Chapter 3 - Bank Vault

James liked how Juliet drove; aggressively within the law, holding the wheel with her left hand and an iced coffee in the right.

"Sex hangovers are real," she murmured as they sped down the highway. She leaned against the headrest and glanced at her passenger. She looked tired but satisfied behind her gigantic sunglasses. The way he looked back at her made her smile.

There was one stop they had to make, before they could head to her cousin's place in Texas. He'd followed her to the car that morning without question, content to tag along wherever she was going. Now that they were on the road, he was curious. Juliet kept to the carpool lane and showed no signs of slowing.

"Where we headed?" James asked casually. They'd just passed the last of the Anaheim exits on the 5. There was a whole lot of desert between there and Amarillo, and Mexico was not exactly on the way.

Juliet sucked down more of her drink, and swallowed before she answered.

"Tustin."

"Tustin?"

"Tustin."

James nodded slowly. So she was going to make him beg for it. That was alright.

"...What's in Tustin?" he asked.

"A safe deposit box." she answered.

"And what's inside that safe deposit box?"

"Lots and lots of money."

"Oh, lots and lots?"

Juliet nodded. "Mm-hm."

"All yours?"

"Ours, now." Juliet glanced at him with a subtle smile. "If you behave yourself."

A new smile made his dimples crease, and he chuckled.

"What the hell did your husband do to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean..." James muttered with playful reproach.

Juliet's smug smile widened. She knew exactly what he meant.

"Squirrelin' away some cash," he said. "I get that. Every married woman should. But running off with another man, who happens to be your kidnapper? Sharing your secret getaway fortune with him? Admit it, I'm a revenge plot."

Juliet sighed wistfully. "Edmund…"

"...Cheated on you?"

"Only a couple hundred times."

James shook his head. "How…?" he said, looking her up and down. "Why?"

"To be fair, I stopped putting out. It wasn't very rewarding when I did."

"Nope. Mm-mm," James disagreed. "It's not your fault he wasn't man enough to feed that appetite of yours."

"Not everyone has the stamina to put in the work that you do."

"It ain't work if you're doin' it right." James murmured suggestively.

"Well," Juliet sighed, taking another sip. "Don't feel bad for me. I cheated on him too."

"You don't say? I could have sworn yesterday was your first time."

Juliet smirked behind her shades. "Yeah, and you were a virgin."

They chuckled together.

"His cheating sucked, sure. But some of the women he approached weren't interested. Last year he harassed the wrong intern. Nineteen years old, daughter of the chief of surgery. He lost his job, then somehow convinced me to quit mine. Solidarity, he said. We had to put up a united front. He sued the hospital, while he was being sued for sexual harassment and malpractice. We've been stuck in legal battles ever since."

"So he blew up your lives over some teenage pussy that he didn't even get."

Juliet cleared her throat. "That about sums it up, yes."

Those details still annoyed her. He could read that clearly on her normally inscrutable expression.

"Why don't we turn around," James suggested. "Go back to your house and kick him 'til he cries again?"

The corners of Juliet's mouth turned up. She put her straw in her mouth.

"I know you liked it," he said, his voice getting low. "When I pulled him out of the car…"

She took a sip of her drink, lips lingering on the straw as she chuckled.

"I unbuckled his seatbelt for you." she confessed.

James laughed. "Oh, you were big mad."

"The car is one of our last remaining assets! It doesn't need a damaged seat belt. Besides, you were in a hurry. It's rude to make people wait."

"Especially when they've got a gun to your head."

Juliet replayed the scene in her mind, and shook her head in disbelief. "God, he's so fucking stupid."

"Now I know never to piss you off."

"I don't think you could."

"That's sweet of you."

"I came three times yesterday," Juliet reminded him.

"Is that a record?" James asked with another smug smile.

"With another person? Not having to do most of the work myself? Yes."

James grinned, tickled to his core. Juliet raised both eyebrows, as if to ask if he expected any other answer. No, he hadn't. He was no less delighted by the truth of it.

They arrived in the middle of nowhere squared just after noon, and parked in the mostly empty bank lot. James thought he'd wait in the car while she went in and conducted business.

