Not a Chance

by S. C. Stephens

  Makayla glanced at Neil. He gave her a small, sad smile. Makayla turned back to John. “You taught him to lie, cheat and steal. You robbed him of his childhood. You robbed him of a normal life. He could have been a decent citizen…a good man…”

  Anger flashed up Makayla’s spine. Chance could have been a lot of things if it hadn’t been for this crook in front of her. He’d used him, twisted him, warped him. The possibilities could have been nearly endless for Chance, if he’d been left with his original family.

  John’s face hardened and he leaned forward in his seat. “I gave him the skills to make something of himself. I took him from a humdrum life that would have sucked the very soul from him. You want to talk about prison? That’s what he would have been condemned to! A societal prison, with no hope of escaping.”

  His arm flashed out to indicate the room. A guard near the wall swung his gun around but relaxed at seeing that John’s hand was empty. “This is nothing. I’ll be out of this shithole in a few more years. Chance would have spent his lifetime in that yuppie hell if it hadn’t been for me! I saved him!” A guard nearby took a warning step towards him, clearly not liking the heat in his voice.

  Calming down, John leaned back in his chair. “He owes me. He should be on his knees, thanking me every day for rescuing him from a life of monotony.”

  Makayla felt her heart racing and realized she was breathing faster. John’s impassioned speech had put her on edge. Neil too, he was squeezing her hand tight. Inhaling a calming breath, Makayla decided not to further argue the unjust nature of Chance’s abduction. John clearly believed he’d done the right thing and when someone believed something that passionately, there was almost no way to turn them around.

  “His name?” she whispered, her voice only slightly trembling.

  John sniffed. Smiling, he shrugged. “I came across his family in California. The yuppies were yachting…of all godforsaken things. They believe their child had an accident on the boat…got swept out to sea. They stopped looking for him ages ago.”

  “His name?” she repeated.

  With a slow, thick accent, he finally spilled everything he knew about the man who preferred to go by the name Chance.

  They left an hour later with Makayla making plans to return next week. John had told her things about Chance that she hadn’t known before—ways he thought, patterns he might follow. John hadn’t been sure just exactly where Chance might have fled, but thought he’d be long gone from the northeast area, waiting for the heat from the robbery to fade. John figured it would be years before he dared to make a reappearance in the state, which meant Makayla would have to leave everything and chase after him…but she’d suspected that. She was prepared for that.

  When they got back into Plymouth it was late again. Neil went home to sleep, but Makayla couldn’t. Her mind busy with worry and information, she laid on her bed for most of the night, staring at the ceiling. Her phone rang in her purse as thoughts of John and Chance tumbled through her brain.

  Wondering who was calling her so late, she pulled the phone out and stared at the screen. She blinked in disbelief at the sight of Chance’s name. It seemed really stupid for him to still have his cell phone on him.

  Sitting up, she brought her phone to her ear. “Chance?”

  “Hey, Makayla. I wasn’t sure if you’d pick up or let it go straight to voicemail.” He drawled, his light accent honey to her ear.

  Frowning, she ran a hand back through her hair. “Yeah, well, I thought maybe you’d wizened up and decided to turn yourself in after all.”

  He chuckled. “No, I think I prefer the open sky to brick walls.”

  “And where exactly would that open sky be?” she asked coyly.

  “Now, now, it wouldn’t be much fun if I just told you, would it?”

  Makayla sighed. She’d known he wouldn’t tell her anything, but still, she’d been hoping. “Fine. The cops have your cell records, you know? They’re just going to track this call, and then they’ll know exactly where you are.”

  Chance sighed. “I know. But since I’m only an accomplice to a failed robbery, I’ll be low on their priorities. They’ll check in the morning, see that I’m still bouncing off cell towers in the city, and concentrate their efforts within their borders…but I’m leaving as soon as I hang up and I’ll be long gone by then. Then I’ll just be a random sketch drawing at the post office…discarded and forgotten.”

  Makayla narrowed her eyes, glaring at the wall since he wasn’t around to glare at. “Not by me, Chance. I’ll never forget.”

  He chuckled again. I know, Makayla…I know.”

  She stood up. “Wait…you’re still in the city?” Feeling foolish, she went to her window and looked out. It was pitch black outside, the street lamps too far away to highlight anything in her backyard.

  She frowned at the darkness. It’s not like she’d really expected him to be there. Chance chuckled. “Disappointed I’m not out there?”

  She straightened and looked around her room. “Can you…see me?”

  Chance chuckled harder. “God, Makayla, I’m an idiot…but not that much of one.” Sighing, he whispered, “No, I can’t see you…but I wish I could. I miss you.”

  Biting her lip, Makayla tried to ignore how much she missed him too. But the person she really missed was Colton, and Chance wasn’t Colton…not really. Turning away from the window, she twisted her lips and tried to listen for anything that would give his location away. All she heard was silence in the background…he was probably pulled over along some abandoned back road, talking to her one last time before chucking his phone for good.

