Not a Chance

by S. C. Stephens

  Makayla straightened when the officers entered the room. Her eyes widened at the sight of Neil trailing in behind them. He must have still been at the station when the call had come in. He must have figured that Makayla was somehow involved in the new emergency that had swept a couple of cars to the hospital. Either that or the sweet man had wanted to pay his respects to Joseph too.

  His blue-gray eyes widened as far as the nurse’s had. “Makayla? What the hell happened to you?”

  As a burly, mustached cop unfastened her restraint, Makayla sighed. Rubbing her wrist, she murmured, “You think this is bad? You should have seen me a few minutes ago.” Neil blinked and she sighed. “Chance. Chance happened to me.”

  Neil nodded, still looking completely stunned, and then the police began asking her questions. Makayla sighed when they hauled her back to the station. She’d really been there enough for one day. But they had protocol to follow and forms to fill out and paperwork to sign. There was a lot of red tape that came with being a police officer.

  Neil sat in the back seat of a squad car with Makayla on the ride over, holding her hand. “I’ll grab a cab and head back to the bank, then I’ll come pick you up, okay.” He squeezed her hand. “You just stay put.”

  Makayla nodded and rested her head back on the hard plastic of the molded seats. Sitting in the back of a police car was a lot less comfortable than sitting in the front. The solid, sculpted seats were easy to clean—and Makayla did not want to think about the gunk that people deposited back here—but they felt as unyielding as the slim metal band around her wrist had been. She’d had enough insight into the criminal mind for one evening. Now she just wanted a soft pillow to crash on.

  The officer let her out and politely told her where to go to file her report. Then his shoulder speaker squawked a code and he excused himself to go chase after another bad guy. Makayla and Neil watched him leave, then twisted around to the front door. Neil put a hand on her shoulder. “Okay, I’m gonna go get that cab…”

  Neil’s voice drifted off as he stared at a point just over her shoulder. His face once again looked liked he’d stepped into a room where Makayla was chained to a wall—shock and astonishment plastered all over his features.

  Makayla twisted to look over at what could have made Neil’s face turn so ashen. Then so much shock poured through her system that she probably matched Neil’s expression. Standing just a few feet away, head down in contemplation, was the tall, dark and handsome ex-love of Neil’s life. A love that Makayla had assumed was halfway across Quebec by now.

  Hands in his back pockets, Adrian kicked a pebble in the parking lot. He hadn’t noticed them yet. Clearly deep in thought, he hadn’t seemed to notice anything yet. Neil stepped around Makayla. She grabbed his hand at the last moment, but let him walk towards his love. “Adrian?”

  Adrian’s pitch-black head snapped up, his eyes immediately locking onto Neil’s. The green depths seemed black in the lot lights, but they warmed at seeing Neil. Regardless of everything, Makayla had no doubts that Adrian was still in love with the man, probably just as deeply as she and Chance were still in love.

  Ignoring the knot that twisted in her stomach whenever she thought of Chance, she took a few steps towards Adrian with Neil; he clenched her hand like he was drowning and she was the only thing keeping him afloat. Neil’s eyes flashed between Adrian and the police station. “I gave them your description…they’re looking for you. What are you doing here?”

  Adrian smiled. His face was so beautiful it even made Makayla’s heart flutter a tiny bit. Adrian could have been many things besides a crook. Still could, she supposed. Neil squeezed her hand even harder. “Neil…I’m so glad you’re okay. You have no idea how worried I was.”

  Neil straightened as he stood before his ex. Lifting his chin, he shook his head. “Makayla told me everything. You’re a thief? You used me?”

  Adrian’s dark eyes flashed to Makayla for a second before returning to Neil. “For a time. I stopped when I fell in love with you.” His model-worthy smile faded to something sad and wistful. “I broke up with you when I fell in love with you…so you wouldn’t get hurt. I knew I wasn’t worthy of you.”

  He looked down to the cement and Neil dropped Makayla’s hand. Stepping up to Adrian, he tentatively put a hand on his arm. “You hurt me anyway…leaving like you did, with no explanation…”

  Adrian lifted his eyes, they were glossy. “I know…I’m so sorry. Is there any way you can forgive me for what I’ve done to you?”

  Neil looked away. Adrian grabbed his chin and brought Neil’s gaze back to his. Makayla’s eyes watered, watching her friend’s turmoil. She wasn’t sure what she wanted Neil to say. Her own heart was so torn with Chance’s duplicity, that she had no advice to give Neil. A tear dropped down Adrian’s smooth skin as he unblinkingly stared at Neil. “I know I don’t deserve you, but I still want you. I want a life with you. That’s why I didn’t run. That’s why I’m doing this.”

  Neil blinked, then looked around at where they were. He removed Adrian’s hand from his jaw, then shook his head. “Doing what? Why are you here?”

  Adrian looked over Neil’s shoulder to Makayla, silently watching them. “I’m turning myself in.”

  Makayla’s mouth dropped open. “You’ll be arrested, Adrian.”

