Second Rate Chances

by S. C. Stephens

  Chance felt his heartbeat triple. She was close, on the verge of figuring things out. He needed a distraction, ASAP. Chuckling a little, mainly to disarm the tension starting to build, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. It was a low blow, using their physical attraction to each other as a deterrent, but Chance was running out of options. Sliding his nose up her neck he murmured, “You’re leaping to conclusions that are pretty ridiculous.”

  Makayla melted into his embrace, her eyes slipping closed. Then they sprang back open and she minutely shoved him back. “No, I’m the one that found you bruised and bloodied. Don’t tell me I’m being ridiculous to worry.”

  Adrian stepped forward, his face looking angelically innocent. He lowered his eyes and peeked up at Makayla through his lashes. Even Chance would admit that Adrian was attractive. And living the way he had for so long, Adrian knew how to use what he’d been given to his advantage. Chance didn’t particularly like his girlfriend being manipulated by another man’s looks, but he wasn’t above letting it happen either. Whatever had to be done to distract her was fine….for now.

  His voice low and husky in a way that most women adored, Adrian placed a hand on her shoulder. “I was just concerned about him, Makayla.” He shrugged. “I didn’t mean anything by it…it’s just…what happened to Chance reminded me how fragile and precious life is.” He swallowed, his eyes misting. God, he was good. “If anything happened to Neil, if he got sick or was in an accident…I just…don’t know what I would do.”

  Adrian sighed, the sound full of worry. “And he takes stupid chances sometimes. He likes to visit the park downtown, even though it’s notorious for drug dealers. He likes going for walks in the middle of the night when he can’t sleep. He insists on driving to Manchester and helping out at the homeless shelters whenever he can, even though it means he has to drive that car that I just know is going to break down on him in the middle of nowhere.” He paused for a breath, then sighed. “I was just worried about…life, Makayla…that’s all.”

  Adrian lowered his eyes and Chance wanted to whistle in appreciation. When Adrian had been at his peak, he’d been one of the best, probably better than Chance was. Chance could have learned a thing or two from him. But that life was over for Adrian now, and it was quickly becoming over for Chance. Conning Garrett was the last job he’d ever do. He was sure of that now.

  Makayla stared back at Adrian’s solemn face, obviously moved. “Oh, well, he’s fine, Adrian.” She put her palm over Adrian’s hand on her shoulder. “I look out for him…you don’t need to worry.”

  Adrian smiled. “I know. But when you love someone,” his eyes flashed over to Chance’s, “…you worry.”

  That blush returned to Makayla’s skin as she also looked back at Chance. “I know,” she whispered.

  Chance stared deep into her pale eyes, wishing he could be everything that she needed him to be. Sighing, he cupped her face and placed a soft kiss along her lips. She immediately returned it…warm and welcoming, just as she’d always been. They pulled apart when Adrian cleared his throat.

  Adrian lifted a brow, clearly implying that Chance owed him one. Ignoring the look, Chance brought his attention back down to the woman he adored. “I should probably get back to work.”

  Makayla sighed and bit her lip. “Yeah, and I should go too…I’m late for my meeting with the trainer-from-hell.” She put a hand on her stomach and Chance had the sudden urge to kiss every inch of that creamy skin. He thought she was perfect just the way she was. She disagreed.

  Not wanting her to ask anything more, Chance wrapped his arm around her shoulder and herded her from the room. When they were at the door, Makayla stopped in her tracks and looked back at Adrian. “Wait.” She twisted back to Adrian and Chance wanted to sigh. What now…

  Giving Adrian a hard look, she lifted her chin in an official way. She had the police demeanor down pat. “Chance told me how you used to be involved with Garrett’s gang.” Chance had already filled Adrian in on his impromptu scenario, so Adrian played his part and nodded an acknowledgment to Makayla. She nodded back, then relaxed her features. Stepping towards Adrian, she reached out to grab his hand. “If you care about Neil, if you think that there’s even the remotest chance that you’ll get back together with him, then you need to come clean. You need to tell him about your past…before you can move forward.”

  Letting go, she twisted back to Chance and cuddled into his side. Looking up at Chance, admiration in her eyes, she told Adrian, “I know it’s hard to admit that you haven’t always been the best person, but it’s worth it…” she looked back to Adrian, “And once he sees that you’re trying to become a better person, you’ll be a stronger couple for it.” She pulled Chance tight. “Just like us.”

  Chance grimaced as a rush of guilt flooded his body. Twist the knife, Makayla, he thought bitterly. Adrian kept his face even as he looked up at Chance. Looking back to Makayla he whispered, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Makayla broke free from Chance and gave Adrian a swift hug. “Good, because I can’t keep something this big from Neil forever…but I’d prefer it if he learned the truth from you.” She pulled away and stared Adrian right in the eye. “The truth is always better received when it comes directly from the person involved.”

  Chance frowned, that guilt ripping him apart again. Adrian gave him a split-second glance that spoke volumes. Chance wanted to get out of that damn apartment before Makayla wore him down and he told her everything right then and there. He sort of wanted to. Just listening to Makayla tell Adrian how great honesty was, made him want to give it a try. But while her words of repentance and forgiveness were great, Chance had a feeling that the odds of her actually doing those things if the truth came out were not so hot. She’d be gone once she knew who Chance really was.

