Prologue

She cased the place for two days now. Two days was too long to be without food, but she had grown used to it. Why? Because she was homeless and a thief. If anyone asked her, she'd tell them right off the bat that she didn't give a shit. Some people out there would try to make those like her feel like they own the world for their measly two cents they put in the cups and hats every now and again. In Rabbit's opinion, they should be thankful 'bums' like her didn't slit their throats for what's in their wallets.

She grew up not caring what people thought of her, adapting an "I don't give a fuck attitude" pretty early on. That was the one thing she learned from her mother. Besides, she had to do what she had to do to stay alive. Some people choose to get jobs. She chose to take shit. It wasn't about right or wrong, it was about survival, which was the only way. Quite frankly, she'd always been like that. She always took what she wanted. Her mom was a pro at that. It was why her dad eventually cheated on her mom—with a man—and divorced her before leaving Rabbit and her older brother and moving away to Alaska. He took care of his children during the marriage, so it wasn't like she needed to steal. But she was a greedy, selfish, narcissistic, abusive whore and still is a greedy, selfish, narcissistic, abusive whore.

Rabbit wasn't perceived as a threat to most people, she passed as a bodacious beauty all around. 5"2, long hair that she kept in braids during the summer due to the unbearable heat, boldly original tattoos on display for all to see. Except she kept them covered up with a red hoodie. A black one would be better, especially at night, but the brightness of the red would definitely draw wandering eyes, which could be cause for her getting caught. It was the dauntlessness of it all. Would she get caught? Wouldn't she? The hoodie and shorts were all that she wore, with a cute little spaghetti strapped top underneath. The shorts highlighted her nice, round ass. She had a tiny frame, but the hips and booty went for days. It was that bomb-shit men that drove men crazy. Women, too. Along with the shorts, her ass always came in handy when she hunted a mark. She would smile. Wink. Or she could look bashful. Sweet. It got her a lot of things and got her into a lot of places.

For instance, she got close to one of the managers of the Olive Garden up the street. She already robbed the place twice, going unseen and unnoticed. It's why the owner, Big Mike, decided to get security cameras. Guess taking a few bucks was out of the question now. That was okay. The joint she was currently scouting was good enough. She liked the little Mexican restaurant anyway. Keith, the manager, knew her situation so he would give her chips and dip, with a drink sometimes on the house. Still, he wasn't going to expect that it was Rabbit that was about to jack him.

However, his 'rant wasn't what she was looking at in that moment. At least not anymore. No, she was looking at the lady with the short blonde hair. Looked to be in her fifties. Maybe she was a mom. Maybe a Grandma. She was sexy. She always came in—wearing simple clothes, yes—but leaving huge ass tips. The waitresses knew that so they always made sure to snatch the cash up before Rabbit could even get to it. Whores.

She wanted that money.

She. Was going. To. Get. That. Money. That evening, it was going to be hers. She had to think quick. Things were a little different though. She was with those three guys. Rabbit thought they were her grandsons. Maybe sons? She didn't look that old to be having grandchildren at the age those men looked to be. All of them were fucking hot, though.

One of them was big and tall. Looked like a surfer boy. The other one with shaggy, long blond hair looked like a surfer boy too, but she would put him maybe as a skater boy. Shit, with how delectable they looked, Rabbit would fuck both of them. But there was that other one, with the short hair. He sat at the head, close to the lady. There was something about him. He had an air of authority. Like he ran shit. What did he run? Rabbit didn't know what he ran, but he had a boss type of personality to him and that made her wet between the legs.

They were ready to go because they all stood up. All looked strong. Like they could easily kick the shit out of someone. This time, The Leader plopped a few bills on the table, not the lady.

They grabbed their things and left. Pushing and shoving each other. Laughing.

That's when she made her move. She would have waited, but she had to get it before their waitress came over.

And got it!

Looking down at it, she smirked. Three hundred dollars. 'Shit, maybe I need to become a fucking waitress!' She stuffed the bills into her pocket, along with a few other things that she might need later (forks and knives) and took the rest of a burrito.