  His warm smile returned as he nodded at Makayla. “I know.” His eyes shifted back to Neil and he grabbed his hand. “I’m hoping that they’ll go easy on me, since I did steal the getaway car.” He smirked, a flash of pride washing over his features. Makayla watched Neil’s face melt into a sappy, love-filled expression at the oh-so-attractive Adrian. Smiling at him, Adrian brushed a strand of hair off his forehead. Neil gave a soft sigh and smiled back.

  Hating to ruin their moment by being the voice of reason, Makayla stepped up and said, “You helped Chance escape though…they’ll nail you for that.”

  Adrian frowned and looked over at her. “I know.” He looked down. “And I’ll freely do my time for that.” He peeked back up at Neil. “If I have something worth getting out for?”

  Makayla wasn’t sure whether Adrian meant something worth getting out of jail for or something worth getting out of a life of crime for. Either way, Neil emphatically nodded. Resting his head against Adrian, he murmured, “I’ll be here. I love you, I’m not going anywhere.”

  Pain flashed through Makayla and she closed her eyes. Chance hadn’t made Adrian’s decision. Chance had chosen his freedom over her. Chance had betrayed her…again. After a moment of listening to Adrian and Neil reaffirm their commitment to each other, Makayla turned away. She didn’t want to hear a happy couple when her own life was in shambles. She didn’t want to see bliss when her own happily-ever-after hadn’t happened.

  As she started to move back towards the police station, Makayla felt a hand on her arm. She looked back at Adrian holding her. “He had to leave, Makayla, but don’t think that he didn’t love you. He did. He does.”

  Sniffling, she wiped tear marks off her cheeks. “He wouldn’t turn himself in for me. He chose to run. In the end, he didn’t choose me.”

  Adrian shook his head. His arm around Neil, Neil sappily gazing up at his face, Adrian stepped forward. “I’m facing a year, two tops. His sentence would have been decades, Makayla. You can’t blame him for not wanting to go through with that. He had to run. He had no choice.”

  Makayla bristled. She was getting really tired of hearing people say that. Raising her chin, she told Adrian exactly what she’d told Chance. “There is always a choice.”

  She spun on her heel and stepped into the station to give her second report on Chance in twenty-four hours. She really hoped this would be the last one today. As she finished signing her name, she sighed. When she’d started out this morning, she’d been anticipating coming home to Chance…maybe having a rousing lovemaking session before falling asleep in each other’s arms. He was supposed to tell her that he’d gotten a fulltime job at work. He was supposed to tell her th
at he was going to sell his place and officially move in with her. He was supposed to tell her that his brother had been arrested in New York and they were truly free.

  Yes, there were several things that he was supposed to tell her today…but none of the things that he had ended up telling her were what she’d been expecting to hear. He was supposed to be the perfect man for her…he was not supposed to be a lying, manipulative con artist.

  As she turned to leave, Makayla watched Adrian being led away by two police officers. She wondered if they would go easy on him. She figured they probably didn’t get too many people who turned themselves in. Of course, Adrian was only turning himself in for aiding and abetting Chance. There was a lot the police didn’t know about Adrian. But that was all in his past, and as Chance was always telling her, it’s about what you can prove, not what actually happened.

  Sighing, Makayla walked over to Neil. He was staring at the hall that Adrian had disappeared down. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked to be on the verge of losing it. Looping her arm around his, Makayla sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder.

  “He turned himself in for me, Mack…so we could be together.” She pulled back to look at him and twin tears coursed down his cheeks. “What am I supposed to do with that?”

  Makayla smiled and wiped his cheeks dry. “You wait for him…then when he gets out, you give him another chance, because he took his penance for you…and that means something.”

  Makayla frowned, thinking of her escapee boyfriend. He’d blown any hope of them reuniting by running…and by handcuffing her to a wall and gagging her. She wasn’t about to let that one go anytime soon. Neil nodded, still staring at the hall where Adrian was. Pulling on his arm, Makayla turned him around. His head was the last thing to turn, his vision the last thing to leave Adrian. Sighing morosely, Neil eventually looked over at her.

  “Come on. I’d say tonight calls for some Ben and Jerry’s.”

  Neil gave her a sad smile. “What about Sofia?”

  Makayla snorted and pulled him towards the door. “Sofia can kiss my chunky ass.”

  By Monday morning, Makayla’s head was clearer. Maybe it was the pint of Cherry Garcia that she and Neil had downed each and every night over the weekend, but she suddenly knew what she had to do. Makayla had been so sure about her life and about her dreams before Chance had swooped into her heart. She’d been going to pass her police exam and get hired onto the force. That had been her goal for a while now, and she’d been on the verge of making it happen. But then fate had given her Chance…and now her life was deviating from what she’d always thought it would be.

  Chance had shown her a thing or two, and the one thing she realized from all of this was…he was right. The system was tweaked to help the criminal and hinder the victim. It wasn’t about the truth, it was about what you could prove.

  Makayla knew the reasoning—society had to take whatever precaution it could to keep from making the mistake of sending an innocent person to jail. That was the fear. That was the reason for the rules and restraints. But crooks were tapped into the system, used it to their advantage. Good people got hurt in the midst of all the lawyers, red tape and grandstanding. Makayla didn’t want any of it. She just wanted to get the bad guys—plain and simple. She’d had a lot of time to think since the robbery, and she was beginning to believe that maybe being a part of the force wasn’t the best way to do that.

