Not a Chance

by S. C. Stephens

  Dropping her head to Chance’s chest, Makayla contemplated Chance’s problem. “Well, I wish there was a way that we could do that to your brother…set him up, I mean, so that he’d take the fall and be out of your hair. So that psycho could be safely tucked away. So that he wasn’t loose among innocent people. ” She nuzzled into his skin, wishing it with every fiber of her being. “So you could be free.”

  Chance stiffened in her embrace, then let out a long exhale. “Yeah…I wish that too sometimes.”

  Warmed by his presence, moved by his story, Makayla debated whether to fall back asleep in his strong arms, or get up and get ready for her day of work. If she rose, maybe she’d have time to make him something to eat before she left. And Makayla liked doing things for him. It was pretty obvious to her that he’d been on his own for a while, maybe his entire life even. He’d never been cared for, not properly, at least. He was so neglected.

  Just as she was about to kiss his skin and sit up, Chance murmured, “Makayla…?”

  Blinking, she lifted her head to gaze into his eyes. His brow was furrowed, he looked torn. Makayla tilted her head, wondering where his confliction came from. “What?”

  He opened his mouth but no words came out. Staring at her with intense eyes, he almost seemed like he was suddenly incapable of speech. A knot formed in Makayla’s stomach but she slapped on a smile. “Cat got your tongue?”

  Shutting his mouth, his lips curled into a casual smile. Lightening fast, he tightened his hold on her and twisted them around, so he was on top of her. Grabbing her hands, he firmly pinned her to the mattress. “No, I was just curious what time you had to leave me…” his lips attached to her neck, “but I was momentarily stunned into silence by your beauty.”

  Makayla snorted. “Wow, I never realized you were so cheesy.” Grinning as he frowned down at her she added, “No wonder you stole from me…your pickup lines stink.”

  Twisting his lips, Chance mumbled, “There’s nothing wrong with my pickup lines…” He arched an eyebrow. “You’re just hard to please.”

  Biting her lip, Makayla wriggled her hips beneath him. “No, pleasing me is not a problem for you.” A throaty laugh escaped her and Chance grinned, leaning in for a kiss. Makayla twisted her head at the last moment and his lips brushed her cheek. He tried to find her mouth, but laughing, Makayla shook her head. “Hey, you know the rules, no kissing until I eat, or I brush.”

  Sighing, Chance shifted to her side. “You’re impossible.”

  Makayla climbed out of bed and stood beside it. Chance’s eyes locked onto her bare body and Makayla felt like the most beautiful girl in the world, flabby abs and all. Tilting her head, her tangled hair swishing around her shoulders, she husked out, “I was thinking about brushing in the shower…care to join me?”

  Chance’s eyes slid up her body to her face. His gaze was so intense, Makayla felt it as surely as she’d have felt his fingers. Stopping at her eyes, he smiled. “I’d love to.”

  Then he jumped up out of the bed and made a move to grab her. Makayla made a noise somewhere between a scream and a giggle, and fled into the safety of the adjoining bathroom. Somewhere between the surging water and the lavender scented shampoo, she conceded to a kiss…and so much more. Yeah, she could get used to waking up with Chance.

  An hour later, when she was walking into work, Makayla still had a goofy grin on her face. She tried to school her features, but it was difficult. Chance made her feel so…alive. She almost couldn’t imagine a life without him now, which was a little strange considering that she’d only known him about a month now. But they’d had that connection early on. If she were being honest with herself, it was the real reason she’d agreed to go on a date with him. She’d felt that spark, even when she hadn’t known him, even when she’d imagined the worst about him. There had always been something special about Colton Burke.

  Walking up to her station, Makayla noticed Neil. He was staring off into space, looking a little dazed. Leaning against the divider separating them, Makayla felt a bit of her giddiness fade. Her best friend looked a little thrown…that concerned her. “Hey…you alright?”

  Neil didn’t respond to her, just kept staring out the window, watching a girl dressed like a giant mattress dance, selling her wares through physical advertising. “Neil?” Still nothing. She snapped her fingers. “Earth to Neil…you in there?”

  Neil inhaled and finally twisted to look at her. “What? Oh, hey, Mack.”

  He frowned and so did Makayla. Neil was usually boisterous and happy. There was really only one thing that put that sad smile on his face. One thing with dark hair and stunningly green eyes. Makayla hoped her instinct was wrong. “You okay?”

  Neil forced a smile to his face. To anyone else it probably looked natural, but Makayla spotted the tightness in it, and knew he didn’t feel the emotion behind it. “Sure…”

  Makayla reached over the wall and put a hand on his arm. “No you’re not…what is it?”

  She wanted to hold her breath, will him to say anything but the one word she was sure he was going to say. His pale gray eyes searching hers, he finally said, “Adrian. He called me last night.”

  Yep, and there it was. Makayla sighed, her fears confirmed. Remembering the last time she’d seen Adrian, visiting Chance at Chance’s hiding place, and remembering all that she knew about Neil’s ex that he still didn’t, Makayla wondered just what that boy was up to. “What…did he want?”