"Come in." Juliet insisted, unbuckling her seatbelt. "It'll be fun."

She opened her door and got out, expecting him to follow.

"Sure," James agreed, exiting slowly. "Why not? Couldn't go worse than the last time I was in a bank."

Juliet smirked and waited by the hood for him to join her.

"Do you know anyone in Tustin?" she challenged him.

They walked toward the bank together.

James made a face. "Not to my recollection. There might be a few nights over the years I'll never recollect, but…I'm pretty sure."

"I don't know anyone here either."

"Is that why you chose this place?"

"My cousin in Texas; she used to live here. She worked at this bank." Juliet tossed her empty coffee cup in the garbage can outside the door.

Before she could reach for it, James pulled the front door open and held it for her.

"After you, sweetheart." he said, sickly sweet.

"Thanks, honey." Juliet answered, giving his nose a boop with her forefinger.

She slipped off her sunglasses and walked straight to the manager's office. James stayed close behind, and took note of all possible exits on the way.

The manager looked up. His face lit up the moment he recognized his client. His name plate said Benjamin Linus, and he didn't seem to notice James at first.

"Dr. Burke!" Ben greeted her with a smile. "It's been far too long."

"Hi." Juliet replied, like warm syrup on pancakes. "We need access to my safe deposit boxes."

Ben's smile faltered at her choice of pronouns. He glanced at Juliet's tall, handsome companion, who was a little distracted himself. Had she just said 'boxes', plural?

"Of course," Ben plastered the smile back in place.

He led them back to the bank vault, and unlocked the gate to let them in.

"Will you be moving any assets today?" he asked innocently. "Don't tell me you need a third box already!"

"Just a little show and tell." Juliet replied.

She gave no further hint as to their purpose there. Ben realized belatedly the polite stare she was giving was her waiting for him to go away.

"Take as much time as you need," he said. "I'll be right outside if you need anything."

He cast another sharp glance at James before retreating. James hovered near the gate, making sure Ben went all the way back to his office.

Once they were alone, Juliet retrieved two separate boxes and placed the metal cases one at a time on the table in the center of the room. The room remained hushed as she opened the first box. James came up behind her and peered over her shoulder as she opened the top of the second.

Inside was Juliet's split pot of gold - stacks upon stacks of delicious, untraceable $100 bills, neatly bound and packed tight together. The contents practically glowed with the wealth represented, sitting there under the soft fluorescent lighting of the vault.

The contingency. James wasn't sure what he'd been expecting. Between the voracious sex and covering for him with the police, she'd already done more than enough for him. She didn't owe him a damn cent. The way he saw it, he was tagging along until she got sick of him, or until the cops finally caught up to him on their own.

"That's…a lot of bills." he said.

"Just a few hundred," Juliet murmured. "…thousand."

"How many hundred thousand?"

"Almost three, here." She touched the side of both canisters, her finger tips brushing the topmost stacks. "This is just the cash. There's more in an offshore account."

This was more than Montgomery had stolen from him when they robbed the bank in LA. Juliet was letting this sit in a dusty bank vault in Tustin, California. And there was more? James breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent of money and Juliet's perfume at the same time. He associated her scent with many pleasant things.

Juliet smiled, sensing his extreme satisfaction. "Enough for a romantic getaway?" she asked jokingly.

She felt his hand brush her hair from her shoulder. He leaned in close and replied softly in her ear.

"I want to watch you bathe in it."

It sent a shiver goosebumps all the way down her side. She turned her head, ready to tell him she was more than willing to grant that wish. Before she could say anything he made a fist in her hair and kissed her hard on the lips. Juliet's mouth opened when his mouth told it to. She melted at the physical command, nearly going limp in his grip. It began with rough passion and tapered off sweetly. When their faces parted he massaged her scalp and looked into her eyes.

"I think I love you." he murmured.

Juliet smiled, almost laughed. She bit her lip, still wet from their kiss, and looked from his lips to his eyes.

"If you keep saying that," she warned. "One of us might start believing it."

She rubbed her nose against his and pulled away. His loosened fingers ran smoothly through her hair, and his hand caressed her back as she reached for one of the bags the bank manager provided.