  She’d been staring at her ceiling for a good hour by the time Neil stretched beside her; he’d stayed by her side every night since the craziness at the bank. Makayla looked over at her sleepy friend; he still had an empty carton of ice cream clutched in his fingers from their latest cry fest. He scrunched his face then cracked an eye open at her. “Morning, Mack,” he whispered.

  Makayla gave him a wide smile and nodded at him. He frowned and sat up on an elbow. “You seem awful chipper, considering everything that’s happened recently.” He glanced over at the clock on her nightstand and sighed. “And the fact that we’re an hour late for work.”

  Makayla followed his frown and startled at realizing that he was right…they’d luckily been on the off-rotation for Saturday, but their weekend was over and they were massively late. Well, considering that the bank had bigger problems than two missing employees, she wasn’t too worried about it. Besides, everyone from the robbery had probably called in sick lately. Except their lazy-ass manager who had missed the entire showdown. Hopefully he at least got fired after all was said and done.

  “Well, I think I’ve made an important decision.”

  Neil yawned and looked down into the carton holding the melted remnants of last night’s pity party. Running his finger around the rim, he peeked a pale eye up at her. “Yeah, what’s that?”

  He popped his finger in his mouth as Makayla sat up on her elbow and faced him in the bed. “I’ve decided I’m not going to become a police officer.”

  Neil frowned as he dipped his finger back into the soupy mess. “But I thought that was your dream?”

  He scooped up some more liquid ice cream and, disgusted that he was eating the warm treat, Makayla stole the carton from him. Neil frowned and Makayla grinned even wider. Setting the carton on the nightstand behind her, she flipped back around to Neil. “Chance was right about one thing.” Neil cocked an eyebrow and she explained. “The system is set in place to help the accused, not the victim. I want to help the victims, not be frustrated that I can’t put away the slime balls.”

  Neil stared at her a moment, then shook his head. “If you are about to tell me that you’re going to go all superhero citizen-vigilante, I’m just telling you right now that I am not going to be your sidekick. I’m not dressing up in spandex and a cape and calling myself Wonder Boy.”

  Makayla laughed at the image he’d just placed in her head. “No, I promise I won’t make you dress up.” She bit her lip and raised an eyebrow. “I could use a sidekick though?”

  Neil scrunched his brows. “For what?”

  Makayla sat up in bed. “Okay…don’t laugh.”

  Sighing, Neil sat up too. “Why do I have a feeling I’m going to like this even less than being called Wonder Boy?”

  Makayla grinned as she leaned towards him. “I’m going to be a bounty hunter.”

  Neil stared at her blankly for a moment, then started laughing. Makayla scoffed and lightly smacked his knee. “Hey, I said no laughing.”

  Neil shook his head, his dimples glorious in his delight. “Sorry, but… are you serious?”

  Makayla smiled bright and tucked her hair behind her ears. “Yes, I am. It’s perfect, Neil. This way, I can just focus on the criminal. I won’t have to worry about office politics. I won’t have to worry about rules, regulations…codes of conduct. I won’t have to worry about evidence or proof. I won’t be hindered by miles of red tape. I won’t have to deal with rotating schedules or jurisdiction lines. I’ll just be free to chase down the bad guys. It’s prefect! It’s exactly what I want to do!”

  Neil sighed, his face softening as he stared at her. “And you’ll be free to chase Chance. That’s the real reason…isn’t it?”

  Makayla sighed and bit her lip. “I can’t let him get away, Neil…I just can’t.”

  Neil looked down at her messy sheet and shook his head. “You’re crazy, Makayla.”

  She was smiling at him when he peeked back up at her. “Yeah, probably…and I’ll need your help.”

  Looking completely bemused by the idea, Neil shook his head. “Me? What can I do?”

  Makayla cocked her head at him. “Are you kidding? You would be an invaluable part of my team.” Neil crooked a smile. “You and Adrian both,” she added.

  Neil immediately frowned but slowly the smile returned. “Yeah, yeah maybe.”

  Makayla nodded, already envisioning her crack team—her, her best friend, and her best friend’s ex-con lover. She’d always imagined Chance as her source into the deviant mind, but, Adrian would do. At seeing Makayla’s grin, Neil frowned. “
God, I’m so going to regret this. I can already tell.”

  Makayla shot up off the bed, excited to begin the process of being an independent crook-catcher. She knew it would be a challenging career, but that didn’t scare her. The payoff would be worth it. Besides, it put her on the fast track to finding Chance…and he was suspect number one in her book. It would take some time, considering a third of her team had just gotten himself arrested, but Makayla had nothing but time ahead of her anyway. She would wait for Adrian’s release before making her move. His experience was too invaluable to leave behind.

  Neil sighed and slumped back onto her bed but Makayla saw the edges of his lips curve into a smile. He liked the idea of working with Adrian. Obviously for different reasons than Makayla, but she was glad that he was excited about the prospect as well. And he was braver than he gave himself credit for.