“Oh, yeah,
guapo
is getting lucky.”
“I’ve got a hundy says he strikes out all night,” Tyler called down from the balcony overlooking the great room.
“Your nickname for yourself is ‘handsome’ and you think women are going to be okay with that?” I asked incredulously.
“It’s one of many,” Miguel shared as he passed by. “There’s no shortage of ego with this one.”
Ramón went into a long conversation in Spanish with Miguel, only half of which I caught. I’d been picking up Spanish a bit at a time all summer, but it was mostly job related conversation. This was all over the place, and I didn’t have a hope of following it. Natalie spoke up in flawless Spanish, telling them to get back to work. Or I assumed that’s what she said because we all started back out to the truck again.
By the end of the afternoon, the home was almost entirely put together. Now it was just the personal items that Vivian and Natalie would have to unpack to make the home theirs. When I got into Curtis’s van, I had the impression that Natalie was going to do something special on their first night in the new house. I smiled, thinking about what I’d do for Molly on our first night in our new place. Then I smiled harder thinking about how I’d just had that thought.
I had the boys drop me off at the supermarket. I wanted to make Molly dinner at her place to celebrate finishing the project. Seeing the look on Natalie’s face made me want to have my own private celebration with my special someone.
“Meet me outside,” a voice I hadn’t heard in eight years said from behind me in the produce section.
I turned to watch a man walk past a stand of apples and out through the automatic doors at the front of the store. I didn’t recognize the white hair, but I’d followed that gait many times into and out of a home we’d broken into.
My heart rate spiked. Sweat bloomed under my arms. The basket in my hand grew heavier and the muscles in my arms seized. This couldn’t be happening. I’d left that life behind. I’d survived the hopelessness of prison and frustration of parole. I was on the other side of the gloominess, and in the space of one sentence, I plunged back into the darkness.
I looked around. Everyone else was going about their shopping like their lives hadn’t just been jolted. Like grocery shopping was the only task at hand instead of facing something terrifying from their pasts.
I found a place to set my basket down. I couldn’t ignore Brock. I didn’t know how he’d found me, but I would bet he’d been in town for a while. I’d bet even more that he was the source of my feeling of being watched over the past few weeks.
When I cleared the doors, Brock wasn’t around. For a moment my heart lifted at the prospect that I’d again imagined it. Then I saw him at the far edge of the parking lot. He waited until I saw him then disappeared behind the building next door. I had no choice but to follow him.
“Missed ya, Shaw.” Brock leaned casually against the brick building as if I’d seen him every day for the last decade. His face looked the same but with wrinkles. Prison hadn’t been as kind to him. No trace of his brown hair was left. He’d gone all white, despite being only a year older than I was.
I checked out every inch of the space around us. We were alone on the sidewalk. I didn’t know for how long. Just saying hello to him when I was on parole would have put my status in jeopardy. I wanted to punch him for how casually he was putting our freedom in danger.
“Doesn’t look like you missed me much since you have yourself a sweet little deal going here. Wanted to keep it all to yourself.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” Anger and fear clogged my throat. The heat of the August sunshine felt like it was baking my skin.
“You don’t sound happy to see me.” He made a disbelieving sound. “Last time we saw each other was before my trial.”
“What are you doing here?” I repeated.
“You seem pissed, Shaw. No love for the man that made you rich?”
“You didn’t make me rich.” Not even close. It was a nice take, but with a girlfriend who could burn money like a wildfire, I didn’t hold onto any of it. “And you still haven’t answered my question.”
“You know, I always thought it was funny how you, of everyone on the team, had the biggest gold-digging girlfriend. I thought mine was bad, but yours took the cake. Heard she cleaned out everything you had as soon as you went inside.”
“Fuck you,” I seethed at his cavalier tone. The devastation I felt at her betrayal was second only to how I’d felt when I found out one of the burglary crew turned state’s evidence against us. Brock knew how that felt, too, and here he was making light of someone else who’d screwed me over.
“Hey, we’ve all been there. Mine lasted three years then got bored. It’s always best to keep some people you trust on the outside to handle your shit when you get pinched. Did you hold onto your sweet car at least?”
I didn’t want to have this conversation with him. I didn’t want him to be here. If that police officer who kept “bumping” into me on the street showed up tonight, I doubt I could talk my way out of her suspicions this time.
“You pulled those jobs?” I already knew and dreaded the answer.
“What jobs?” He gave me a sinister grin.
“You broke into those two homes I worked on.” I turned away and started pacing. Damn and damn and damn again.
“Not sure what you’re talking about, Shaw. If you’re interested in starting our little business venture again, I could round up a team.”
I stared hard at him. He’d done it. I knew that as much as his tone confused me. Normally he’d brag about everything he’d done. Shutting him up was the hardest thing to do in our planning sessions. “Not interested.”
“Really?”
