Page 22 of Gang of Roses: Rebel

I bit the inside of my cheek, doing everything I could not to laugh.

“Damn,” I mumbled. “That’s crazy.”

Kerri’s cheeks flushed a deep shade of red as she snatched the cup back.

“I’ll make you another one.”

She hurried out of the office without another word. The second she disappeared, I lost it. A loud laugh escaped my mouth as I leaned back in the chair, nearly falling out of it. Crow looked at me, then toward the door Kerri had just walked through.

“The hell did you say to that girl?”

I wiped a tear from my eye and grinned.

“Nothing.”

He folded his arms.

“Rain.”

“I swear,” I said, still laughing. “She asked where you were. I answered. The rest handled itself.”

Crow shook his head and laughed.

“Man, you crazy.”

His eyes drifted to his computer, and he narrowed them at me.

“What the hell you doing on my computer?”

I shrugged without an ounce of shame. “Looking around.”

He pointed a finger at me. “You better not be searching for porn.”

I looked at him like he’d lost his damn mind. “Porn? Please. If I wanted to see a naked man, I’d just ask one to take his clothes off.”

Crow barked out a laugh. “That confidence gonna get your ass in trouble one day.”

“Hasn’t yet.”

“Give it time.”

I smirked and spun around in his chair. “Relax. I ain’t touch nothing... yet.”

“You crazy, woman.”

I grinned. “Yeah. I gotta be if we’re really gonna hit Ross Savings & Loan.”

“You know most folks would’ve walked away from that job.”

“Good thing we ain’t most folks.”

He laughed. “Nah... we definitely ain’t.”

Crow knew exactly what Dice, Kash, and I did. Hell, he was just as much a part of our crew as the rest of us. Whenever we planned a job, the two of us handled the tech. Breaking into security systems, mapping camera networks, studying alarm protocols, cloning credentials, and figuring out the cleanest way in and out, that was our lane. We had pulled off jobs that would’ve made seasoned hackers scratch their heads.

Ross Savings & Loan, though, that bitch was different. The deeper we dug into its security, the more respect we had for whoever designed it. Every vulnerability we found led to another layer of protection. Every workaround triggered another obstacle. It was like playing chess against somebody who was always three moves ahead. In order for us to successfully pull off the job, I had to break into their system. The problem was that shit was taking a lot longer than I expected. Every time I thought I’d found a way in, another layer of security popped up, forcing me right back to square one.

We didn’t stay on the subject for long. The less we talked about the job, the better. Loose lips got people locked up, and neither of us was interested in taking that chance. Crow hopped onto the edge of his desk with a smirk.