𝑼𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝑫𝒐 𝑼𝒔 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒕 | ✓

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜɪʀᴛᴇᴇɴ

Even though it saddened them to leave their friends behind, Tobias and Esmeray didn't let it slow them down. On the contrary, they returned to their thieving with wild abandon as if using their sadness as a fuel to stoke their fire. In the months that followed after parting with Pietro and Cora, the infamous duo spent every waking moment robbing banks along the northern states and planning their attack on the Eastham Prison Farm.

After a botched robbery of a bank in Indiana, they finally scored a hit at a Minnesotan bank. That successful robbery gave them enough cash to buy all the weapons and ammunition they needed for the planned attack. They drove their way down south once again, planning to try their luck in Louisiana and steal another car for the prison job.

"I still can't believe we lost most of our stuff in that apartment," Esmeray stated with a sigh as she looked out the window at the familiar Arkansan countryside. They'd been on the road for quite a few hours and she was ready to be out and about in marshy state of Louisiana.

Tobias teased the inside of his bottom lip with his teeth. His arm draped over the steering wheel as he drove down the rural road. The House of the Rising Sun drifted from the speakers of the radio and he slightly bobbed his head to the beat. "Me either, but all of us made it out alive so the loss of our supplies was worth it."

"I can't agree more," she said softly with a smile. She reached over and gently took his free hand in hers, pacing their fingers and giving him a soft squeeze. "Love you."

"Love you too, my angel." He lifted her hand with his and brought it to his lips, pressing a kiss against the back of her hand. "Always and forever."

"Always and forever," she repeated with a breathy tone. She bit her lip and watched the road as the towns of Arkansas passed by and was replaced by the cypress-laden rocky roads of the Louisiana backroads.

Tobias chuckled at Esmeray's obvious excitement as he watched her absorb the swampy landscape and towering mossy cypress trees like a dry sponge taking in water. "Enjoy the view?"

"Yesss!" She exclaimed, gazing at the white cranes flying up from the side of the road. She couldn't get rid of this raw and untouched beauty. It was inhospitable, but alluring. Dangerously breathtaking. A living and breathing contradiction. It was this polar opposite variance that drew her in and called to her. She knew this state was known for its destructive nature, but to her, this savagery was the epitome of  perfection no matter how chaotic it seemed to the world. And maybe that was the reason she was riding shotgun with a handsome murder. Her perception was altered, deemed unstable by the press. But was it really? Was there really a such thing as doing the right thing in the wrong way?

"Think they'd be an easy job?" Tobias asked, nodding toward a silver Lincoln Continental in which a man and woman sat looking at a map as he eased his foot down on the brake and slowed his car.

She tilted her head and watched the couple in the Lincoln for a moment. It seemed easy and they seemed harmless enough. Her mind flashed back to Antonio and she squirmed slightly on the seat. She knew all to well that things were not like they seemed. "They could be. I hope they are."

"Me too. Alright well let's hit 'em. Don't shoot unless absolutely necessary, okay?" He asked, easing the car up more before turning slightly so that he pulled up in front of the Continental. He threw it in park and pulled his Colt from his waistband. "Let's do this."

She nodded and unholstered the Colt from her thigh and checked to see it had enough bullets. She shared a look with him before stepping out and shutting the door. She held the pistol up and aimed it at the woman as Tobias pointed his at the man.

"Excuse us, good people, but we only want your car. If y'all don't try anything stupid, none one will get hurt," Tobias stated with a charismatic smile and a bow. He saw the touch fear on the man and woman's faces and watched them as they put the map down. What he didn't expect to see was the fear vanish to be replaced by a slight familiarity.

"Don't worry, you can have the car Tobias," the man spoke up, walking up to Tobias and lifting his chin. His brown eyes were full of wisdom untold and the wrinkles on his face spoke of hard times survived. "I'm Dorian, and this-" he pointed to the small blonde woman across the hood from him- "is my wife Sophia."

"Wait. . .how do you know my name?" Tobias asked, his tone clouded with suspicious. He kept the pistol leveled yet he had a feeling he wouldn't have to use it. This man before him, with dark red hair and eyes that he'd have sworn he'd looked into before, was no threat. "Do I know you?"

"No, son. Not at all. But you know my kid brother, and I've heard a lot about you from him on my trips to see him," Dorian answered with a light chuckle. He pushed his hands deep into the pockets of his denim overalls and tilted his head. "My last name is Fults. That ring a bell?"

Tobias felt like time had frozen as he stood there with his Colt aimed at the brother of the one man he trusted more than anyone else besides Esmeray. He drew in a deep breath and shared a look with Esmeray before turning back to Dorian. "Yes sir it does. Your brother Ralph means a lot to me."

"And you mean a lot to him," Dorian revealed with a soft smile. "So take this car. We'll walk home if we don't get lost."

Tobias gave Esmeray another looked before he smiled a little and looked between Dorian and Sofia. He shook his head with a light chuckle. "Nah, y'all get in the back. We'll make sure it's close enough to y'all's home before we dump both of you off."

Esmeray took her place in the passenger's seat while the married couple hopped into the back and Tobias slid behind the will. She bit her lip and glanced at Tobias. She couldn't stop the smile that touched her face. Tobias may seem cold and cruel, but he had a heart full of gold and compassion.