  Her tone came out a little harsh, but she couldn’t help that either. Adrian…was not on her most trustworthy list right now, and him trying to rekindle things with Neil was not good.

  Neil looked down and shrugged. “I don’t know…he mainly just seemed worried about me. He kept asking if I was alright? If I felt…safe?” Neil peeked back up at her, clearly confused. “Why would he ask me that, Mack? Why would he even…care? He dumped me…why would he…?” Neil sighed and looked out the windows. “I just don’t know what to think.”

  Makayla bit her lip at seeing Neil’s torment. She knew he still harbored strong feelings for Adrian. She also sort of knew what Adrian was asking about. He was worried about Garrett hurting Chance…but he also seemed to be worried about Garrett hurting Neil? Makayla didn’t see how or why Garrett would care about Adrian’s ex, unless, it was some sort of revenge thing? Maybe their partnership had ended on a sour note? God, she hoped not. Maybe she should ask Chance about it? Or go directly to Adrian? He did still owe her some explanations…

  But none of those questions would help Neil now, so Makayla did the only thing she could think to do; she walked around to Neil and wrapped her arms around him. The slight man let out a weary exhale and held her back. For just a moment, Makayla thought that she should tell Neil what she’d found out. But she had so little to go on, and it would cause Neil so much damage. How do you explain to someone that the person their heart was invested in was a completely different person than they believed them to be? Makayla couldn’t think of anything more gut-wrenching, and she really didn’t want to hurt Neil with the information, not until she could back up her gossip with facts. That meant one thing…she’d have to go see Adrian.

  Decided, she held Neil for a moment longer. Natalie walked over while they were hugging it out. Her perfectly penciled-in brows coming to a concerned point, she frowned. “Everything okay, guys?”

  Makayla smiled and prepared herself to peppily tell the girl that everything was fine, but Neil looked over at her and shrugged. “Guy problems.”

  Makayla blinked and released Neil, a little surprised that he’d tell Natalie that, since her crush hadn’t seemed to dwindle at all since they’d started hanging out together. As she watched Natalie give him a sympathetic hug, Makayla wondered if that was why he’d done it, to once again reaffirm that she shouldn’t like him in that way. He was sort of killing two birds with one stone—releasing a bit of his anxiety and telling Natalie that they were sort of on the same team.

  Makayla patted Neil’s back and lef
t him to Natalie’s embrace. She thought of ways to get to Adrian all throughout her shift. When she was done for the day, she snuck out early—let Dan do his own damn closing duties for once. Chance probably wouldn’t like her talking to Adrian, since he didn’t seem to want her to be involved with anything that might get his brother’s attention, but Chance was at work, so it’s not like he’d ever know. Well, she might confess to him after the fact, she really didn’t want to keep any secrets from him, since he was being so open and honest with her. Once she had her answers, she would tell Chance what she’d done and tell Neil what she knew, then she’d be square with everybody.

  Vaguely remembering where he’d lived back when he was with Neil, Makayla drove to a duplex on the other side of town, and hoped that he hadn’t moved. When she arrived, his place was empty, the curtains closed, no lights on, the drive deserted. Sighing, Makayla got out and decided to knock on his door anyway. There was a one percent chance that he still lived there, and a one percent chance that he was home…for some reason without a vehicle.

  Overgrown rose bushes lined the walkway, snagging Makayla’s skirt as she walked by. Hoping she could fix the snarl later, Makayla rapped on his door. It was silent inside. Makayla counted to ten, then knocked again. “Adrian? Are you home?”

  “You looking for that good-looking boy?”

  Makayla spun around at the voice behind her, snagging her skirt again on the unruly flowers around the door. An elderly woman was coming back from the mail box with a load of catalogs under her arm. She squinted at Makayla as Makayla smoothed her skirt and tried to tame her suddenly surging heartbeat.

  “Uh, yeah.” She jerked her thumb at the door. “He used to live here, do you know if he still does?”

  The old woman swished a gnarled hand in the air. “No, he moved out ages ago. Rents out the place above D&H Market from what I hear.” The woman’s wrinkled face broke into a knowing grin. “You looking to date the young man?”

  Makayla twisted her lip, not even sure where to begin with that one. “Uh, no, we’re just old friends. Thank you, though.”

  The old woman smiled and waved as Makayla waded her way back through the red and pink jungle to her car. Seeing yet another tear in her clothes, she sighed. Maybe she’d make Adrian buy her another pair once this was all over.

  She found D&H Market easily enough, since it was the only market with that name in town. She didn’t shop there, but she’d noticed the apartment above it several times. It was a subtle feature that not everybody would see, since the doors were on the back side of the market, and the windows above the market blended seamlessly into the building itself. Honestly, Makayla hadn’t thought much about it until she’d noticed a man leaning out of one of the windows, smoking. It was only then that she’d realized that people lived above the market. She’d always thought it would be a great place to people-watch, since the windows had an unobstructed view of the busy street below.

  Pulling behind the market, Makayla shut the car off and looked at the sets of doors along the back wall. There were three different apartments above the market. That complicated things some, especially since she wasn’t even sure if the old lady was right. For all Makayla knew, the lady was completely off her rocker and Adrian lived on the other side of town. Well, if he wasn’t here, Makayla could always stalk him at Driftwood.

