The Heist

The Heist

As soon as I reached the door, I knew.
The front door was splintered like it had been hit a million times with an ax. There were no locks left on it. I gently pushed the door open and the door practically came apart with pieces of wood falling. I threw my arms up and Satanya was right on my heels. When I looked through the doorway my eyes widened so big they felt like they would just pop out of the sockets. My chest started heaving in and out and my entire body became numb. I couldn’t breathe and I grabbed onto Satanya to keep myself up.
“Oh my God! Todd!!” I screamed out before my knees buckled. Satanya held onto me as we both moved forward.
“Todd!!” I screamed out again, breaking free of her grip and running through the mess towards the stairs. It looked like a tornado had hit the inside of my house. All of my furniture was either chopped up or thrown over. I could hardly get up the steps, the entire winding banister had been broken into pieces and wood splinters littered the carpeted stairs. I slid on wood as I scrambled up the stairs to try to find Todd. I finally got up the stairs and ran through all of the sheet rock and plaster in the long hallway straight to the master bedroom.
“Todd! Todd!” I screamed out, with the tears flowing down my face like a river and my pulse racing so hard it felt like it was beating in the back of my throat. Todd was no where to be found.
—from The Ultimate Heist

Leaning over a pool table with a cue stick in his hand is hands down the finest brother I’ve seen in I don’t know how long. Large sexy eyes, plump juicy lips, broad shoulders and biceps I want to use as pillows.
 His green eyes lock on mine over the white ball a second before he cranks a shot and breaks the triangle of balls at the other end. He doesn’t look to see how many of the solid or striped balls scatter into pockets because his eyes are still molesting my curves.
 I have to remind myself to breathe. I try to pull my gaze away, but it’s near impossible. The brother’s green eyes are like a powerful magnet and it’s either him or this whiskey got my body tingling.
 Finally he smiles and two dimples winks at me. He stands up so I can peep out his whole 6’3" frame. The man had to be solid muscle. I can’t find an extra inch of nothing on him.
 I manage to shake this trance off and push one foot in front of the other until I return to my stool at the bar.
—from Robyn Banks

From HEIST by Kiki Swinson and De’nesha Diamond.  Compilation copyright © 2010 by Kensington Publishing Corp.  All rights reserved.  Published by arrangement with Dafina Books/Kensington.