Your Favorite Crime

6. A Dangerous Game

Lucy knows she did not have a normal upbringing- with criminals as parents, she was taught to pickpocket the second she could walk and how to lie convincingly the second she could talk. Being raised by criminals meant she had trust issues, always looking over her shoulder, and assuming everyone was a threat. Her upbringing did raise her to be cautious, which Lucy would qualify as a good and necessary trait .

Especially when her father was being investigated by an undercover cop. She was 13 years old, and she was the one to figure out the person's true identity. Her parents did not believe her, and that undercover cop was the reason that her mother was in prison. Patrick stole the Hope diamond, and afterwards, the undercover cop saw him with it, and Vanessa lied and confessed to stealing it.

That's when Lucy promised herself she would never let herself or anyone that she loves ever get into trouble. She poured over the law, LAPD regulations, and even studied theft police reports to identify what mistakes others made to ensure she could never be arrested for the same reasons.

Her first reaction when she meets anyone eager to join her crew is to suspect that they are an undercover cop, but when Lucy met Tim on the street, he was charming, kind, and helpful. He did not ask about her work or showed interest in her. He simply helped her with her car like a kindhearted person would. When she came across his arrest record (what she considers as a resume), Lucy was pleasantly surprised that Tim was a criminal, and she was all too intrigued to hire him after reading his resume.

She realized she had brought him into the fold. Tim asked to stay, but Lucy hired him in the first place, and she let him stay, because she LIKED him. She never likes anyone. Not like that. Until Tim.

Tim was sweet and quiet, he did not ask too many questions about the operation, he actually never said anything while they planned their most recent heist. For some reason, with vulnerability shining in his eyes for her, Lucy softened, too. When she got to know him, that softness turned into something deeper that she did not want to name, but she knew what it was. She knew she was starting to have feelings for him.

It was equal parts scary and also thrilling to feel drawn to Tim. Lucy never let herself do anything thrilling; she made plans for every scenario to avoid the thrill, because that would mean she was in danger. Her parents had lived in fear, on the edge of the law, constantly worried they would get arrested. She did not want to live like that, so she made plans instead. She was vigilant, smart, and purposeful with every decision she made, so when the police arrived at the bank during the heist far quicker than the average response time, Lucy was suspicious. But, Tim was quick to convince her by saying he cares about her, and that look in his eyes made her believe him.

She believed him enough that she got nervous from feeling that THRILL of attraction to him and kicked him out of her house. He kissed her goodbye. That's what it was supposed to be, but she had to admit she liked the way his mouth, his tongue, and his hands made her feel so breathlessly excited, so she went against her better judgement and ignored the plan she made for how to react when she has feelings for someone, and she kissed him again and again, and afterwards, she let him stay. Lucy foolishly thought that maybe she could abandon her endless plans in ONE instance just for Tim. After being lonely for so long, she felt like she had found a true companion in Tim- someone who could understand her, support her, and maybe some day someone who could love her. Lucy had every intention of seeing what they could become without trying to worry about every scenario and just enjoy getting to know (and getting to kiss) him.

But, trust does not come easy to Lucy, so when she looked out of her bedroom window to find Tim leaving the guest house, her gut told her that she needed to follow him, so she did. She watched him sit at a bar and speak to a beautiful woman, but they wore serious expressions and did not touch, so it was definitely not a date. The beautiful woman drove away, and Lucy was wary of her. Detective Angela Lopez was her name. It was only minutes later that Lucy's research confirmed that the identity of the detective and that Tim is also a cop. An undercover cop like the one that helped put her mother behind bars.