The Best Chance (The Amherst Sinners Series Book 4) Read online

  “Where's the decoy car?”

  Viktor laughed, like it was the stupidest question I could have asked out loud. “Welcome to the real deal. It's real time if you fuck this up, gringo.”

  Addi squeezed hand that I didn't realize she was holding until now. She leaned in and whispered, “I don't trust them.”

  Neither did I. They all had their fingers on the trigger, like they expected this to go sideways. It was a drop and transport. This should be easy and wrapped up in forty minutes to get on the road, but I didn't even know the exit strategy.

  My criminal senses were tingling.

  I left Addi far enough away on the shore to be out of the way while I investigated. Leaning forward I placed my unlaced boots on the edge of the boat and demanded to speak to the captain, or whoever was in charge of this part. A middle aged, unassuming, dad-bod guy took off his cap and nodded in my direction.

  “Load four cars, not five. We need a decoy.”

  He shouted something to the guys unloading the boats; his team was easily fifteen guys. Some guys worked with tools to rip off the side panels and bumpers to hide the product without being easily seen in a seize and search. The other guys started loading the military grade trunks onto the shore for others to start unloading into the hiding spots.

  I had respect for how quickly they worked. I knew by how creative they got that they must have been caught before, which didn't help my distrust in these people.

  I stood next to Addi, again watching them work, when Viktor shouted my new nickname. “Don't get lost on the way to the airstrip!”

  A text from an unknown number landed on my phone with the address—well, not the exact one, but of a gas station on the same road. Hector’s idiots weren't that dumb, I guess. I waited as the last bumper was being drilled back into place, and the men loaded into the boats to leave. I waited for the last two idiots Hector paid to get into the SUV with their guns still in front of them, as I watched them drive off, and that's when all my distrust imploded.

  The sirens blurred the dark sky with red and blue, while the high pitched sound made you want to go deaf, even from the distance. All my priors, all my love affairs I had with the law, and all my bad intentions were finally going to condemn me to safety behind bars—the home I had always been destined for.

  I passed Addi my keys. “I need you to leave before you get caught up in this too.” Her manicured nails fingered the rental set of keys, but made no moves. I shouted at her, hoping the side of me she never saw scared her enough to take off in the opposite direction. It didn't. She stood there silently as her wheels turned.

  “No, we’re in this together.”

  I stood in front of her, trying to cover up her existence as the sirens got louder and closer. “Don't be stupid. I have priors, Addileigh. You don't.”

  Her features vanished into nothing but sadness. “I can't love you and leave at the same time. I'm all in.”

  I tossed the gun I never wanted to the side, letting it land heavily in the sand before I slowly pushed my arms up into the air, assuming the position I knew all too well they'd demand.

  “I'm unarmed!” I shouted into Addi, while it was meant for the cops behind me. I was too busy examining her face for validation and reason. She was getting in trouble only because I was getting in trouble. All because she loved me?

  No one would risk this kind of trouble for love.

  She was a mad woman, and I was her bad company.

  Her glossed over grays told me every part of her was authentic and every part of her wanted to weep in the ultimate act of loving me: risking it all on me—something no one had been willing to do, until her.

  I leaned forward, catching her lips with mine, right before someone behind me crushed my wrists together and pushed me down to the sand of the quiet beach. All I could hear was the ocean rhythmically fading out as it met the sand. I felt his knee dig into the center of my back—a feeling I hadn’t felt since high school, yet never forgot. He held me in place, until the cold metal of the cuffs were secure, and I watched Addi from this vantage not raise a single hand or surrender.

  She started yelling that they were hurting me with tears running down her face freely, smearing the foundation I've seen her match to her body’s kind of bronze. They indulged her before a female cop had enough and started cuffing her too.

  My anger was dormant until I heard Addi’s breath hitch in her throat and a sharp “ow” creeped out instead. “She's never been arrested. Go easy!”

  The cop with the sharp knees and decent grip stood me up next to Addi, while they called whatever they needed to in on their walkies. I watched Addi shift slowly, not enough to draw anyone’s attention, until I felt her fingers brush mine.

  Crazy bitch just wanted to hold hands while we were in handcuffs.

  The cop barked in my direction first, “What's your name? What are you doing out here?”

  “2000761317.” My juvie file number. “I'll be in your system.”

  The cop didn't think I was funny when I felt something solid knock against my eyebrow, making me double over. “You think breaking the law is funny? We got tipped off there was a deal going on out here.”

  “Did you stop for donuts too?”

  Another swift hit elicited blood this time from the corner of my lip, and I couldn’t keep the laughter down. Something about being beaten down always had that effect on me. A couple hits wasn’t going to knock my personality into some alignment they wanted, and I was the only one who knew that. It made the chuckling uncontrollable.

  Another cop, probably his partner, came behind me yanking the cuffs and forcing me forward until I was leaning over the trunk of the car, while he searched me without warning.

  “Stop it! You're hurting him! We’re being compliant!” Addi shrieked in voice that sounded broken, like every hit they gave me was shattering her heart, just because I was the one she risked it on.