  “I’ve had an interesting couple of days.”

  Chance laughed good-naturedly at her remark. “Oh yeah, do tell.”

  Makayla shook her head that they sounded more like boyfriend and girlfriend than hunter and prey. “Well, I took your advice…went to see your dad.”

  A pause on Chance’s end, then, “Ah, I see. And? What did pops have to say for himself?”

  Makayla sat on the edge of the bed, remembering. “He’s…got an interesting view of things. He thinks he saved you, by stealing you.”

  Chance grunted into the phone. “Right…running cons my whole life was saving me.”

  Makayla grabbed a piece of her hair and threaded it around her finger. “He told me something else, too.”

  “Yeah, let me guess, he’s going to stab me in the back once he gets out of prison?”

  Makayla blinked. “No, no I don’t think he’d ever hurt you…” she shook her head, “No, Chance…he told me your name…your real name.”

  “What?” He seemed genuinely stunned, like he hadn’t ever expected the man who’d deviously raised him to come clean about his greatest theft. “He told you…? So…what is it? Who am I?”

  Makayla tried to imagine what it would feel like to not know anything real about yourself. She supposed it must be somewhat akin to what adopted kids felt like, only worse for Chance, since he had believed a lie for so long. Her heart ached for him, and she longed to tell him, so he could have some closure, but if she’d learned anything from her time with Chance, it was that you didn’t give up an opportunity when one presented itself.

  “I’ll tell you…I’ll tell you who you are, where you came from…everything…if you turn yourself in.”

  She waited for the explosion that she was sure was coming. And it did come. “Makayla! This isn’t a game! This is my life you’re messing with! If you know something…you have to tell me?”

  She could hear him breathing heavier on the other end. He was pissed, he was hurt. Good. So was she. “It doesn’t feel good, does it? Being manipulated, being used.”

  He sighed, his voice quivering. “Makayla, please, I’m begging you…just tell me. You’re the only chance I have to find out who I am. I acted hastily when I found out what my dad had done. I…I should have sat down with him, made him tell me everything! But I was so angry. I wanted…vengeance. And now he’s off limits to
me, and any answers about my past are locked up with him. I can’t walk into a prison and talk to him, Makayla. I can’t do anything. I’m helpless…I need you. Please.”

  Makayla closed her eyes, then sighed. “I won’t tell you your last name, or where your family is from. You have to earn that information, Chance.”

  He sighed. “Just tell me something, Makayla.”

  “Your first name is Michael.”

  “Michael…” he whispered. “Strange…I’ve played a Michael before…” He was silent a moment, then his soft voice came back into the phone. “Thank you for telling me.”

  Makayla had to bite her lip to keep from telling him anything else. He was actually from a fairly wealthy family—the Rutherfords. They owned a good chunk of Napa Valley. Chance was their oldest child, the heir to their wine throne, so to speak. If he found them, they could most certainly buy his way out of any legal trouble he may have gotten himself into in New Hampshire. It would be a new life for him…a life he seemed to want.

  But he’d get away. He wouldn’t have to pay for his decades of criminal behavior. Chance getting away with everything seemed wrong…but withholding the truth seemed wrong too. For once, Makayla couldn’t see the right path. “Chance…?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Did you really mean everything you said to me…about loving me and wanting to change your life?” Her eyes watered as she thought over his many words of praise and devotion. For a time, he’d seemed the perfect boyfriend. Seemed. But was he ever? Was any of it real?

  “Makayla…I meant every single word. I do love you. I will always love you.”

  Makayla closed her eyes and hung her head. Tears falling down her cheeks, she found herself murmuring, “Go to California…I think you’ll find that you like it there.”

  A long pause met her ear and Makayla wanted to curse at herself, she hadn’t meant to give him any information. “Are you messing with me?” he asked softly.

  Makayla sighed, knowing that, if anything else, if she pointed him to California then at least she’d know where he was. “No, your family is there.” She smiled. “You’ll just have to do a little digging to find them.”

  Chance chuckled. “Thank you…I owe you.”

  Makayla flopped onto her back. “Any chance you could repay me from a jail cell?”

  “No…not much of one anyway.” He let out a weary exhale. “You’re not going to let me go without a fight, are you?”

  Twisting to her stomach, Makayla clicked her heels together. Staring over to his side of the bed, the empty pillow where he should have been lying with her tonight, she shook her head. “No, I meant what I said, I won’t stop hunting for you. I’m going to put you behind bars. You need to pay for the crimes you’ve committed, Chance, just like Garrett, Reggie…and Adrian.”

  Chance sighed in her ear. “Yeah, I heard about Adrian turning himself in…” He inhaled a deep breath. “Well, I look forward to the chase, Makayla.” She twisted her lips at his comment and was about to give him her own remark when he added, “Don’t stay up too late tonight…you’ll need your rest for this.”

  Twisting around, she sat up. “And you better sleep with one eye open.”

  Dropping his voice, he murmured, “I’ll always keep a lookout for you. Until we meet again, Makayla. Give my best to Neil…and check on Joseph for me. I do feel bad for what happened to him.”