"HEY! The fuck are you doing?!"

Spinning around, Rabbit's heart stopped. Boo-boom…boo-boom… It was The Leader. She looked at all of them staring at her. Clearing her throat, she swallowed the sudden nervousness that she felt in the pit of her stomach. She hadn't felt that way since her first mark. Standing up straighter, she smirked. They can be pissed all they want. She got what she wanted. There was nothing they could do about it. Lifting the hand that held the burrito, she waved what fingers she could, before chuckling.

WHOOSH! Then she took off running.

She was a fast runner. Jack rabbit fast. Her mom used to call her that: Jack the Rabbit. She went into high school early, despite her background. thirteen years of age. She left at fifteen, but before she did, she led that school in Track & Field two years in a row. That school wasn't shit until she got there. She made it what it is today

She glanced behind her. The boys were after her, running hard. She laughed out loud because she wasn't even breaking a sweat. "Losers!" She thought they were still hot, though.

Turning a corner, she picked up the pace. This path would put her to the trail to the bus station. She had a few dollars that would have gotten her on. She didn't want to break the hundreds just yet.

Suddenly, a car came out of nowhere from her left. She saw what was about to happen as if it was in slow motion and she couldn't stop. Not while running that fast. She tried to jump it but miscalculated it and felt the fender hit her in the side. Hard enough to send her flying to the right. She rolled to a stop and wanted to cry so badly. Yeah, she was a tough cookie, but Goddamn…'Shit. I'm dead. Right?'' Patting herself down, Rabbit groaned. "Fuuuck…Fucking asshole!"

The woman got out of the car, while the boys caught up with them. Taking her time, she stalked up slowly; standing with one hip cocked and her arms folded beneath her breasts. Oddly, she smirked down at the injured young Rabbit.

"You little thief!" Sk8er Boi yelled. Bending down, he started ripping at Rabbit's clothes, trying to find the money. "Where is it?! Huh! Where is it?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" She tried to stop his hands, but he was too strong and too fast. So...she scratched his face like a fucking cat would. That hurt him a smidge, so she gave him a punch. He could kick her ass easily, but she wasn't going to go down without a fight. She never did.

"BITCH!" He charged at Rabbit, but was stopped by The Leader, while Surfer Boy laughed.

"Look," The Leader calmly said. "we don't want any trouble. Alright, sweetheart? Now, give us the money and we can give you a ride home."

Rabbit made a face. Home. Home(bold italics)? There was no such fucking thing. It made her jealous of them even more. She didn't even know she felt like that at first.

"How about this," the woman said. She had that smirk still plastered on her face. She was about to say something, but didn't get the chance.

A quick warning siren sounded off and a police officer walked up, with his flashlight shining in their faces. Why did they do that? That was so fucking annoying. It's not even that dark outside yet. He didn't need that shit.

"Excuse me, ma'am." He was talking to Rabbit. "Are these people bothering you?" He reached out his hand to help her up, but she smacked it away.

She looked at them all, her eyes landing on The Leader. After a few seemingly long moments, she shook her head and then looked back at the cop. "No, sir. I fell. They were just helping me." The taller one did just that. He helped Rabbit up and stood her on her feet. She winced and it took everything inside of her to not yell. It felt like her rib was bruised or something. Shit, it hurt!

"You sure you're not hurt?" The cop asked. He didn't look very convinced.

"No problem here, officer." The tall one said.

"I'm not talking to you, Sasquatch." The cop seethed. "I know who you are. All of you." He looked at the family and then back down to Rabbit.

She shook her head again and chuckled. "Yeah, we were goofing off and I fell. It hurt but I'm fine. Old injury. I ran track at MiraCosta High." She chuckled.

"No kidding! Go Spartans! I went there, too! Of course, that was a long time ago. Track, huh? That's nice. I played a little soccer myself. Well, if you're not hurt and…these people aren't bothering you, then I guess I have to take your word for it."

