Garrett grabbed his bag of till money from the terrified young woman just as Reggie grabbed Makayla’s bags. Palming both in his meaty grasp, he eyed Makayla with a look of pure superiority. She stepped into him and raised her chin, clearly no longer impressed or intimidated. Chance wanted to roll his eyes and sigh again. Damn it, Makayla, just go sit down by Neil!
Neil seemed to feel the same way. His eyes wide he hissed out, “Makayla!” She grudgingly looked over to her friend, then went to sit beside him. As Chance held his empty weapon on the crowd, he watched Makayla sink to her knees in a choppy, resistant way. She did not want to be submissive. Chance was sure that her mind was spinning on all of the various ways that she could take control of the situation. But she had to know that anything she did right now would only put Neil and the others in danger. And as much as she currently hated Chance, her protective nature wouldn’t let anything happen to them.
Chance smiled under his mask, wishing her the best, since he knew she’d probably never see him again once he fled out the front doors.
Sweeping their eyes over the subdued crowd one more time, Chance and his unfortunate partners in crime backed towards the door. The whole event had only taken a few minutes, and luckily no new customers had entered the bank. Makayla watched them leave with undiluted hatred in her eyes. Chance was sure that she’d tell the officers everything she knew once they arrived. That was fine with Chance. He’d known for a while that he wouldn’t get away from this job. He only hoped he could take Garrett and Reggie with him. Some good should come from this debacle.
Once they were out on the street, they all three twisted back to Garrett’s SUV. They were exposed on the street, in plain view of tons of witnesses…and people tended to remember guys in masks, carrying shotguns and bags bulging with money. Even the most unobservant person would probably notice that.
Grateful that Makayla and Neil hadn’t been hurt, Chance dashed for the escape vehicle…only…it wasn’t there. Garrett and Reggie stopped on the sidewalk and stared at the empty space where their car had been. Chance could hear sirens in the distance. He started laughing. He started belly laughing. Adrian. Adrian had finally showed up, and done the only thing he’ been able to do in the situation. He’d stolen Garrett’s car so he couldn’t get away. He’d practically guaranteed that they’d all get caught.
It was the perfect way to get Garrett and Reggie busted without endangering the lives of the bank employees, who were already rushing to the door to securely lock it behind the criminals, denying them the opportunity to run back inside. They were stranded with the evidence of their crime clutched in their fingers. With the wail of the sirens so loud that it was clear they were right around the corner, it was also clear that they were finished. Chance laughed even harder.
Bravo, Adrian. When Chance was securely in his jail cell, right next to Garrett and Reggie, he’d have to send the man a thank you card.
Chapter 19
Betrayal
Makayla had never been so livid in all her life! The man she’d trusted, the man she’d foolishly let into her life, had double-crossed her. No, double-cross wasn’t a strong enough word for what he’d done. He’d betrayed her on the very deepest levels of their souls. There was no going back from what he’d done. There were no more second chances. They were as over as a couple of people could get.
And he’d had the audacity to tell her that he was doing it for her! Really? He was stealing thousands of dollars of other people’s hard-earned cash…for her? Did he think she needed, or even wanted, that much money? And he was back in bed with his brother—the man who’d beaten him senseless! Why on earth would he trust that man? Why on earth would he choose him over Makayla? Hadn’t they been happy these last few weeks? Hadn’t their lives been sort of idyllic?
They say blood is thicker than water…but Makayla didn’t understand this at all. She didn’t understand him at all. And as she watched him flee the scene of his deception, she was sure she’d never get an explanation.
As the rest of the hostages let out stuttered exhales of relief, Natalie and the other girls loudly crying, Makayla stood and started walking towards the doors. Neil popped up beside her, jerking back her arm. “Don’t, Mack! I know you want to save the world one bad guy at a time, but leave this one to the pros…please.” His pale eyes begged her to not storm out there and play a surely fatal game of cops and robbers.
