Love, Money, and Lies Read online

  “See . . . espionage,” Anthony commented and sipped his vodka.

  “Are you nuts?” Bobbi asked. “It’s one thing to get a job at a bank to scope it out; it’s another to insert a virus into the system. They’ll know it was me in a heartbeat. I won’t even get a chance to run out of there.”

  “You will if you use the flash drive I created that doesn’t register when it’s put into a computer or mainframe. I’ve been working on it for two years now. I finally got it right,” Aaron revealed.

  “If it doesn’t register when it’s inserted, then how will she be able to upload this silent but deadly virus that you will have me create?” Margo asked.

  “You need to program the virus to download automatically as soon as the flash drive is inserted. And you need to program it to download as quickly as possible,” Aaron answered.

  “Of course,” Margo stated with half sarcasm.

  “Where do I fit into this?” Anthony asked. “I mean, it’s obvious I’m going to have to create a phony persona for Bobbi to get a job at the Federal Reserve, but surely that ain’t all.”

  “Actually, you’ll be creating several identities for this job — and identities for after the job. We need somewhere to send the money after we funnel it out of the reserve. It’s best to split it up into two different accounts with two different names for each of us overseas,” Aaron explained.

  Anthony shook his head. “That’s a lot of work, man. It will take at least two months for me to create all that false history and documentation. Maybe three.”

  “Well, I’ll be helping, of course. Once we establish the identities for the heist, I’ll open the accounts overseas for the money to go,” Aaron said.

  “This sounds like it will take a lot of start-up money,” Margo said. “How much are we talking about here?”

  Aaron shifted in his seat a little. Then he mumbled something inaudible.

  “What?” Bobbi asked.

  “About a million dollars, so we’ll have to contribute two hundred and fifty thousand apiece,” Aaron confirmed.

  “Oh hell no!” Anthony yelled.

  “Hell, that’s almost how much my condo is worth!” Bobbi exclaimed.

  “Why so much?” Margo asked with a frown. “We’ve never had to put any more than thirty grand into a job, and that’s collectively.”

  “Guys, this will be the biggest heist we have ever pulled. It takes money to make money, and a hundred million dollars doesn’t come cheap. First, we need to establish a history of big money transactions into the overseas accounts that me and Anthony will be setting up. Second, Bobbi will need money to go and stay in Atlanta to work at the reserve. Third, we need to get a secure location that we can work from. This isn’t the type of job that we should do from our home bases. And fourth–”

  “We got the idea, I think,” Anthony interrupted. “I got the cash, but damn.”

  “I’m going to have to liquidate a few stocks,” Bobbi stated.

  “I can cover it . . . if we decide to do it,” Margo added.

  “There’s one more thing you guys should know before making a decision,” Aaron began. “After we get the money, we can’t buy anything big for at least a year . . . maybe two. And . . . we’ll have to dissolve BAAM.” BAAM was the name of their group that Bobbi came up with five years ago. She had insisted that they have a name. The letters stood for the first initials of their names.

  “For real?” Anthony commented.

  “And for the best of all involved, we’ll have to leave Florida. All of us. As a precaution, we have to split up. Never talk to each other again. Keep in mind, I am talking about twenty-five mill each. That’s permanent retirement money.”

  “If we can get away clean the way you think we can, then why do we have to stop contact with each other?” Bobbi asked.

  “I get that we won’t need to do anymore scores, but to separate permanently?” Margo inquired.

  “I believe we can get away with it. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have presented the job to you. However, we are talking about robbing the Federal Reserve Bank. That’s something the government isn’t going to let go of in our lifetime. They will constantly be on the lookout for a feather of a clue as to who was responsible,” Aaron said.

  “I hear what you’re saying, but most of my family is in Florida,” Anthony said. “And my homies. I’ll have to go out alone with no backup. No one who will have my back.”

  Margo and Bobbi looked at each other. They had become best friends during the last couple of years. If they did this, they could never hang out again.

  “I’m not expecting a decision now, but we need to decide soon. We got six months before New Year’s Eve. We need every bit of that time,” Aaron explained.

  Chapter 4

  Two days later . . .

  Aaron had given the members of BAAM a week to give him a decision on the FRB heist. Margo had a few friends in Tampa, but no family. It wouldn’t be that big of a hardship for her to leave the state. But never seeing or talking to Bobbi again pained her. They had shared a lot of good times. She had also shared some good times with Anthony and Aaron, but not like she did with Bobbi. They had girl talked about men and the latest fashions. Being friends with Bobbi had made Margo’s life less lonely. If they did the job and pulled it off, she would have all the money she would ever need, but she’d be alone.

  Her father had left her and her mother when she was six, never to be seen nor heard from again. Her mother was a drug addict who had contracted HIV from sharing needles and died from complications of the disease. Plus, Margo was an only child. She had been married twice, but neither one of those relationships had worked out.

  Margo continued her morning power walk on Sunset Boulevard, a plush neighborhood where material possessions were looked at with admiration and respect. A black SUV pulled up into the Peterson’s driveway. She had seen the vehicle at that residence before, and she knew who it belonged to.

