpin by using his crew. Ritz’s best friend still had one foot planted firmly in the streets. While the rest of us were planning our exits, Oats was still living that life, and because of his reputation, people thought twice before crossing us. He wasn’t officially part of the crew, but if we needed bodies, transportation, distractions, or somebody to make a problem disappear, Oats had our backs without asking questions.

We prayed none of it would come to that. Because if this job went sideways, it wouldn’t just affect us. It would pull Ritz back into a version of himself he had fought hard to leave behind. Most people knew him as the successful casino owner these days, but before the tailored suits, the money, and the legitimate businesses, there was Radar. And Radar was the kind of man who solved problems with violence long before he ever considered having a conversation. The streets still remembered that name... and so did I.

None of us wanted to wake that man back up. Especially not if Dice was the one in danger. Ritz loved his wife like she hung the damn moon. If anything happened to her, Radar wouldn’t think twice. He’d come back swinging, and by the time he was done, there’d be bodies stacked high enough to remind everybody why the streets once feared that name, which meant one thing.

This robbery had to go exactly as planned. We weren’t walking into Ross Savings & Loan because we needed another payday. We were walking in because this was the finish line.

Before I could start obsessing over Ross Savings & Loan again, my laptop chimed, pulling me out of my thoughts. I glanced down at the screen and smiled. It was Sarah, my financial advisor. Since I was sitting in Crow’s office, killing time while he finished up in the garage, I answered the video call and leaned back in the chair.

“Good afternoon, Rebel,” Sarah said with her usual warm smile.

“What’s good?”

“So,” she said, returning my smile, “I reviewed your portfolio again this morning. Everything’s moving in the right direction.”

“That’s what I like to hear.”

She clicked a few keys before another chart appeared on the screen.

“I shifted some of your investments around to put you in a stronger position long-term. It’ll help once you’re ready to launch your tech company.”

“I appreciate you looking out.”

She smiled again.