Makayla hesitated as she stared at him. He didn’t know who they’d just been threatened by. He didn’t know that her boyfriend had just pointed a loaded gun at the both of them. Sadly, there was a lot Neil didn’t know. “It was Chance, Neil…Chance held a gun to my face! I can’t just let him get away!” She hissed the words, her voice almost inaudible in the cacophony of crying and cursing going on around them.
Ricky stood and ran to the doors, locking them. Makayla frowned at the security guard who was now blocking her escape. She had others though. She’d go out the back if she had to, but she wasn’t about to let Chance and his brother get away.
Neil’s mouth dropped wide open. “Chance? Your boyfriend, Chance?”
Makayla twisted on her heel, spinning to the hallway with the emergency exit. “Ex-boyfriend,” she shouted.
Neil started to follow her, but Natalie, her perfectly applied mascara running down her cheeks as she sobbed, grabbed his arm and held him tight. Whether she was overly distraught and needed him, or sensed that he was about to do something foolish, Makayla wasn’t sure. Either way she was grateful. For this foolish mission, Makayla preferred to be alone.
Ricky’s voice on the phone to the police filled her ears, but Makayla pushed it from her head. They wouldn’t get here in time, not unless they’d been called several minutes ago, and since Chance and his buddies had taken their cell phones when they’d first arrived, Makayla doubted they’d been called yet.
Running down the back hall, Makayla slammed her body into the bar across the fire exit. An alarm went off, screeching loudly throughout the building, but Makayla didn’t care. She just had to get to Chance…tackle him, pin him down, then hogtie him for the cops. Maybe she’d even find a pretty bow and slap it on his back to complete her gift-wrapped present for the police.
Of course, she wasn’t exactly sure how she was going to successfully take down three armed men…but that was a detail she could work out later. She just couldn’t let them get away. It wasn’t in her nature.
When she emerged on the street, Makayla immediately looked up the sidewalk. Surprisingly, Chance and his goons were still there, staring around themselves like they were momentarily at a loss. Makayla wasn’t sure why, but she knew she had an opportunity here. As she dashed up the street, her only thought was that she hoped she didn’t slip again. Why that was her only thought, she couldn’t be sure. Adrenaline maybe? All other concerns were gone from her, she wasn’t even afraid. All that filled her was a sense of justice…duty.
The wind whipped past her face as she ran. Her breath was heavy, both from the effort and from the hormones flooding her body. She nearly stopped in her tracks when she noticed that Chance was laughing hysterically. Why the heck was he laughing? What about any of this was funny? Makayla slowed her step, narrowly twisting her ankle in a crack on the sidewalk. Then she heard the approaching sirens. Someone had already called the cops and they were almost here. If she could delay the trio for a few minutes, they’d be busted holding the evidence. There’d be no talking their way out of it.
“Chance! Stop! Don’t you move!”
Makayla wasn’t sure what she expected to happen by yelling his name. She didn’t really think that these hardened criminals would be deterred from escape by the sight of one, crazy, unarmed woman running their way, nor did she think they’d actually listen to her command. In all honesty, she hadn’t meant to scream—she’d have preferred a stealthy attack—it had just slipped out in the heat of the moment. But her vocal outburst did have an effect…she now had the attention of all three robbers.
Chance stopped laughing as he stared at her. His eyes widened, the whites of them almost seeming to fill the open circles of his dark mask. His free hand came up in a warning to stay away. His head jerked back and forth, aggressively shaking in the negative. He yelled her name at the same time that the shorter of the remaining two robbers, Chance’s brother, raised his weapon.
The adrenaline turned to ice as Makayla stared at the machine that was going to be the end of her. She mentally cursed her foolish idea. What had she been thinking? Running up to maniacs with both guns and the psycho demeanor to use them. She skidded to a halt and raised her hands in front of her body in some ridiculous instinctual form of protection. It wouldn’t help. It wouldn’t save her.