  Suddenly, every part of their fucked up puzzle made sense. Viktor, the idiot who loathed me, decided to get rid of me in a very creative way—the only way that would get me blacklisted from Hector’s affection: being labeled a rat.

  In my line of business, there was nothing worse than wearing your handcuffs for a shorter period of time, because you gave up information in exchange. I wasn’t a rat. I didn’t break under the pressure. I grew up in small, plain rooms, perfecting how to lie so well that the truth sounded honest to everyone around me. A few one night stands with the boys in blue gave me all the practice I needed.

  Hunter

  Addi went in a separate car, which was done on purpose so we couldn’t get on the same page, but she was quick on her feet and carrying a concealed weapon: She was an actress.

  At the station, I sat in a private room waiting for whoever was gonna interrogate me this time. I kicked my feet up waiting for them to sing and dance, only breaking out the lawyer card after they did their show. It was my form of payback.

  Payback was always best unnoticed and appreciated only by you.

  A female cop stood in the open doorway, finally letting me see more than the four white walls I had been analyzing for two hours. “Denying your phone call?”

  I stood up and followed her to the phones with the handcuffs now in front of me, like I was violent too, instead of just dangerous. I picked up the phone expertly, ignoring the cuffs being in my way, and I dialed the only number that came to mind.

  The only number I ever dialed when being detained was my father’s. It was burned into my memory as my get-out-of-jail-free card, no expiration date.

  It had been years since I had even seen him let alone spoken to him. I could be wasting my one phone call on a man who made me a bastard instead of his son.

  He didn't even say hello when he finally picked up. “What did you do this time?”

  “Nothing good, pops.”

  I didn't even know the charges. I trained myself to not give a fuck after I left the twin sisters, desire and want, in the past.

  �
�They don't have anything but an unregistered gun.”

  I made it sound simple, unlike the last few times cops caught me dealing or fighting in my youth. He groaned into the receiver making sure I knew how much of an inconvenience I was. “Who made the arrest?”

  I twisted around looking at the badge on the female cop who was monitoring my phone call, for what I didn't know. Who would be stupid enough to give up information over the phone?

  “Don't know. I was busy eating dirt. The one next to me right now is named Fuller.”

  Another groan poured into my ear. “Just sit tight.”

  I hung up the phone and was sentenced back to the blank walls inside the jail cell-sized room. Kicking my feet back into place, I kept thinking about Addi, and then I quickly wondered how long it had been since I had thought about Layla.

  Addi was taking all the risks.

  Addi was fearlessly loving me, even if I wasn't ready to love her back.

  Addi had my back through night sweats, meeting my intimidating boss, a drop she had no business being at, and even meeting the one person I was proud to introduce her to—someone Layla hadn't even met: my sister.

  While waiting for my dad to waltz in, all the weight of my pondering fell on me like a heavy Florida rain—out of nowhere—and I was unprepared. I didn't realize how much I was falling for Addi, until I realized how much I was willing to risk whatever sentences I was in for, if it meant letting her go acquitted.

  The door swung open again, and the cop who made me taste my own blood stood there with his head hung low and eyes purposely avoiding mine. “You're, uh, free to go.” I could tell he almost choked on the words.

  I got up, sighing I had been here so long already. “Finally. You must be the brawn, clearly not the brains.”

  I could hear my dad’s voice almost echo against the walls of the precinct. “…suspended along with your trigger happy partner. Turn in your belts. You both need to learn to sit on your damn hands! You roughed up the wrong one this time.”

  I stood behind my dad, smirking like I knew the drill: get in trouble, get off the hook. It wasn't until the drugs came into play that he handed out the tough love and vacations to a detention camp a few towns over to set me straight.

  Finally turning around, he looked at me, examining the cuts and bruises around my brow and mouth. “Jesus fucking Christ. Let's get you out of here.”

  “One problem… my girl got arrested too.”

  My dad spun around so fast I wasn't sure he heard me, until the baritone of his voice stung my eardrums. “If anyone of you laid a hand on the girl, I'll start firing instead of suspending.”

  No one ever knew my dad was the boss of the blue bloods. No one could have guessed he'd fall into that career at all after suffering an ACL snap to his left knee before college football recruitment. My dad was the worship type. He didn't settle for anything short of the best, and with being the best came all his favorite things: being intimidating, being feared, being admired, and being revered.

  My pops was a class-A prick, but we avoided each other enough to not have too much firsthand experience. The same female cop from earlier had Addi by the arm guiding her into the room. As soon as she saw me, she glared at the woman, demanding to be let go, and ran into my arms.

  She smelled like tanning oil and fruity pebbles when I shoved my face into her neck, holding her close to me. She must have gotten bored in holding, because now her braids were taken out and her platinum hair was all kinky. She was gorgeous, even with a confused look on her face that I couldn't explain away when I examined her features for any bruises. Never mind my pops, I was gonna earn real time if she was hurt.

  “I didn't… what's happening? Are you okay? Oh my god, your face!”

  “I'll explain later. I'm okay. I've suffered worse.”

  She was holding my hand so tightly my fingers started to tingle from a lack of circulation.