  Makayla sighed and fanned out her wavier-than-she-liked hair. She’d already checked on him a few times, and now that she was back in town, she planned on checking on Joseph every night until he was better. But she wasn’t about to do it because Chance ordered her to. She’d do it because she owed Joseph an eternity of thanks for saving her life. Checking on his welfare was the least she could do.

  “I will, Chance.”

  Makayla dropped her eyes to her sheets, sadness that she’d tried to wall behind her anger bubbling up. Regardless of everything he’d done, Chance had been important to her and now he was gone. Chase or no chase, she was going to miss him…miss what they had, back when it had been good, really good.

  “I’m sorry, Makayla. I never wanted it to end this way. I wanted a happy ending for us, I really did…I just couldn’t make it happen in time…and I’ll be forever sorry for that.”

  She sniffed, barely holding in her tears. “I’m sorry too. I tried to save you…but I couldn’t make it happen in time either.”

  “Yeah…take care of yourself, Makayla…and please be careful. It would kill me if anything happened to you.”

  Makayla smiled, wiping away some stray tears from her cheek. “You too. I’d hate for you to get yourself killed before I have a chance to slap some cuffs on you.”

  Chance laughed, then sighed. “Yeah, I suppose you’re dying to return the favor. Who knows, maybe someday you’ll get the opportunity.”

  Makayla lifted her chin, even though he couldn’t see it. “Don’t worry, I will.”

  “I adore your confidence…don’t ever lose it.” He let out a long, wistful sound. “I suppose we should say goodbye now.”

  A painful ache seared through Makayla’s stomach and her eyes watered again. “Yeah, I suppose so.”

  “Goodbye, Makayla…”

  “Goodbye, Colton…”

  He gave her a soft chuckle. “I’ll actually miss being Colton Burke…he wasn’t such a bad guy.”

  Makayla smiled. “I liked him.”

  “I love you, Makayla.”

  Swallowing, she whispered, “I love you too.”

  He made a sound that could have been crying but it was too soft for Makayla to know for sure. She was just about to end the call when he whispered, “Don’t straighten your hair anymore. It’s beautiful the way it is right now…loose and free, wild, the way you were meant to be.”

  The line went dead and Makayla shot up off the bed. She rushed to the window again and stared out it. He was out there somewhere. He’d been lying again, trying to throw her off track. He had been watching her…was probably watching her still.

  Searching the darkness in vain, Makayla frowned and shook her head. “You can run, Chance, but I’ll find you…someday.”

  ***

  Chance watched Makayla from his concealed location in a backyard several lots away from hers. The kids that lived in this particular home had built a tree house fort in a sturdy oak tree, and the raised view gave him a stunningly clear shot into Makayla’s bedroom. He clenched the phone in his hand then lowered the binoculars from his eyes. Without the enhancement to his vision, Makayla was nothing but a vague impression of a human pacing before a brightly lit window. Then she drew shut her curtain and Chance saw nothing but shadows. He smiled and shook his head. God, he’d miss her.

  Sighing, he lowered himself from the tree and slunk from the yard. Once back to a street, Chance walked over to a garbage can on the curb. The can was waiting for dawn, for the men who were paid to do the behind-the-scenes cleanup. Garbage collecting wasn’t pretty, but, much like the things Chance did sometimes, it needed to be done. Opening the lid, Chance dropped his cell phone inside it. It was a burner phone, but the number was associated with him now, thanks to Makayla. He’d have to get another one once he was away from here.

  Looking back up at Makayla’s dark house, almost buried behind the houses in-between them, Chance found himself reluctant to leave. He’d been suffering from this reluctance for days. Honestly, he should be long gone by now, he was a wanted man after all, but leaving her had proved to be more difficult than he’d thought possible. He’d lingered near the places they’d shared, even when he’d known that she hadn’t been home.

  Chance had never imagined what she’d been doing though. She’d actually taken him up on his offer…gone and found his father. And she’d done even more than that. She’d found out something about him. Something he hadn’t known…his first name. It seemed such a small, trivial thing, but it was more than he’d ever had, and it meant the world to him.

  She’d given him a name and a pla
ce to start his search for answers. Michael. His name was Michael. He was from California.

  Smiling, Chance turned away from Makayla’s house. It was a start and he would take it. Swiping his hand over his cheek, Chance was surprised to find his fingers were wet when he pulled them away. He must have shed a few tears while saying goodbye to Makayla. It had definitely been a painful moment, maybe the most painful thing he’d ever done. He’d felt like his entire soul had been shaken to pieces. But even still, he knew, deep down inside, that their story wasn’t over. She wouldn’t give up on trying to catch him. Her stubborn sense of justice wouldn’t let her.

  Opening the door of a beat-up old car that he’d recently purchased with a wad of his emergency cash, Chance slid into the driver’s seat. Glancing at the general direction of Makayla’s home in the rearview mirror, Chance shook his head and smiled.