Holiday Heist

It was a party fit for a king.

As I walked into the room, my eyes travelled across the foyer, past twinkling lights and the ten foot tree sitting in the middle of the ballroom. Light bounced off of the crystals hanging from the chandelier above, making all of the partygoers sparkle even more than their diamond jewelry. It was a million dollar room full of million dollar people.

“Some party, huh?” I turned to give a slight smile to my father as he appeared by my side. I barely recognized the middle aged man. Five years ago, he didn’t have so much gray hair, nor was he wearing a gold chain around his neck. He also didn’t have fingernails that looked cleaner than mine, or shiny shoes that looked like they’d just come off the shelf.

“Yes it definitely is.” My smile was fake, as were the crystals that hung from my ears. He grabbed two champagne flutes from a server as she passed by and handed one to me as he gestured to a group of woman standing ten feet away.

“I really think you’ll like them once you get to know them.” My father’s eyes were trained on a blonde woman wearing a red gown. She was talking to her twin daughters, both dressed in gold. We’d barely even exchanged names in the time I’d been staying there.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

Sensing my disinterest, the man I only knew by acquaintance started talking about another topic that I was equally bored with. I stood there for only a few moments before I spotted my sole reason for even attending the party, the only person who I wanted to see for the rest of the night.

Excusing myself, I floated through the crowd, my green floor length dress trailing behind me as I focused on only one thing: him.

Sean’s brown eyes crinkled up when he saw my approach, a smirk growing on his face as he took in my appearance.

“You look amazing,” he teased as he took my hand in his, brushing his lips against my knuckles before releasing me. “My queen.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t call me that.”

“Why not? You should have told me you came from royalty.”

“I don’t.” I sipped my champagne and looked back at my father, who was now chatting with his second wife. I felt nothing but disdain for him since he abandoned my mother and I five years ago. He wanted the high life, and he got it.

Sean moved closer to me, his hand moving to the small of my back. He leaned his head down and whispered into my ear, “where do we start?”

“Upstairs.”

Placing my empty flute on a nearby bannister, I grabbed his hand and led him to the second level of the penthouse suite, glancing back on the marble staircase to make sure no one was watching.

Once we made it to the top, I pulled him to the right and down a wide hallway. After knocking lightly on the mahogany door to make sure no one was inside, I entered into the master bedroom with Sean by my side.

“She keeps the jewelry over there.” I pointed over to the large vanity, which housed a glass box in the center of the polished wood surface. As Sean rummaged through its contents, I made my way to the safe hidden in the walk-in closet.

I had discovered the combination late one night, when I overheard my father and his wife discussing finances. I had only been living with them for three days and it had been surprisingly easy to learn what I needed to. Their level of trust, or naivety, was astounding.

I grabbed a bundle of the hundreds of crisp bills lying in the safe, tucking them safely into my clutch. After closing the heavy metal door of the safe, I walked back out to the main part of the bedroom and found Sean stuffing two small diamond earrings into his tuxedo pocket.

When he heard the clicking of my heels approach, he turned to me with a mischievous smile. I continued walking over to him, adrenaline pumping in my heart from one of the most lucrative heists we had yet. I stopped when I stood next to him, smiling as I gazed into his dark eyes.

“Shall we return to the party, Bonnie?” 

My grin grew wider as I took his hand. “I believe we shall, Clyde.”

We walked down the stairs arm and arm, watching as the festivities continued. We were on high alert as we joined the partygoers in the ballroom, Sean holding me close while we danced to the orchestral music.

As he twirled me around, I watched as the guests chatted and drank merrily, none of them with a care in the world. I watched in envy as I realized they would never have to know what it felt like to have a gun pointed between their eyes, the cold metal leaving an imprint in the middle of their forehead. For them, this night meant nothing but the start of December, the beginning of a month full of eggnog and sparkling lights. 

For Sean and I, this night was a deadline and meant one thing and one thing only: if we failed to get this loot in the right hands, we wouldn’t make it home alive.