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Raven knew exactly what she was looking for as she walked into the saloon. John Murphy’s face was plastered on wanted posters in every county in the state, so she knew he wouldn’t be hard to find. She was surprised he hadn’t been caught already.
But that’s not what she was here for. Raven knew his reputation: he was an infamous bank robber. Well, he and his gang were bank robbers, but he was the obvious leader of the crew. That didn’t scare her, she had a few bank robberies under her belt herself. The difference was she’d never been stupid enough to let herself be seen. Her wanted posters didn’t have a face to them. That was the difference between men and women; women didn’t feel the need to brag about their crimes. It made it harder for them to be caught.
Murphy was leaning against the piano as Raven strode in. He was flirting with a woman and she was clearly enjoying his attention. He glanced up and caught Raven’s eye, and she gave him a shy smile before averting her eyes and making her way to the bar. She ordered a port and the bartender poured it for her.
Raven was well aware of her charms, and she knew what men wanted. That’s why she wasn’t at all surprised when Murphy wandered over to her moments later, having abandoned the other woman he’d been talking to.
“I haven’t seen you around before,” Murphy noted, leaning coolly against the bar, hat in hand. Raven turned to face him.
“I’m just passing through,” she told him, not making direct eye contact so as to keep up the damsel façade. “Are you from around these parts?”
“Yeah but I come and go pretty regularly. Can’t stick around the same place too long on account of my profession,” Murphy replied with a sly smile.
“Oh, really? What’s your profession?” Raven asked innocently, knowing full well what his “profession” was.
“I probably shouldn’t say,” Murphy said coyly. “It might scare you off.”
Raven had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Did this kind of thing really work for him? It was insufferable.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Raven said, a small smile playing on her lips. “I’m tougher than I look.”
Murphy looked at her, pondering whether or not he was going to tell her what she already knew. She gave him another sickeningly sweet smile and subtly battered her eyelashes. It wasn’t going to be hard to get him to trust her; he was already completely underestimating her.
“Alright, I’ll tell you,” he finally conceded. He leaned in close to her ear so that no one could overhear, and it sent shivers up her spine. “I’m a bank robber.”
She raised an eyebrow in feigned interest, like this was the first she’d heard of it. “Wow, that sounds like dangerous work,” she said, her voice low to match his. She twirled her hair and bit her lip. Murphy seemed pleased with the response. They finished their drinks and Murphy gestured to the bartender for another round.
“What’s your name?” he asked. Raven took a sip of her drink.
“Raven,” she told him. He didn’t seem to click that her name was planted everywhere, as much as his was. Perhaps with the lack of a picture he thought the infamous Raven was a man. “What’s yours?”
“You can call me Murphy,” he said. He clicked his tongue and took a swig of his whiskey. The more she looked at him, the more Raven could see his appeal. He was attractive, she could give him that, and he was kind of a smooth talker. “Should we find a table? Perhaps a dark corner to hide in?”
“Well, that wouldn’t be very proper, would it?” she said with a teasing smile. Murphy smirked.
“Something tells me you’re not as proper as you seem,” he noted, looking into her eyes like he was trying to figure her out. She could feel her heartbeat as he eyed her curiously. He had her feeling things she definitely shouldn’t be feeling, but she wasn’t going to ruin the operation she’d planned so carefully just because he was vaguely good-looking.
“Well then, I think I saw a free table over in the corner,” she agreed, trying not to seem too eager. They moved over to the table with their drinks and sat down next to each other, their knees brushing underneath the table. Suddenly Raven could feel her corset getting a bit too tight.
“Are you a working girl yourself?” Murphy asked. Raven furrowed her brow in confusion and Murphy hurried to correct himself. “Not like that, I meant do you have a job?” It was the first time he’d seemed even slightly flustered or unsure of himself. Raven laughed at his mishap.
“I do work, yes,” she told him, then realised she needed to think of a lie so that she didn’t give away that she was also a criminal. “I’m a secretary.”
“So, what’s a single young woman like yourself doing unescorted in a town like this?” Murphy wondered.
“I’m just travelling,” she said vaguely. “Most men don’t realise this, but a single young woman is capable of taking care of herself.”
Murphy nodded thoughtfully. “I am starting to realise that.”
“Now let me ask you something,” Raven continued. “If you rob banks for a living, where do you keep all of the money you steal? Surely you can’t put it into banks, if that’s, for lack of a better word, your rival?”
Murphy gave her a flirtatious smile. “Mostly I stash it in my room. Under my mattress, in my wardrobe. That kind of thing.”
Raven smiled back at him, though not for the reason he thought. “Perhaps you could show me sometime,” she said, then immediately put her head in her hand, feigning embarrassment. “That came out far more forward than I intended.”
“No that’s okay,” Murphy hurried to comfort her. “I could show you now, if you’d like.” Raven raised her head and nodded enthusiastically. Murphy grabbed his ten-gallon hat from the table, put it on and linked arms with Raven, leading her out of the saloon.
They each untied their horses from where they were tied up by the troughs and swiftly jumped up.
“Lead the way,” Raven told him. Murphy tipped his hat and rode off. Raven followed immediately after and they rode side by side until they reached Murphy’s house. He showed her where to tie her horse up and led her inside.
It was a modest home with only two rooms, but it seemed big enough for him.
“So, this is it,” Murphy said, gesturing around the small house. Raven looked around the room at all of the places he could possibly have hidden his cash before looking back at Murphy quickly, to ensure he didn’t get suspicious.
Ordinarily, this would be the part where she would gain the physical advantage, hold him at knifepoint and tie him up while she robbed him blind. On this occasion, however, she could think of a much better way for her to get what she wanted that would be enjoyable for both of them.
“Well, you didn’t bring me here just to show me your two-room home,” Raven said in a low voice, taking a step towards him so that they were toe to toe. He wasn’t much taller than her but he still had to look down to look at her.
“Honestly, I’m surprised you came this far,” Murphy admitted in a whisper like he was afraid to wake the neighbours. “You seem like too nice of a girl for this.”
“You don’t know a damn thing about me,” Raven reminded him, her voice sure but soft. Their faces were nearly touching and Murphy could feel the heat between them. Unable to take the tension anymore, his lips came crashing down on hers and she kissed him back with intensity.
They quickly started to remove their clothes like their lives depended on it. Murphy threw Raven down on the bed, removed the last of his clothes and joined her, kissing her neck and intertwining their bodies.
-
Murphy woke up a lot later than usual the next morning. To be fair, they had been up most of the night. He smiled to himself and rubbed his eyes, opening them slowly. He noticed Raven wasn’t in the bed beside him and sat up.
As he looked around the room, Murphy realised the place had been ransacked. There was a note on the pillow beside him.
Sorry, darling, I won this round. Until next time?
xx Raven Reyes
The name sounded familiar to him, and he suddenly remembered where he’d seen that name before.
“Shit,” he cursed, and he felt under his mattress for his money only to find it was gone. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and continued to search his tiny house but he had taken every single cent he’d had hidden.
A thought dawned on him and he hastily put some pants on and ran outside. As expected, his horse was gone too.
He cursed himself for allowing this to happen to him, but the worst part? He really did hope there would be a next time.