  Makayla decided to knock on the doors systematically, starting with the one on the left. Feeling like a genuine police woman, canvassing the area, she walked up the steps and firmly knocked on the door. She heard voices inside arguing, and wondered if she’d have to get in the middle of her first domestic. It didn’t sound violent, but it didn’t sound pleasant either. Taking a chance, she knocked on the door again. “Adrian, you in there?”

  She heard voices again, more subdued this time. Thinking she was on to something, Makayla tried again. “Hey, I know it’s you…I know you live here. I need to talk to you about Neil.” More quiet voices, one sounding a little frantic. Feeling confident that she was at the right place, Makayla blurted out, “I need your help, Adrian…I think he’s in trouble.”

  The door instantly swung open, just like she thought it would. Adrian’s green eyes filled her vision; they were wide, full of fear. “What happened?” he immediately asked.

  Makayla walked passed him into the room. “Nothing, I just wanted you to open the…”

  Her voice trailed off as she noticed who else was in Adrian’s room—a person she hadn’t expected to find in Adrian’s room, a person who was supposed to be at work. In fact, he was even wearing his uniform. Narrowing her eyes at her boyfriend, who was regarding her with an expression of amazement and irritation, she stupidly asked, “Chance? What are you doing here?”

  Chapter 17

  Running Out of Time

  Chance wanted to groan in frustration. He also wanted to applaud Makayla. She never failed to surprise him. How she’d tracked down Adrian, he’d never know. Why she’d tracked down Adrian, he needed to know. Did she suspect something? Had she pieced together that Adrian wasn’t just a former thief, that he was a former con man? That he and Adrian were currently working together to bring down Garrett? That Chance was a con man? That everything she believed to be true about him…wasn’t?

  Makayla’s pale eyes were narrowed so far, Chance might have found it comical in another situation. Flipping through his mental Rolodex of lies, Chance settled on something that sounded plausible. “Adrian was having second thoughts about Neil…needed someone to talk to about it.”

  Behind her back, Adrian twisted his lip and gave Chance a really? face. Chance flicked his eyes over to the green pair watching him, silently telling Adrian to play along. It was his own damn fault he was involved in this at all.

  Makayla twisted around to Adrian and he immediately shifted his features. Giving her a sheepish face, his eyes downcast, he shrugged. Swinging her gaze back around to Chance, Makayla shook her head. “So he asked you to come over?” Her eyes glanced down to his outfit, the damn uniform he was still wearing since he’d split from his shift to come over here. Makayla looked back up at his face. “And you took off in the middle of work? I didn’t realize you guys were so close.”

  Chance wanted to sigh, knowing his story was a little weak. He hadn’t wanted to lie to Makayla anymore but he had to lie about this. She couldn’t know what this secret meeting with Adrian had really been about. She couldn’t know the things that they were discussing. And sadly, this wasn’t even the first lie he’d told her today. She’d asked about his family again this morning. He’d had to spout some crazy line about his dad being this secret bad guy from his straight-laced Mom. Then, somehow, the lie had morphed into the truth. He’d told her real facts about his dad teaching him everything he knew. And he’d told her the real story about setting up his father. He hadn’t told her the real reason why he’d done it, only some vague reference to not wanting to be like him, which was sort of true, but the facts about his father’s arrest had been one hundred percent true. Chance had been so lost in that truth, he’d nearly forgotten his lie about Garrett being his brother. He’d nearly busted his con wide open. Something he could not do, not if he wanted to keep Makayla’s love and loyalty…and he did want to keep it, wanted to keep her. That was why he was risking everything, his life included, why he was pulling a double-con. Her. It was all for her.

  Nonchalantly tossing out, “We were slow, it wasn’t a big deal. Besides, I’m on my dinner break.” Trying to sidestep her lingering suspicions, Chance then asked her, “What are you doing here?”

  Makayla looked down, seemingly embarrassed about getting caught herself. Chance found the blush creeping from one collar bone to the other intriguing; it also reminded him of this morning. After a moment, Makayla tucked her hair behind her ears and straightened. “Adrian called Neil, freaked him out.” She twisted back around to Adrian. “I want to know why.” She tilted her head and took a step towards the dark-haired man. “What do you mean by second thoughts? Are you
trying to get back together with Neil?”

  Now Chance gave Adrian a look behind Makayla’s back. His look clearly said, Are you insane? You called him? Are you trying to get us both caught before we even have a chance to nail Garrett?

  Adrian ignored Chance’s accusing eyes. Keeping his focus on Makayla, he softly told her, “I don’t know, Makayla. I was just…thinking about him…so I called him.” He raised an eyebrow. “Is that such a big deal?”

  Chance wanted to smile at Adrian’s technique. When being cornered, always keep your mark on the defensive. If there was a rule book for cons, that would be near the top. Of course, Makayla didn’t always act like a mark should. Lifting her chin, she shook her head. “It is when you ask him vague questions about his safety.” She looked between Chance and Adrian. “What are you two up to, and is Neil in danger?” A thought seemed to occur to her and she quickly added, “Am I in danger?”