Hands All Over

Ch. 116 Old Memories

She had a terrible feeling about the whole situation. The fact Juice was about to rob a liquor store for more cash wasn't helping ease the feeling either. Her leg bounced up and down as she sat there nervously. Juice set a hand on her thigh, squeezing it gently. "Relax, baby," he said, one side of his mouth turning up with a hint of a smile.

Taking in a deep breath, she let it out slowly as she tried to look strong. If she fell apart, Juice would be right behind her. She needed to act strong for him. "I'm fine," she assured him with a nod. "I got this. Go 'head. Do what you gotta do. Just don't kill anyone."

His smile grew a bit as he nodded. " 'course not," he said, leaning over the console to kiss her cheek. "You want anythin'?"

Angela shrugged a shoulder. "Somethin' sweet and cheap?" she requested. A wry grin spread across his face, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "If you say 'like you', I will smack you so fuckin' hard, Juan Carlos Ortiz."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he replied on a chuckle. "Be back in a minute."

"Wait!" she exclaimed, grabbing onto his sweatshirt and tugging him closer to her again. She gave him a searing kiss, her tongue sliding into his mouth for a moment. He leaned in, his hand moving to the back of her neck to hold her in closer. She pulled away after a moment, swiping her thumb over his lips with a small smile. "For luck."

Juice nodded, squeezing her hand before reaching for the door. "Keep the car runnin'."

"On it. Be safe, baby."

He winked at her. "Always."

Angela watched him head into the store, his hands deep in his pockets. Once he was gone, she let out a long breath, trying her best to calm down. She'd tried to be strong for him but inside, she was a mess. She missed her daughter and was terrified they were going through all of this crazy shit only for it to blow up in their faces.

It didn't take long for Juice to come running out of the store, a brown bag in his hand. He jumped into the passenger's seat, slamming the door behind him. As soon as it was closed, she floored it, speeding down the commercial area like a bat out of hell. A thrill went down her spine as adrenaline coursed through her veins. For a minute, she forgot all of her worries and just rode the rush, weaving through traffic on their way out of town.

"Adrenaline junkie," Juice teased on a laugh as he pulled two lollipops from his pocket. He unwrapped the strawberry one and handed it to her, keeping the cherry one for himself. "Hope Evie doesn't get those genes."

Angela laughed. "We're totally screwed if she's anything like I was."

" 'specially if she's into Mayans," he muttered, feigning injury when she smacked his arm.

"Shut up," she said, trying to hide a smile of her own. She nodded to the brown bag in his lap. "How much did you get? We gotta make anymore stops?"

Juice chuckled softly, shaking his head at her as he flipped through the gash. "Nah, think we're good for now," he replied, putting it back in the bag and shoving it in his pocket. He held out his hand to her. "You ready for this?"

She put her hand in his, feeling comforted by the way her fingers fit perfectly between his. "I dunno. Still not sure this is the best move. Do we really need Alvarez's help? Can't you just...computer magic it?"

"Not enough time. That shit takes months to plan," he said, shaking his head with a frown. "Alvarez runs shit through Mexico all the time. We can just hop on whatever truck he uses and go. It's easy money for him, baby."

"Hmm," she hummed around the lollipop in her mouth. "All right, say it works out and we go to Mexico, right? Then what?"

He shrugged. "When it works out, we'll find a nice beach house with a pool, get Viv to bring down Eves and Ken, and..."