They took their time packing it up, keeping the stacks neat in each duffel. James glanced at Juliet while they worked.

"You sure you don't want to take this and go to an island somewhere? We don't have to look for that ugly sum'bitch."

"I thought it would be fun." Juliet shrugged innocently. She placed a few more stacks in her bag, thinking about it. "Imagine the look on his face."

James smiled. "I like your mean streak."

"I like your mouth."

"Come'ere and kiss me, then."

Juliet placed the last two stacks that would fit into her bag, and zipped it shut. James still had a few more to go, but she didn't let him finish before she grabbed his face and kissed him, lapping at his mouth with her tongue. She backed James up against the back wall of boxes with an enthusiasm that took him off guard.

"Mmh-" James grunted when his back hit the sharp edges of raised key holes and box edges. Juliet's mouth moved to his neck, licking and kissing him under his ear, and he glanced at the open vault door across the room. From this angle there were a few inches where any passerby would be able to see them.

"You wanna get caught?" he whispered, half warning, half dare.

Juliet moaned and kissed his pulse. Her fingers pulled at the button on his jeans. The zipper was down in a second, and one of her hands slipped inside. His tune changed when she started stroking him.

"Shit…" he muttered, giving in as soon as his cock did.

Juliet looked down between them and moaned quietly at the erection she was causing to grow in her palm.

"You want me to fuck you right here?" James asked.

She imagined it, and smiled wickedly to herself.

"Maybe next time."

"Next time?" James asked. "How many safe deposits you got?"

Her only reply was to get down on her knees in front of him and take him into her mouth. James watched every inch disappear between her lips, momentarily distracted from the open doorway and the bank staff milling around outside of it. He rested a hand gently on the back of her head, letting her head bob back and forth on its own.

"I don't care where we go," James breathed. "We could be in a grocery store or a god damned church, I'll return the favor whenever you ask me to."

She kept it quiet while she sucked him off in the otherwise silent bank vault. James kept half an eye on the door, though he was unable to keep his eyes off of Juliet for too long. She was curing his bank-related PTSD, that was for sure.

James let her know when he was going to come. She kept going, making it clear she wanted him to finish inside her mouth. His grip on her head tightened as he got closer, and she allowed him to set the pace that would push him over the edge. She swallowed everything he gave to her, and left no trace other than a slick coat of her own saliva when he pulled her head away from his hips. She gasped a silent breath when her mouth was freed, diving right back in to catch anything else that might come out. James pulled her away again, too sensitive to let her continue.

Juliet swiped as much wetness as she could onto her palm and wiped it on the outside of his jeans as she stood up straight. James swept a thumb along her bottom lip. Her eyes were shining bright, her lips extra warm and soft after all that work.

"You're fucking wild, you know that?" he said, voice low.

"You make me wild." she murmured.

He kissed her, his lips sliding against hers. James tucked himself back in, adjusting carefully before fastening his pants. He kissed her, and kept kissing her, because she kept kissing back.

James glanced at the door. Juliet finally took an interest in their privacy, and glanced over her shoulder too. There was no one watching. She turned back to James. Her eyes wandered over his lips and hair and eyes. Absently, she wiped the corner of her mouth, where their kisses left her mouth wet.

"You want to go spend some of this money?" she asked.

"What did you have in mind?"

Juliet's gaze wandered down to his t-shirt. "Let's buy you some new clothes."

"What, you don't like the two outfits I grabbed while the police helicopter was circling my place?"

"I just want to spoil you." she said, a mischief filled twinkle in her eye.

James laughed, in disbelief. "Baby, you just did."

"That," she said. "Was nothing. Come on."

She tugged the fabric of his t-shirt, and turned to finish packing the second bag. Once she was done, James snatched up both of them before she could get hold.

"I got 'em."

"You sure?" she asked. "It's a heavy load."

"You know all about those, don't you?"

Juliet smiled and followed him toward the vault door.

"Wait-" she murmured, turning back. She walked over to the table, pulled her wedding ring off and dropped it inside one of the open boxes. The ring clattered as she closed the box and shoved it back into the wall.