  Chance walked Makayla to her car. His was parked over a block away, but he didn’t really want her to know that. She might question why he’d hidden his car. And he had hidden it. Chance couldn’t risk Garrett or Reggie stumbling across a meeting between him and Adrian. Of course, it had never occurred to him that Makayla might stumble across their meeting.

  They held hands on the way and Chance watched her very carefully. She didn’t seem suspicious of the massive amount of lies that had just swirled around the air, but you never know. But there was a lot of truths in those lies, so that made them easier to believe. Adrian did still want Neil. Adrian did worry about Neil’s everyday safety; what person in love wouldn’t? But Chance and Adrian hadn’t met up to have a beer and discuss their “feelings.” No, they’d met up to plot a way to screw-over Garrett and Reggie. Slightly different.

  And pretty difficult. Setting them up without Chance getting caught was the real crux. It was easy to trip a silent sensor and have the cops show up, but there was no way Chance could get away in time, not without Garrett getting suspicious and shooting him in the back. Chance had gotten lucky with his father. Well, in that situation Chance had had an advantage. His father had trusted him, had never suspected that Chance would set him up. Garrett…didn’t trust anybody.

  Popping open the door of Makayla’s little Civic, Chance leaned on the doorframe and Makayla gave him a light kiss. “See you back at home later?”

  Chance nodded, wishing he’d get to hear those words every night. “Yep, right after my shift.” He patted his uniform and sighed, thinking about the hours of work he still had ahead of him. He’d only been there for a few months and already the monotony was getting to him. He really wasn’t sure how regular people did regular jobs. It boggled his mind. But, if by some miracle, he was allowed to have a long life with Makayla, he’d have to figure it out. She wouldn’t date an unemployed layabout.

  Chance waved goodbye to her as she pulled away. He was running out of time. He’d given Garrett three weeks…and only one of those weeks was left. All of Adrian’s and Chance’s plans to get Garrett had centered around them doing the bank job. Problem was, Chance had never mentioned the job
to Makayla. He couldn’t. He didn’t want her involved. He’d almost thought to tell her this morning—she’d given him a golden opportunity by wishing that she could set up Garrett—but he hadn’t been able to say the words. It went against everything she believed in. If Chance duped her into doing it, Makayla would never forgive herself. And then, Chance would never forgive himself.

  That left breaking into the bank. Trickier, but not impossible. The problem there though was Garrett. Chance’s con to him had him convinced that Makayla was all gung-ho to help with the robbery. Chance could easily steal the bank keys from her, but if she didn’t give him the code to the vault and he had to crack the safe…Garrett would realize he’d been deceived. Chance would again end up with a bullet in the back. This simple bank job was slowly turning into a nightmare.

  So many options and none of them very good. Not knowing what else to do, Chance did the only thing he could…he went back to work.

  Adrian called him on the drive over. “Hey, everything good?”

  Chance sighed, hating the lying that he’d had to do to Makayla but knowing it was necessary. “Yeah, she bought the story. Thanks for backing me up.”

  Adrian sniffed. “Yeah…so we didn’t come to any real solution about our problem…”

  Chance twisted his lip. “I know.”

  “I say we tell Makayla about the bank. If we get her help, we can all set Garrett up together.”

  Chance felt his jaw stiffen, his back straighten. This was the same plan that Chance had been hearing from Adrian for the past two weeks, and it was a plan that he didn’t want to do. Makayla couldn’t be put in that situation…he wouldn’t allow it anymore.

  “No, Adrian. I already told you, I’m not compromising her safety.” If they actually did get Makayla involved, Chance knew that she would insist on being at the bank when it happened, to “protect” him. He knew enough about her to know that would be her reaction…and there was no way Chance was going to let her get within fifty feet of Garrett. Not anymore.

  Adrian exhaled in irritation. “It’s the only way, Chance…you know it is.”

  Chance closed his eyes for a split-second and clenched his fingers around his phone. “Would you want to use Neil like that, Adrian? Isn’t that the whole reason you pulled out? His safety?”

  Silence met his question, then, “Okay…so what do we do?”

  Arriving back at work, Chance drove past the bank in question. It was closed, locked up tight. The wide windows offered a view into Thieves Paradise, but it was unobtainable. Well, unobtainable without getting caught. Anyone could chuck a brick through the window and break open the safe, but they’d be spending some quality time with some serious felons if they did.

  “I don’t know yet, Adrian…”

  Adrian’s sigh matched Chance’s feelings. “Well, we need to figure it out soon…we’re running out of time.”

  Feeling that ticking clock in his head, Chance nodded as he pulled into a parking stall. “Yeah…”

  Uncertainty flooded Chance as he walked into work. While his life had always been fluid, and he’d always rolled with whatever twists came his way, he suddenly felt like he was trying to swim upstream against a powerful, surging river. Not only was he pulling multiple cons at once, not only was he trying to keep Makayla in the dark without outright deceiving her, but he was struggling against his nature. Try as he might to be good, the instinct to steal and lie had been burned into him since his toddler days. You are how you’re raised, and even if he resented and hated what had been done to him, how he’d been manipulated for so long, it was a part of his psyche now.