“Leave me alone, Porter. I’m done with that life.” And everything about that life. I didn’t want it or need it, and that allowed me to be the best version of myself.
“No one is ever really done. You’re judged and treated with disrespect everywhere you go now because you did time. Gets tiring, doesn’t it?”
Yes, it does, but it isn’t enough of a reason to get back into the life. “I don’t know what you’re doing here, but I’m out of it.”
“You’re in the same ideal position as you used to be. We could have something even better here. I’ve strolled around town, cased a few places. With your access to the interiors, you’d know exactly the places to hit. I can get everyone together again. We’re all out now. Not Kaplin, of course, can’t have another snitch on the team.”
“I’m serious, Porter. I’m out. Don’t contact me again.” I started walking away.
“No one can escape this life, and you don’t want to miss out on this.”
“What’s that mean?” I turned back at his threatening tone. I was practically sweating clean through my clothes from the nervousness and the heat.
“Point us in the right direction, that’s all. You don’t even need to be on the crew. Just give us a heads up on the places.”
“No.”
“Shaw.”
“No, I won’t do it. And if I were you, I’d leave town soon. The police already suspect me when one of those places is hit.”
A faint smile drifted across his lips. “Yeah, I saw them headed to your place once. See what I mean about not being able to get out from under this life?”
I wanted to punch him. He’d intended for them to suspect me. “You asshole.”
“Had to give you a little incentive. At least give me credit for making sure you had an alibi.”
“I’m telling you now I don’t want any part of whatever team you’re putting together.” I got right in his face. “Go back to Boulder and pick up there.”
“But it’s so nice here and a lot more money.”
“They’ll find you.” Not if they kept looking at me every time, but I could at least make the threat.
“Next time, I might not make sure you have an alibi.”
Dickhead. “I’m not helping you.”
He shrugged, giving me nonchalance. “Next time, maybe something will turn up in the search.”
“One phone call and you’re back inside. Unlike me, you’re still on parole.” It was the only card I had.
He snorted in disbelief. “Don’t make me regret giving you this offer, Shaw. We were a good team before. We’ll be good again.”
“Back off. If I see you again, I’m calling you in.”
A smile drifted over his face. “Sure.”
He sauntered off like he was on an evening stroll, enjoying his vacation in this beautiful town. That sense of being pushed into a corner pressed hard against me. I could only hope that he’d figure out I was serious.
Molly already had her key out before we hit the top stair of her condo complex. We were coming back from Vivian’s housewarming party that had turned into an engagement celebration. I’d been right about Natalie having something planned when we left the house on installment day. She’d proposed to Vivian in some grandly romantic event on a beach or something with rose petals and ice cream or something. I didn’t really follow the narrative because it was the result that mattered. Vivian sported a beautiful engagement ring, and Natalie wore her happiness in every word and gesture.
“If I weren’t so caught up in you and I didn’t think Vivian would kill me, I’d kiss Natalie for giving my friend everything she ever wanted in love.”
“Caught up, huh?” I teased, winding my hands around her waist and bringing her to me.
She tilted her forehead against mine and pulled me closer. “Pretty damn, yeah.” Her lips coasted over mine, tantalizing now with a promise for more as soon as she got the door open.
Except when she opened the door, her apartment was in disarray. Her bookcase had been tossed, books and knickknacks spilled over her couch and floor. The speaker set she kept on one of the shelves was dumped on the floor, the iPod gone. I glanced at the kitchen table where she kept her laptop and the iPad she just got. Neither were there. All of the kitchen cabinets were open, broken glass and dishware sprawled onto the counters.
Molly squeaked in dismay beside me. Her hand braced against the open doorway, shallow breaths moving in and out. This was what it was like for those twelve homeowners I’d burgled. The descriptions really didn’t bring the devastation to life like seeing it happen.
My eyes took in the chaos of her small apartment. I knew her bedroom wouldn’t be spared. This wasn’t the kind of job I pulled. We weren’t messy. We could avoid being messy since I’d already cased the homes. Still, this was amateurish. Overly.
Molly stepped inside, wariness in her eyes. “I can’t believe this.”
I couldn’t either. I knew she didn’t keep cash here. They got away with a TV and some portable electronics? They’d get maybe a few hundred for the effort. It was dangerous to hit a condo building because the halls were often monitored by cameras with offsite backup and nosy neighbors. Her second floor unit didn’t make for a clean getaway either.
“Molly.” I grabbed her arm, shocked to find it trembled under my fingers. I pulled her in for a hug that I needed as much as she seemed to.
“This is unbelievable.”
“I’m sorry this happened.”
She pulled away and gave me one of her intense stares. “I’ll call the police.”
“Wait,” I said as a thought formed fully in my brain.
She gave me a quizzical look. Her finger hovered over the call button on her phone.
I shook my head, not wanting to voice what I’d been thinking. “I think if you call the police, they’ll find something that isn’t yours.”