  Bruce Styles hopped out of the SUV. He zeroed in on her immediately and grinned. Margo rolled her eyes and kept walking. Next thing she knew, he jogged up beside her.

  Oh God, just go away.

  “Margo, the least you can do is chat for a minute,” Bruce said.

  “I can talk and walk,” she stated.

  “I don’t have any problems with a brisk walk. I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’m in great shape,” he bragged.

  “What do you want?”

  “I would like to take you out.”

  “Ha,” she scoffed. “The last time I was . . . involved with a date that you had a hand in, I got stiffed with a thirty-eight-hundred-dollar bill.” She was still somewhat mad about it, even though Alec had reimbursed her for half. “By the way, did you ever pay Alec back for giving me half the money?”

  “Okay, I’m not as flush as I pretended to be when Alec and I took you and Bobbi out, but I’m not a deadbeat either.”

  “That’s not an answer to my question,” she said as they continued to walk to the end of the cul-de-sac.

  “Yes, I paid him back. Why do you need to know?”

  “Alec is the husband of a very good friend of mine, and I want to make sure he’s not being taken advantage of.”

  “Hell,” Bruce said with indignation. “What the hell did Bobbi tell you about me? What kind of man do you think I am? Alec and I are practically brothers. We went to college and the federal academy together. And we are partners today.”

  “Bobbi didn’t need to tell me anything. When you stiffed me with that bill and ghosted Bobbi, I figured out what kind of guy you are.”

  “I didn’t stiff you with the country club bill last year. I made sure you and Bobbi were safely off the grounds before Alec and I left,” he explained defensively.

  “Yes, but you knew I was a member there. They figured out who was at that table. If I couldn’t cover it, they would have called the cops on me.”

  They were approaching her house. Margo stopped on the walkway.

  Bruce did
, too. “At the very least, let me make it up to you. I can’t afford to take you to the country club, you know that. But I can take you to three-star places. Just dinner.”

  “No,” she said sternly. “And I can’t believe you have the nerve to ask me out after you pumped and dumped my best friend like an old rag that you just ejaculated into and threw away.”

  He snorted with amusement. “I have to say, you’ve got a way with words. I like that. And as far as Bobbi is concerned, I wasn’t that harsh. I just didn’t see the reason to string her along if nothing was going to come of it.”

  “Okay, but you could have at least returned her phone calls and let her know. Not act like she didn’t exist. A woman who is stupid enough to get involved with you is asking for heartache and trouble. Goodbye, Mr. Styles,” she said with strength and quickly strode to her front door.

  ****

  Margo St. John practically slammed the front door behind her, leaving Bruce outside of her house like a dog who had been shut out in the cold. It wasn’t often that a woman blew him off. When it happened, he would shrug and move to the next lady. Margo’s rejection was different because he took it personally. She had rejected him at the wedding reception and just now because she thought he was a jerk and a bum. No woman had ever questioned his character.

  Bruce started walking back to Alec and Lana’s house. He wasn’t a quitter, but he needed to back up and approach her in another way. He had to prove that he wasn’t the bastard that she thought he was.

  “Hey, why are you all the way down there!” Alec yelled.

  Bruce started jogging toward his partner.

  “Let’s go before we’re late to the office,” Alec said.

  “We’re not going to be late. We’ve got plenty of time.” Alec was riding with Bruce to the Tampa location of the FBI because his truck was in the shop.

  They got into the SUV, and Bruce pulled out.

  They rode in silence for a few minutes before Bruce spoke. “Alec, how well do you know Margo?”

  “No,” he said flatly.

  “No?”

  “No, I’m not giving you stats on Margo. Leave her alone, Bruce.”

  “I can’t. First of all, she’s a knockout. Second, she thinks I’m a complete jerk who did her friend wrong. I can’t have a fine-ass woman like that slip through my fingers.” Margo had long blonde hair that a man’s hands could get lost in. Her pouty mouth, voluptuous breasts, and curvy hips were calling Bruce’s name.

  “That’s what you said about Bobbi. It’s how you got me to participate in that disastrous double date.”

  “It wasn’t a disaster until we got the bill.”

  “Either way, I’m not hurdling another fence because of your overactive libido.”

  “Nothing like that is going to happen again. And besides, all I’m asking is for some extra information. Margo and Lana are friends. Close friends. She was a bridesmaid at your wedding.”

  “I don’t know any more than you do already. She’s an independent computer programmer and IT specialist, she’s been married and divorced twice, and she lives on my street. Period, the end.”

  “What do you know about the exes?”

  “Nothing. She’s never elaborated on them.”

  Bruce exhaled. He had to come up with a plan to get Margo to at least go out with him once.

  Chapter 5

  The decision had been made. BAAM was going to hit the Federal Reserve. They had ironed out the first few steps they needed to take. They were going to meet again in a week to give Aaron cashier checks for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. He was in charge of allocating the funds where it was needed.

  Margo had just arrived at Tampa’s premier nightclub, Club Prana, with Anthony and his cousin, Morris, who was the same age as Anthony. They went to the sky bar, which was located on the roof of the club.

