Heists and Vengeance

Seven

Lana

Lana took a deep breath and steeled herself, before ringing the doorbell. She was standing on the threshold of the house she'd been to yesterday – and met the guy, Ryder. She was a little embarrassed to admit that she hadn't been able to stop thinking about him the night before.

But he hadn't been the only thing occupying her mind – she'd been going over the deal she'd made with him. At the time, it had seemed like the right decision, but now...she was having second thoughts about it. Something about it seemed too good to be true. And besides, she definitely had a motive to go ahead with this heist, but what about the others? She found it hard to believe that Ryder and his teammates would do it solely for the money. So, why?

But there was no time to think about that, because the lock was turning, and the door was opening and, stars, he was even better looking than she remembered. Her heart lifted slightly at the sight of him, and from the quiet joy in his gray eyes, he was happy to see her too.

He stepped out next to her, and turned to lock the door. "Alright. So, I'm taking you to meet the rest of the team. I think you'll like them."

She nodded as he finished and pocketed the key. She knew she was staring at him, but she couldn't seem to stop. It must have been obvious, because Ryder glanced quizzically at her, and gave her a quick smile, causing something to pang in her. He seemed like a nice guy – so why was he doing this?

They started down the street in companionable silence, both of them occupied with their own thoughts. Eventually, Lana couldn't stand it anymore.

"Why-why are you doing this? The heist, I mean." Lana blurted out. As soon as she said it, she wished she could shove the words back in.

Ryder looked at her as they turned the corner. "Why are you doing this?"

"You're dodging the question."

"So are you."

He laughed at the sound she made in her exasperation, and motioned to her that they had to cross the street. "Well, first of all, we're getting fifty million- "

"Oh, please," she said. "I seriously doubt you're doing this only for the money, like some kind of-mercenary. You must have another reason. "

"So should you."

"I know. But I asked first."

He blew out a breath. "That's true. And I would tell you, but..." They turned one last corner, and stopped at the second house. "...we're already here! No time!"

Lana looked at him through narrowed eyes as he stepped up to the doorstep and fiddled with the key. She knew he was hiding something from her, and she didn't know what. In fairness, they'd only met the day before, so it made sense that he wouldn't want to tell her everything, but still.

She shook her head. He could be doing this only for the cash – as unlikely as it seemed – and until she knew more, she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Ryder finally got the lock to turn, and flung open the door. "We're back!" he yelled into an empty hallway, and waved her inside. As he locked the door again, she stood awkwardly, admiring the decor.

The hallway floor was carpeted in purple and gave off a slightly musty smell, as if it hadn't been cleaned in a while. Paintings hung on the walls, and Lana had a slight suspicion that they were originals – there must have been a reputation that had led someone to commission them to do this.

"Did you guys not hear me? We're back! Aren't you going to meet your new co-worker?"

Ryder guided Lana to one of the first doorways, into what she supposed was the living room. As they walked in, her eyes skipped over all the details – the polished wooden floor, glass coffee table strewn with magazines, wide curtained windows – and came to rest on the worn black sofa, and the lanky boy sprawled over it.

Just looking at him, Lana could tell that he was a heartbreaker. His dark brown hair was mussed and long lashes curved over bronze skin that hinted at Latinx lineage. A blanket was spread over him, clearly the work of someone who'd seen him, and taken it onto themselves to make sure he wasn't cold. Even in sleep, his mouth curled into the faintest impish grin that promised mischief and mayhem.

But while Lana was slightly awed by the boy's beauty, Ryder seemed impervious and wasted no time striding over to him, and shaking him awake.

"Oh, don't do that!" said a lilting voice. "He's been up nearly half the night doing all that research you asked him to do." The voice was soon joined by a face when a girl walked into the room. Her hair was a wonder; a mass of corkscrew curls framing a dark brown face that was partially hidden due to the angle. She was slightly on the chubby side, and was only slightly taller than Lana, something she found gratifying – there were enough tall people here as it was.

"Oh – Erin!" Ryder said when he noticed the girl. "This is Lana. You know – the one I went to meet." He pointed towards Lana, and resumed his attempt to wake the sleeping boy.

Erin turned, giving Lana a better view of her face. She had dark brown eyes and a slight gap between her front teeth, and she came to the conclusion that the girl had unremarkable features. At least, until she smiled.

The girl may not have been especially beautiful, but her smile was wide and radiated joy and genuine happiness to see her. The grin also brought out deep dimples, which just added to the warmth that seemed to shine from her.

"Hi! It's nice to meet you. I'm Erin – though you've probably figured that out already. You're... Lana?"

"Yeah," Lana couldn't help but feel slightly shy in the face of this girl's amiability. Fortunately, the boy on the sofa chose that time to wake.

"What time is it? Where am I? And most importantly – why are you ridding me of my beauty sleep?"

"Oh good, he's finally awake." Ryder leaned back as the boy sat up and rubbed his face. As he scanned the group, a crease appeared between his eyebrows. "Where's Cole?"

"Right here."

Lana turned to the doorway once again, to see a large read-headed boy stride into the room and stand by Ryder. "Sorry I'm late. I was sleeping." He made a cursory glance around the room and took a double take when he saw Lana. "Oh-sorry. I'm Cole. It's nice to meet you" Light blue eyes crinkling, he extended his hand, and she shook it. His palm was so big, she couldn't wrap her fingers all the way around it, giving her another reminder of her relative smallness.

"Oh !"

Everyone turned to the source of the exclamation, which happened to be the boy on the sofa. His eyes were wide open, and it took Lana a moment to realize that he was staring right at her.

"Sorry," he gave her an apologetic smile. "I just forgot you were coming today. Now if you'll excuse me..." The boy flung off the blanket and made a mad dash to the door, disappearing down the hallway. It took Lana a moment to process what she'd just seen.

"Was he wearing a neon green onesie? With...a pom-pom?"

Erin laughed. "Yup."

"Alright, guys." Ryder clapped his hands. "We're just going to wait for Brett, and then...we get started."

A/N: Sooo...what do you guys think? You finally have a description for all the characters. Did they look the ways you imagined?

Hope you're enjoying the story so far! Please do comment and vote – it means a lot!