Rabbit smiled one of her sweet smiles. She had a ton of them, too. Sometimes, she didn't even have to steal or use her ass to get what she wanted. She bit her lip and looked down. Bashful. It was time to get rid of the fucker. This was none of his business. Sure, she could have used him to get away, but that would have been too easy and she didn't do easy. "Well, gotta go. It's getting dark. Gotta get back...h-home." Shit. There she goes, stuttering when she mentioned home. Her eyes found the lady's. Her brow went up. Did she know?

"Yeah! Of course! You need a ride?" The cop asked.

"She has a ride." The woman piped in. She put her hand on the Rabbit's shoulder and rubbed it.

It caused Rabbit to bite down on her bottom lip. The gesture was caring and...nurturing. Like her dad used to be…

"Alright, well, you have a good night. Be safe and watch out for…undesirables." He looked at the lady and her sons, saluted up a goodbye and smile, before getting in his car and leaving.

Rabbit stepped away from the lady. They didn't turn her in. That was nice. She didn't say anything about them, either. Okay, so that was...also nice. Sighing, she rolled her eyes. Digging in her back pocket, she pulled out the hundreds. "Here," she muttered. "You want the burrito too?"

"Keep it." The woman said. "Consider the money a loan." That smirk was back. "One day, you'll pay me back. Let's drop ya' off. Where do ya' live?"

Rabbit swallowed hard. Her eyes glanced at the short haired one. His eyes narrowed, while he watched her. Looking away and then down to the ground, she shrugged. Could it be? Was she uncomfortable? No one ever made her feel such a way. "Everywhere." She said after a few beats.

"So, nowhere."

Yep. She already knew what the deal was. Sighing, Rabbit looked down at the hand the woman held out. "I guess you can say that."

"I'm Janine. You can call me Smurf. These are my sons. Craig. Deran and this here...the one you've been staring at...is Baz. What's your name?"

Rabbit blinked and swallowed hard. Shit, was it that obvious? She couldn't help but stare at the guy. He was…there was something about him…She nodded, but stayed quiet. She didn't tell them her name. They could use it against her. She wanted to look down. The lady…Smurf…had that look that could run blood cold. That never happened to her, either. It was Smurf's lopsided smirk that seemed almost...warm.

"Tell you what. You don't tell me your name. Keep the hundreds and we can go our separate ways. You can at least get a room and some food for the night. If you do tell me your name, then you can stay with me for a few days until you get your shit together. Plus, you can still keep the hundreds."

Rabbit's eyes flew to Smurf's. Stay with them for a few days?! That was fucking crazy! They could be cannibals that ate people and had some kind of big ass chainsaw carrying dude—with half a face rotting off—in the basement ready to peel her skin off and wear it.

Except it was that smirk that made Rabbit feel...like she could trust Smurf. Why the fuck was that? She looked at the one she called Craig. He kind of smiled. Deran didn't. He just stared at her and shrugged. Then she looked at Baz. He stared at her, hard. Stared straight into her soul. Her panties were soaked through and through and her knees were weak.

"You gotta name, sweetheart?" He asked. There was that 'sweetheart' thing again. She heard men call her that before, but for some reason, it was mouthwateringly sexy coming from him. If she told him her name, that meant she would go home with them. She looked down and shrugged. Should she tell? It was part of her act. No one really knew who she was. For all they knew, she had no name.

She looked at Baz again and sighed. "Rabbit. My name is Rabbit."

Deran's face broke out in a grin. "What the fuck? Rabbit? Did your mom see a rabbit or something and decided to name ya' that? She must've seen a lot of rabbits, huh?"

Rabbit gave a sarcastic laugh. "Ya' mama should'a named ya 'Dick'." Rolling her eyes, she walked towards the car, ready to get in and get this over with.

Craig laughed, bending over slightly. "Get it? She's saying your mom's seen a lot of dicks. Ha!"

"Smurf's your mother too, asswipe," Deran seethed.

"Still funny tho'." He roughed up Deran's hair, while the two of them wrestled each other on their way to the car.

"I like her." Smurf said, looking up at Baz. "So do you, huh? She wasn't the only one staring..."