  They had just dropped Bobbi off at the airport. She had gotten a job interview under an alias Anthony created for her. She had worn a red-haired wig and contacts that made her eyes look blue. Bobbi was the master of disguise with makeup and was able to angle her cheekbones to looks slimmer than they really were. The interview was at the reserve location in Dallas. Atlanta didn’t have any openings that she had experience doing.

  They sat down and ordered a bottle of Ace of Spades champagne. Once the beverage arrived, Morris poured himself a glass and excused himself to work the room.

  “You think ole home girl will get the secretarial position?” Anthony said.

  “I hope so,” Margo answered. “We don’t have time for her to apply for twenty different positions until she gets one.”

  “Even if she doesn’t get a position, I’m sure Aaron will come up with something else. That cat is smarter than anybody I know,” Anthony stated. “He’ll find a way to get us on the inside to do what we gotta do. Have you started on the bug yet?”

  “I’m piecing together some things. I have to be careful how I lay the language of the foundation of the program. It will be key to making the virus dormant until it’s time for it not to be. I have to program the timing just right.”

  “Hell, I’m glad I got the easy tasks.” He sipped his champagne.

  Margo laughed. “I’m sure your job is as hard as mine. I would find it tedious to create multiple false histories for people. I’m surprised you were able to come out with us tonight.”

  “It can be a chore sometimes,” Anthony remarked.

  “Well, well, look who it is,” Bruce said with a grin. He was wearing a light blue dress shirt and black slacks. A guy who looked to be in his early fifties was with him.

  “Are you kidding me?” she retorted with annoyance. “I need to find another club to hang out at. They are letting anybody in here.”

  Bruce’s friend snorted with amusement.

  “Still spicy, I see,” Bruce commented. “How have you’ve been?”

  It had been almost three weeks since she last saw him. “Fine, thank you.”

  “Bruce, introduce me to your friend,” the older gentleman said.

  “Vic, this is Margo. She was Lana’s bridesmaid at the wedding.”

  “Oh, yeah. I thought you looked familiar,” Vic said. “We didn’t get a proper introduction there.” His dark hair had loose curls with streaks of white, which made him look distinguished. He was average-sized and appeared to be in good shape.

  “Nice to meet you,” she said.

  “And her date? I don’t know him,” Bruce said.

  “I’m Anthony. Nice to meet y’all.”

  “Likewise,” Bruce said, appearing to size Anthony up.

  “Margo, would you like to dance?” Vic asked. “If it’s okay with your date, that is?”

  “I don’t have much say in the matter, man, because I’m not her date. We’re just friends who kick it every now and again,” Anthony said.

  “Oh, good,” Vic said and looked at Margo.

  Anything to get away from Bruce. She placed her glass on the table and stood. “I would love to.”

  Vic escorted her to the dance floor. He lightly placed his hands on her waist. She placed her hands on his shoulders, and they started to sway to the music. She looked over at Anthony. Bruce had sat down in an armchair and was chatting with him.

  “You know he’s a decent guy . . . Bruce, I mean,” Vic said.

  She turned to look at Vic. “Oh?”

  “Yeah, I’ve worked with him for a while—”

  “You’re an FBI agent too?”

  “Yes, Alec, Bruce, and I work for the same division at the Tampa office.”

  Damn, they are coming out of the woodwork.

  “I know Bruce can come off as a bit of a . . . player, a good time boy. But he’s one of the best agents I have ever worked with in the field, and I’ve been with the bureau for over twenty-five years.”

  Margo examined him. He was serious, but she still smelled a rat. “Let me guess. You two came here to find some young half-drunk girls, and Bruce spotted me and said, ‘hey, Vic,
I need you to be my wingman for about twenty minutes’.”

  Vic laughed. “Well, you can’t blame the man for trying.”

  Margo chuckled.

  “Whether he asked me to put in a good word for him or not, I would have said the same thing if you had asked me about him yourself.”

  “I have no doubt, but we both know he is what you said, a player . . . playboy . . . and in his mind, God’s gift to women.”

  “He’s all those things, and believe it or not, he has dated women that truly believed that he was God’s gift.”

  “Perhaps, but why would I want to get involved with such a man?”

  Especially, when he’s a federal agent, and I’m a professional thief?

  “For fun?” he suggested.

  She looked at him as though he coughed up something foul. “I can have fun without him – and have.”

  “Yes, but Bruce . . . he can be a different type of fun. I’m not saying you should marry him. Matter of fact, I would advise against those kind of thoughts when it comes to him. He’s not the marrying type. But a little fun here and there wouldn’t hurt.”

  She glanced over at Bruce and Anthony. Morris had made his way back to the area and was chatting with them.

  “So what do you say? Are you willing to give my boy a chance?”

  “I don’t think so,” she said as she turned back to Vic. “I . . . have a lot going on right now. I have several jobs I need to attend to, but I’ll be sure to tell him that you did your best to convince me.”

  Vic gave her a crooked smile. “Well, at least he’ll know I tried.”

  They went back to the sitting area. There was no polite or rude way of getting Bruce to go away and talk up another female. Margo’s saving grace was Morris. He had told them that he got a text from one of his baby’s mommas, and he needed to get back home to see about his daughter’s health.