  Being on the straight and narrow was a difficult line to walk. Just the other day he’d had to ignore the bulging wad of a bountiful wallet peeking out of a man’s back pocket. It had been screaming at him to take it, but he’d promised Makayla, and he was trying to be a man of his word, now that the con with her was off, now that he was officially finished with his life as a thief. But that stupid wallet staring him in the face had been just as torturous as an alcoholic staring at an open bottle of whiskey. He’d been dying to know what treasures were inside it, but he’d forced himself to turn away.

  The wave of disappointment had been crushing. Makayla’s warm embrace later had softened the blow, but, at the moment, it had been nearly bad enough to make Chance turn around and find the man again.

  The restlessness was growing in him, and it had only been two weeks since he’d gone completely straight. Chance really couldn’t help the urge to take, that much of his con to Makayla had been real. And he wasn’t sure if the urge would lessen with time, or strengthen. It hadn’t dissipated the last time he’d quit. And even then, he hadn’t fully quit, he’d done…illegal things…picked a few wallets, cheated a few card games, just no big jobs, no cons. It worried him some that the desire to steal was still there, even after finding solace with Makayla. It also concerned him that part of him, a tiny part, was wishing that the bank job would happen…was longing for the rush that the theft would give him. He wanted to ignore that beast within himself, but he couldn’t…it was there, growling in displeasure at the restraints placed upon it.

  Three nights later, when nothing about Chance’s routine had much changed, the beast within himself was still burning with antsy anticipation. Chance kept firm control of it, of his desire, and instead focused his restlessness on Makayla. He showered her with affection. He became the world’s best boyfriend. It was simple enough for him. He’d wooed so many women that it was old hat to him now. But, for the first time in his life, Chance actually meant the flowery words he spouted. He actually longed to see the reaction to his outlandish gestures—the dozen roses sent to work, the bargain store bracelet looped around her bedroom doorknob. Her delight gave him peace and he found that he could stand the tedium of a normal life, as long she was with him, guiding him, giving him hope and encouragement, giving him a reason to be a better man.

  Chance stared across a short, square table at Makayla. The table was draped with an immaculate white linen cloth that seemed to gleam with an inner brilliance. A hurricane shade in the center of the table protected a trio of pillar candles, their soft glow reflecting rings of light across the silver cutlery, the crystal goblets, the gold inlaid china. It bathed Makayla’s face, highlighted her best features, made her eyes sparkle and dance with life. Chance had never quite seen anything so beautiful.

  Yesterday had been their month anniversary and they were celebrating today. One month ago, Chance had brazenly picked her wallet from her purse, testing her to see how she would react. Her response had been extraordinary…one of a kind…just like her. They’d both felt a connection that day, like they were fated to love each other, and only had to get past their inner demons and fears for it to happen. Chance had manipulated every encounter after that moment, but the end result was the same. She loved him. He loved her. It was a monumental revelation for him and made the seventy-five dollar lobster in front of each of them worth every penny.

  Makayla smiled demurely, then dropped her eyes to her plate. Eyeing the remnants of their meal before them, she frowned a little. Chance reached out to grab her hand. “What?”

  Twisting her lip, she tucked her hair behind her ear. He’d begged her not to straighten it, and soft waves fell around her face, only making her seem more like an angel—unbound and unrestrained. “This is amazing, Colton, truly, but…” she eyed the meal that was going to cost him well over two hundred dollars, “this is way too expensive for one meal.” Deepening her frown, she muttered, “I’m pretty sure we could feed a whole neighborhood with this tab.”

  Chance chuckled, enjoying her concern, for him and for others. She really would be a terrific officer one day. “It’s a special occasion and special occasions call for exorbitant meals.”

  Makayla smirked at him and shook her head. “It’s a little much for one month together.”

  “Not when it’s the first month you’ve ever had with someone.”

  Her eye
s widened at his statement. The extra white around her pale irises reflected the light bouncing between them. Gorgeous. “You’ve never been in a relationship that lasted a month?”

  Chance smiled and shook his head. “No.” He’d been in cons with a woman for longer than a month, but a real relationship? No. Never.

  Makayla smiled and looked down again. “Oh,” she whispered.

  He couldn’t quite tell if she was happy about this revelation or not. Squeezing her hand, he thought to ask her, but she looked up at him and gave him such a warm look that he instantly knew her answer—she was touched. Chance smiled in return, touched that she was touched. God, being in love was turning him into a complete and total sap. Before he knew it, he’d be writing her poetry and dedicating songs to her on the radio.

  Just as he was wondering what song she might like to hear, their waiter arrived with their check. Makayla bit her lip, tilting her head to see the total. Chance hid it from her, slipping the man some hundreds. He could have paid with one of his “fake” credit cards tonight, but he was trying to live on the up and up. That meant actually paying for things with his hard-earned money. It was a little…annoying, but he was trying. And if he was going to keep up this life of honesty, he’d eventually have to sell his “home,” and officially move in with Makayla.