She stopped in Mr. Linus' office on the way out, to hand in her keys and let him know she was closing out both accounts.

"A-are you sure?" the manager asked. His hand reached for the keys she held toward him, and he eyed nervously the bags James carried on each shoulder.

"I don't think I'll be back out this way."

Ben took her polite explanation with a sad nod.

"Well. If you ever do come back, you know where to find me. Us. The bank."

Juliet smiled at his stuttering self-correction. She thanked him for his services over the years, said her final goodbye and turned to go.

James glanced at the little CCTV monitor on Ben's office book shelf. Ben noticed and glanced over at it too, his eyes widening, the color draining from his face. James made sure to smile at him real big on the way out.

The sun was at its summertime zenith, and it was hot out there in the desert. Juliet used her key to start the car and pop the trunk remotely. James dumped both duffel bags inside next to her suitcase.

"You want to return that favor now?" Juliet asked. She slammed the trunk shut, turned and gazed at him with clear intent.

James showed his dimples again. "Did it turn you on, getting down on your knees for me?"

Juliet nodded. She hid it well for the stroll out of there. Now that they were alone together, she didn't hide how desperate she was to get off.

"Get in the back." James told her. "Let me see it."

Juliet let herself in, hiking her skirt up as she slid over and made room for James. He crawled in after her, closing them inside the back seat. They had to contort their bodies to get Juliet into position and her legs out of the way. The back of her head pushed against the inside of the door, knees pulled up almost to her chin, so James could get his upper body in between her thighs.

"Look at you," James murmured. He ran his thumb over a pool of wetness gathered on the outside of her underwear. "You're soaked through."

He didn't taunt her any longer. With his head between her legs, he pulled the soaked fabric aside and rubbed the flat of his tongue up, down and over her throbbing cunt, each time passing over a swollen bud that was ready to burst with pleasure. She let loose her moans inside the car, hips thrusting gently because he was already applying the perfect amount of pressure. It did not take long at all to reach a writhing orgasm. He lapped everything up, same as she'd done for him, and he didn't stop until he got another tremor from her, her sighing moans giving way to another quick shudder.

James shifted his body upward and licked his lips, gently readjusting her underwear.

"Thanks." Juliet said. "Now we're even," she added in a winking tone.

"Not even close." James promised.

Juliet's eyes slipped closed when he leaned in for a kiss. She held his face to hers, kissing and licking at his mouth until the taste of her was gone.

The desert heat hit again when she got out of the back seat. She was barely able to finish adjusting her skirt before getting lightheaded. Her vision faded for a moment.

"Whoa."

"You want me to take a turn driving?"

Juliet nodded. James came around the side of the car to claim the keys.

"You got directions for me?"

"Keep going east until the sun sets. I'll find us somewhere to stay tonight."

Even with air conditioning, the heat through the windshield lulled Juliet to sleep through the rest of her sex hangover. When she woke up they were almost to the Arizona state line.

"You'll like my cousin." Juliet mentioned idly. "Her husband works for the DMV."

"I'd ask if he can take the points off my driver's license, but I don't have one."

"Of course you don't." Juliet said dryly. "Too bad I don't have a private jet. We'd be there already."

"Fuck new clothes, I'll walk around naked if you wanna buy a jet instead?"

"I might take you up on that." Juliet threatened. "But, no, an airplane is too flashy right now."

"Flashier than my wanted poster? You picked the wrong man to stay under the radar with."

"A new hair cut and a suit and no one will recognize you."

James smiled.

"But I'll know who you are." Juliet added quietly.

James looked over at her, and his smile deepened when he saw the spark of possessive mischief in her eyes.

"Do you have any idea where Montgomery could have gone?" she asked later.

"The plan was to meet up in Nashville, after everything cooled off. Once he turned the gun on me, I figured that wasn't the case anymore."

"Do you know where he's from originally?"

"From his accent and the stories he told…my best guess would be Florida."

"Florida's a big state."

"A shit hole full of shit holes."

"We have our work cut out for us."

"You're lucky you like spending time with me."

Juliet leaned over the gear shift, asking for a kiss. James met her halfway. They both smiled when they parted.