Just as a near-sonic boom filled the air, Chance spun and knocked the rifle upwards. Makayla could have sworn that she felt the air above her head shimmer with the force of the blast passing above her. Another foot or so, and it would have hit her square in the face. Makayla dropped to a hunch along with every other body on the street. Now that people were completely tuned into what was happening, screams filled the air. The sirens were even closer as Makayla ducked behind a car.
Breath fast, ice still coursing through her veins, Makayla heard the sounds of a scuffle. Glancing back, she saw that Chance was now engaged in a deadly battle…a battle she’d started. Garrett smacked Chance in the face with the end of his rifle. Chance crumpled, groaning. The big robber, Reggie, most likely, turned about, looking for an escape. With Chance a step or two away from him, Garrett lowered his gun to Chance’s chest. Makayla screamed a warning, but Chance saw the threat and, dropping his weapon, he rammed his body into Garrett’s chest. They both stumbled into the empty parking space on the street. The bag of money Garrett was holding dropped and loose bills floated up into the sky.
Reggie took a look at the melee and twisted to run. As Garrett and Chance started duking it out, Reggie tucked tail and darted down the street, away from the sounds of the approaching sirens…and towards Makayla. Thinking she could maybe get one of the bad guys, Makayla kept herself hidden behind the back of the car. As Reggie’s bulk came into view, an image of Chance, bruised and bloodied, filled her vision. Rage overtaking her, she lunged for Reggie’s legs. Makayla grunted with the impact, but smiled too. She’d taken him completely off guard and he went crashing to the pavement, his head smacking it with a resounding thump.
Makayla was dazed from the force of their bodies colliding, and stumbled as she stood up. Reggie groaned and dropped his hold on his bags of money. His gun, however, never left his hand. Even as his unfocused eyes swung around to find hers, the rifle in the big man’s hands found her chest. A little dumbfounded that he’d retained his hold on the weapon, Makayla stared in shock. A body knocked her to the ground as another sonic boom hit the air.
The air whooshed from her lungs as she hit the concrete. A youthful security guard was lying on her. His face was wan and scrunched in pain. As he rolled to her side, he coughed up blood. Makayla’s eyes widened at the dark stain spreading on his side. Whoever this youth was, he’d just saved her life, and he’d paid the price for it. She put her hands over his wounds, trying to staunch the flow, but her fingers were soon stained red as it broke through the feeble dam of her fingers. Tears stinging her vision, Makayla murmured repeated thank yous to the stranger who might die today protecting her.
Makayla heard Reggie gathering his bulk in an attempt to stand. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Garrett and Chance still going to blows on the street. Thinking that she could do nothing to stop the thief, Makayla stayed with her wounded hero. Reggie smirked at her situation, then shifted to grab his bags of loot. Greedy coward.
As Reggie started to sprint away, Makayla felt a bulge on the security guard’s belt. Instinctually knowing what it was, she pulled it free and immediately aimed it at Reggie. Twin bolts shot from the tazor and landed in his thigh. He screamed and jerked about as the current fried his system. He dropped to the concrete again, stunned into submission. Makayla smiled.
Some helpful citizens around Makayla started snapping out of their shock and rushed to help her with the security guard and Reggie. A few men held the masked robber down while another bystander pulled off his sweatshirt and held the fabric to the guard’s side. Standing, weapon in hand, Makayla left the guard and strode over to Garrett and Chance. She approached the pair right as Garrett socked Chance with a vicious uppercut. His mask having been ripped off in the fray, Chance was streaming blood from a cut above his eye. Garrett looked no better, his mask also gone now.
Seeing Garrett’s rifle several feet away, Makayla aimed the tazer between the two men, not sure which one to hit first. She wasn’t even sure if this thing had anymore juice in it, but she had to try. Chance flew to his back after Garrett’s last punch, and Makayla took the opportunity to fire.
Nothing happened.
