“I haven’t decided yet.”
She timidly crawled into the passenger seat. She already knew she couldn’t outrun him, and as he sat down in the car she turned over various possibilities for escape in her mind but rejected each one in turn.
He drove the short distance back to the warehouse, closing the big door with a press of a button on the visor. As the Audi’s engine fell silent, a gorgeous woman appeared in the glare of the headlamps. Tall, leggy, and lushly figured, she was wearing nothing but a man’s shirt. Probably the shirt he wasn’t wearing, Tina thought.
“That’s her?” the woman asked as they exited the car.
“Yeah.”
“What are you going to do to her?”
“I don’t know yet. But you don’t need to be here for this. Get dressed and I will call you a cab, okay?”
“You said you would take me back to my Jeep,” she pouted.
“I know, babe. But this thing came up,” Jack said with a jerk of his head to Tina. “I’ll call you, okay?”
The woman sauntered up to Jack and kissed him lustily. “You’re wet. But see that you do. I was looking for a repeat this morning.”
Tina could feel a cold sweat breaking out as the woman swayed away. With no witnesses, the man had much freer hand. “John, you can’t kill me. That would be murder.”
“No, it would be self-defense,” he said. “And the name is Jack, not John.”
“There is a witness!”
“Her? The woman that was here when you broke in? That witness?”
“Jack! Please!”
“Shut up,” he snapped as he split his attention between his cell and keeping an eye on her.
Tina debated pulling out the gun that was still hidden in her back, but she had never shot a gun in her life. Jack didn’t appear to have his with him, but his could be hidden just as hers was … and he looked like he would know how to use his.
In a few moments, he had a cab on the way and the woman sashayed back into the garage out of the room at the back. She was dressed in cowboy boots, jeans, and a western style shirt. All she needed was a cowboy hat to complete the look. “You’re not going to hurt her, are you?” the woman asked.
“I think I’m just going to teach her some manners and a little respect for other people’s property.”
“Good. I hate fucking thieves. Somebody cut open my Jeep a while back and stole the stereo. I wonder if it was her?”
“If it had been me, you wouldn’t still have your Jeep,” Tina sneered.
Jack had to look away so the women wouldn’t see his smile. This Tina chick is full of piss and vinegar, he thought.
“She definitely needs a lesson in manners,” the woman sneered back.
“Why don’t you come over here and teach me some.”
“Just shut up. Jesus. Don’t you ever quit? You’re in enough trouble as it is,” Jack said.
They waited in silence for fifteen minutes until they heard the blast of a car horn. “Call me and give me all the details,” the woman said before she kissed Jack, took the money he pressed into her hand, and walked out.
“Now, what shall I do with you?” Jack asked as they heard the cab pull away.
“Look, Jack, I’m really sorry. I’m a fuck-up, okay? I know you tried to help me out and I fucked it up. But … I can make it up to you. If you don’t hurt me, I can make it up to you, okay? I … uh … I can make you forget all about Ms. Jeep there. Just don’t hurt me, okay? Please, Jack. I’m sorry.”
“You’ve already fucked me once tonight.”
“I know, Jack. I’m sorry! I really am. I’m just scared, okay? I don’t want to go back inside. Please, Jack…” She wanted to say more, to beg his forgiveness, but she couldn’t stop the tears. The exhaustion was back and it overwhelmed her. “I’m sorry, Jack,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry for everything. Just do what you’re going to do. I just don’t care anymore.”
Jack watched as Tina seemed to collapse in on herself, a broken woman. “What you told me before, about the fight and all that … Was it true?”
Tina nodded, but said nothing.
“Why did you lift my wallet?”
“I don’t know. I needed the money. Jack, I don’t have anything except the clothes on my back,” she said before the tears began to flow in earnest, her quiet sobs wracking her body as she wept into her hands. She sobbed a moment then gathered herself, pulling herself upright.
“I have a gun.” Tina saw Jack stiffen and reach for his pocket. “It’s in my back. I want you to take it before you do … whatever you’re going to do … so you don’t find it and it makes everything worse.”
“You’ve had a gun this entire time and you haven’t pulled it?”
“I don’t know how to use it. I’ve never shot a gun before,” she sniffed, trying to pull herself together.
“They why do you have it?”
“It was in one of the cars I boosted.”
“One?”
“Yeah. I actually stole two tonight. One by flashing the gun. So now I have added armed robbery to my list of sins.”
“Give me the gun … slowly. Do not take it out of the holster.”
Tina slowly removed the gun and handed it over. Jack pulled out the weapon. “What a piece of shit. Good thing you didn’t try to fire it. It looks like it would blow up in your hand.” Jack made a face. “Okay, since you didn’t pull the piece on me, and you told me about it, I will be lenient with you.”