  “Where are my rental keys?”

  The now suspended cop with the sharp knees, small dark eyes, and short stature tossed me a sympathetic look. “Impounded. They open tomorrow morning.”

  I sucked in a frustrated breath when my pops spoke up: “You can stay at the house tonight. I'll drive you there tomorrow before I come here.”

  I glared at him with so much disdain at his suggestion that I felt him fanning my flames. That was the last thing I wanted: another night at his house with his child bride.

  Addi stepped forward, offering her hand to the man trying to help after all the helping I wanted was done, and she introduced herself. My pops beamed, like he had found the hope inside of me, after looking for eighteen years.

  “I'm Hunter’s dad, Rob. Have you've known Hunter long?”

  I watched their easy conversation transpire in front of me, still fanning my flames expertly, and I felt every protective instinct in me needing her to not like him.

  She wanted someone to hate her family just as much as she did, and now I wanted a two-way street.

  I slung my arm across her shoulders. “Think that's enough questions for one night, Pops. Okay, but no house rules. I'm not a kid anymore.”

  My dad sighed; there was no controlling me. “Let’s go.”

  His child bride was nervously arranging cookies on a platter in the center of the kitchen island. It had been awhile since any of us had relived the past. Jumping to attention as soon as we crossed the threshold, she asked, “Is everything okay?” She barely noticed Addi, which I contribute to her intelligence level, proven in picking someone twice her age with a son nearly matching her in age.

  “This is Addi, my girl,” I introduced, as I dug in the fridge, searching for a beer I knew my dad would have on hand. Finally clasping my fingers around the neck of the bottle, I pulled it off the shelf and brushed by Addi, whispering, “Keep them busy.”

  I knew I couldn't wait anymore. It had been hours since the drop, and I was supposed to check in when it was complete. Hector probably already had a hit out for me, not knowing he had rats running in his circles. Pop’s was a perfect safe house; no one would draw a line from him back to me.

  Sliding the door to the back yard open and securely closed behind me, I started dialing. Another pro to my profession was memorizing numbers, along with quick math.

  “You're late.”

  His husky voice saturated in an accent didn't even give me time to say one word before the line connected.

  “Got busted. Good thing I have connections, huh? Your boy Viktor is a rat.”

  “Viktor has been in my crew since he was a boy. Loyalty is in his blood. He wouldn't fuck me over.”

  “So is greed and being a territorial asshole.”

  “Where's my product? That's one of the biggest shipments of the year.”

  “Viktor didn't call you? The cars got away. I stayed behind.”

  He hung up abruptly, connecting the dots and realizing Viktor was no longer an ally but a foe.

  “What did you get into now, Hunter? I can’t keep saving you forever.”

  I nearly jumped out of my skin when he came out of the shadows, after clearly listening in on my conversation. “Save me? When did you save me? I have a record. I was tossed between parents and made to feel like some bastard child. Nothing about me wants fucking saving from you.”

  “Hunter, you have a record because you stopped accepting my help. Your mom couldn't handle our divorce and you getting into trouble. You were always wanted.”

  “Don't patronize me with being a dad now. Pay attention to your child bride and stay out of my way, like normal.”

  His hand gripped my bicep, aggressively holding me back from walking past him. “I'm not gonna stop being here for you. When you want to realize that, I'll still be here. Whatever you've gotten into, we can get you out. Just talk to me.”

  Those were his famous last words, always pleading for me to talk to him when he wasn’t ready to listen.

  “I can handle it, Pops. Badges aren't welcomed in this territory.”

 
His grip felt tighter, and I knew I was pushing all the right buttons without having to think about it. “I’m not asking as a cop. I’m asking as your father.”

  I saw his eyes well up with tears, and something about a parent on the verge of crying seemed so much more depressing than any other hurt in the world. I had broken the man who made me. I had tossed how much of a bastard I felt like in his face and watched him regret every action leading up to this. None of his remorse made me anymore into the son he wanted, and none of the tough love replaced the love I wanted to feel.

  This was simply how it was.

  I took my arm back, forcing my way out of his grip, making my way back to the one person I wanted to be around: Addi.

  She fit comfortably into my life, not asking me to change or conceal the parts she disliked. I was myself, and Addi was willing to match my middle finger in the air to anyone who didn’t like me.

  I felt the conversation revolved around me when I walked in, triggering laughter and their hands covering their mouths. “I see you’re having fun with my pop’s child bride.” I wrapped my arms around Addi from behind, taking in her scent again, letting all the walls I built up to keep people out, even my own parents, slowly collapse.

  As soon as I felt her melt back against my chest, I felt something I never felt with Layla—like I had finally won. This was the prize, and I didn’t have to share anything.

  “Wanna show me your old room?” Her voice was smooth, not a single drop of raspy and every part flirtatious.

  “Do I even have a room here still?” I shifted my eyes up to the child bride, but I didn’t leave the crook of Addi’s neck.

  “Of course you do, silly! We wouldn’t touch your stuff. I only let the cleaning lady in once a week to dust and vacuum.” How endearing to hear someone a few years older try to morph herself into a parental figure I’d respect.