Her eyes wide, Makayla watched Garrett look over at her and sneer. Remembering her training, Makayla used the heavy gun to whack him in the temple. She immediately followed it with a well placed thrust of her pointy-toed high heel. Thanking Sofia for the endless squats she always made her do, Makayla felt the pure power behind her strike. Garrett’s smirk was gone as he landed heavily on the street. He didn’t move. Makayla turned her attention to Chance…the last thief she had to bring to justice.
He stood, a prideful smile on his face. “You are amazing, Makayla…I hope you don’t give up on your dreams.”
She stepped towards him, tazer clenched in her hand like brass knuckles. “I don’t intend to, Colton.”
He nodded. “Good.” Just as her hand came around to grab him, Chance’s car squealed to a stop in front of them. The door pushed open, and Chance and Makayla looked over at Adrian’s anxious face. “Get in!”
Chance didn’t hesitate, immediately diving into his vehicle. Makayla made a grab for him, but was seconds too late. As his little blue compact spun out around a corner, the red and blue flashing lights of the Cavalry flew into the chaotic street.
As sirens wailed, tires screeched to a stop, innocent bystanders screamed, and rough voices barked out demands for everyone to remain still, Makayla’s mind spun and twisted. What the hell just happened? How did her life go from on the verge to being perfect, to being horrid in one afternoon?
As she sank to her knees, her strength and adrenaline gone, she wondered what to do now. Feeling Neil’s warm arms wrap around her, Makayla did the last thing she wanted to do. She brought her red-smeared fingers to her face and started to cry.
Neil sat beside her on the sidewalk as she sobbed. Makayla hated to be that weak, but she’d just been through a moment that would have shaken most people. And for her it was even worse—she’d just lost the man who had her heart. There was no way they could be together now. Not after this betrayal.
A couple of police cars backed away from the bank and took off after Chance and Adrian once they realized that one robber had gotten away. Makayla was pretty sure that they wouldn’t catch them. The remaining officers swarmed the area, guns at the ready for more threats. But the only threats nearby were now being cuffed and escorted into the back of a squad car. Bruised and bloodied, Garrett gave Makayla a look of cold intent; she met his gaze defiantly, even through her mass of tears. Reggie still looked dazed from the shock she’d given him and stumbled a little on his way to the car.
As Makayla watched the two men and waited to be questioned for her part in all of this, Neil rubbed her shoulders. Makayla wasn’t sure how he’d broken away from Natalie, but she was tremendously glad that he had; she needed her best friend right then. Even if he did ask a question she’d been dreading.
“Mack? That guy driving the car that Chance ducked into…was that…? No, I was seeing things, right? That wasn’t…it couldn’t have been…Adrian?” His voice was little more than a whisper in her ear.
Makayla sighed and looked over at him. Wiping her eyes, she nodded. “Yeah, you saw right…it was Adrian. He’s involved in t
his too somehow. I’m sorry.” She laid her head on his shoulder. “We both got screwed.”
She felt Neil shake his head, heard him mutter, “Adrian? My Adrian? I don’t believe it…I don’t believe he’d get mixed up with…any of this. That’s not like him at all…”
Makayla clasped his hand. She understood the feeling he was going through. She was still going through it herself. How could Chance do this to her? To them? He’d ruined their relationship…he’d ruined everything. And for nothing. As she watched uniformed officers collecting the loose bills floating along the street, stuffing them into one of the bags of cash that belonged to the bank, she couldn’t understand what had possessed her boyfriend.
She figured if their plan hadn’t been foiled, the crooks would have gotten away with a quarter of a million dollars. It wouldn’t have been nearly so much if Chance hadn’t forced her to open the vault. He must have scoped her out, known that the lazy manager had entrusted her with access to it. Come to think of it, he’d also led her to the exact room the safe was in. And the secret guard hadn’t been a secret either. The more she thought about it, the more Makayla realized that Chance had been playing her all along…using her to spy on the bank, all so he could rob it.