“What does that mean?” she asked, her face brightening with a glimmer of hope.
“It means I’m not going to knock you around.”
“Thank you, Jack,” she said, her face crinkling as she struggled to not cry in relief. Does that mean that I have to … uhh …”
“No. Not that either.”
“Then what?”
“You have to pay to have the window replaced.”
She swallowed hard. “Jack … I don’t have any money,” she said, not mentioning the money in her shoe.
“Then you will have to work it off around the shop. Tomorrow we will get a piece of glass and you will help me put it in. You will work around here until I think you have paid for the glass and my time.”
“Then I will be free to go?”
“Then you will be free to go,” he confirmed.
“And I don’t have to …?”
“No. Can I trust you?”
“Yes.”
“I have your word that you will stay, and work, and not steal anything in exchange for me giving you a second chance?”
“Yes.”
Jack mulled over the deal. He wasn’t sure why he was being so forgiving. If it had been anyone else, he would have stomped them into a greasy spot. But Tina reminded him of someone he once knew, and he owed her memory that much. “Okay. You sleep on the couch,” he said as he pointed to the rec area. “But first, go take a shower. I will try to find you some dry clothes.”
“Thank you, Jack. Where?”
“My apartment, in the back,” he said with a jerk of his thumb. “And Tina … if I even suspect you are trying to cross me, I will hand you over to the cops so fast you won’t know what hit you. Are we clear on this?”
“Yes, Jack. You have my word.”
After she stepped out of the shower, the smell of cooking eggs made her mouth water. Several sets of clothes were laid out on the bed, but only one set even came close to fitting. As she dressed, she wondered why Jack had women’s clothes lying around. They couldn’t belong to Ms. Jeep because they were way too small for her.
At Jack’s kitchen table, she wolfed down the eggs as Jack watched. As she chased up the last of her eggs, she began to crumble into tears again. She knew part of it was fatigue, and part was relief that Jack wasn’t going to beat the soup out of her … but part of it was also that Jack was just about the only person who had ever done anything nice for her.
“Thank you, Jack. Thank you for trusting me. I won’t disappoint you.
I promise,” she said as she wiped at her eyes.
“We’ll see.”
“May I go to bed now? I’m so tired. I will wash my dishes in the morning. Well, later this morning I guess.”
“Sure. Go ahead. And Tina, don’t cross me again,” he warned sternly.
She rose from her chair and smiled demurely at Jack before walking out. He watched her go. Would she stay and fulfill her end of the bargain or would she try to slip away when she thought no one was watching? As he picked up the few dishes, his money was on her bolting.
Tina relaxed into the couch with a long sigh. It was comfortable and she was exhausted. She toyed with the idea of running again, but decided that she would sleep here tonight and recover her strength. She had slept on the ground and in cars enough times to last her a lifetime. Warm, comfortable, and full, she fell into the darkness of sleep within a minute of lying down and becoming still.
CHAPTER FOUR
Jack jerked awake with a start. He had intended to sit in the lawn chair where he could see the rec area and make sure that if Tina left, she didn’t steal anything, but apparently he had fallen asleep. He jumped to his feet and hurried to the lounge, where he found Tina sleeping soundly. With a silent sigh of relief, he checked the time. The microwave clock showed 8:23, almost four and a half hours after they had turned in for the night.
“Tina, get up,” he said, nudging the couch with a toe.
Tina woke with a start before sitting up and stretching. “Good morning.”
“I’m surprised you’re still here. I thought you would slip away in the middle of the night.”
“I’m a lot of things, but if I tell you I’m going to do something, I try to do it.”
“I see. Okay. Are you ready to replace the window?”
“I guess. I don’t know how. You do realize that?”
“We’ll do it together. Get up. I’ll buy your breakfast after we get the glass ordered.”
After another pass through the shower, Tina redressed in her dry, if slightly crunchy, clothes before they drove into Albuquerque proper and ordered the glass. They stopped at a fast food place for breakfast before going to a home improvement store for glass installation supplies. Her heart sank ever lower as Jack added items to their trolley, knowing that every item he added was just that much more she had to work off.
She was pleasantly surprised that the total wasn’t nearly as much as she expected … until they returned to the glass place. There she nearly had a heart attack at the cost of the window. She kept her mouth shut, refusing to complain about the cost, but that one piece of double-pane insulated glass had cost her almost a half-week’s pay at her car washing job.
It was a tight fit getting the glass into the Audi, but they managed. She held the glass to prevent it from moving around and breaking on the drive back to the warehouse. They spent the rest of the morning getting the broken glass out of the window. After a quick burger at the same fast food place they had tussled at the night before, they returned to the task at hand.
It was obvious to Jack that Tina didn’t have a clue what to do, but it was equally obvious that she was trying and not shirking on helping.
The sun was just touching the horizon as Jack put away his tools and Tina cleaned the newly installed glass. She was tired, having not gotten enough sleep last night, but well satisfied with the work she had done that day.
“Jack, can I buy your dinner tonight?” Tina asked as he returned to the lounge.
“I thought you didn’t have any money.”
“I don’t. But … can I put it on my tab and work it off? I want to thank you, in some small way, for giving me a second chance.”
He gave her a lopsided grin. “If that is what you want to do. Where do you want to go?”
“Anyplace you like, but not too expensive, please.”
Jack thought for a moment. “If you like Mexican, I know just the place. But you are going to have to shower and change. Come to think of it, I need to shower and change.”
Tina smiled at Jack. She had lost most of her fear of him after working with him during the day. He was funny and charming, not to mention terribly handsome. She still walked on eggshells around him, not wanting to give him reason to doubt her, but she was no longer afraid he was going to slap her around or turn her over to the cops without provocation—provocation she wouldn’t give him. Right now, she needed him. He was providing her with a place to live, more or less free of charge, while she waited for the heat to die down. In a few days, the watch for her would be forgotten and she would be able to move more freely.
***
An hour later, they walked into a Mexican joint. The food smelled great! Tina saw the smile and recognition in the eyes of the lovely hostess, but when she saw Tina she cooled noticeably. Another of Jack’s conquests, perhaps, Tina thought.
“So, tell me, Tina. How did you end up like this?” Jack asked after they placed their orders.
“The life of crime, you mean?”
“Yeah. You’re obviously smart enough that you could do something else. So why are you mixed up in all of this.”
“It’s a long story.”
“I’ve got all night,” Jack said with a grin.
Tina smiled crookedly at his choice of words. “When I was about twelve, my dad died. He worked construction and a wall fell on him. Mom couldn’t adjust, and she couldn’t make ends meet on just her salary. We lost the house. Then she started bringing these guys home and got mixed up turning tricks, trying to earn a little extra money. Child welfare stepped in and placed me in a foster home.” She shrugged. “They didn’t abuse me or anything, but they didn’t love me either. I started hanging with the wrong crowd in school. Started out with shoplifting and petty theft. Then breaking and entering. Finally GTA.”
“And pickpocketing,” Jack reminded her.
Tina smiled. “Yeah. And pickpocketing. But that’s more of a hobby.”
“What were you doing with the cars?” Jack asked.
“I worked for a breaker. He would tell me what he wanted, I would find it and bring it to him. I got five hundred for each car.”
“Not bad.”
“Especially for an eighteen-year-old. I was taking down two or three cars a week sometimes.”
“What were you stealing?”
“Hondas and other low end stuff. Accords, mostly.”
“So why were you doing B&E?”
“Because I didn’t have an order for a car every week. And because I was cocky and didn’t think I could get caught.”
“But you were?”
“Yeah. Pulled a year on an eighteen-month sentence at PNM.”
“That’s why you were in Santa Fe?”
“Yeah. I’m originally from Las Cruces.”
“But you were trying to turn your life around?”
“I was trying. It was hard. Fresh out of the clink, I had a hard time finding a job. But the Honda dealer finally took a chance on me, and I was making it work. I was renting this shit hole of a trailer for one-fifty a week, and I managed to scrape together enough to buy a two-thousand-dollar car.” Tina snorted and smiled a little sadly. “Hondas have been good to me.”
“And you were headed to Texas to …?”
“To try to start again.”
“How were you going to do that? Do you have family there or something?”
“No. No family but my mom, and she is still in Las Cruces. I don’t know. I just need to get out of New Mexico. Maybe I will herd cattle or something. I just want a new start, that’s all. To put my past behind me and try to start fresh.”
Jack was about to say more when their food arrived, so he dropped it. They ate and nursed a couple of beers. The more he talked to Tina, the more he liked her. She was hellion and a spitfire, but she did have a moral compass, even if it was skewed a little off center. But who was he to criticize?
***
When they arrived back at the clubhouse, Jack asked Tina to show him how she picked his pocket
. The only reason he knew his wallet had gone missing the night before was that when he took his pants off to play hide the sausage again with Ms. Jeep, he noticed the pocket was empty as he threw the pants over the back of a chair.
Tina demonstrated by lifting his wallet again and again. If he watched her, he could feel her nimble fingers pluck the wallet from his pocket, but otherwise he would never know. Once, she handed him his wallet and his watch. He was stunned that she had managed to get his watch and hadn’t even noticed it missing. He watched her do it again as her fingers worked quickly and smoothly, unfastening the catch while she held his wrist like an old friend.
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