Fiction: Package Deal

The illusion of choice

Package Deal

“Seriously, Jack, are you in on this or not?”

“C’mon, Maria! Can’t we just scam an old lady out of her rent money or something easy like that? These guys have guns and really bad attitudes. I’d like to make it to thirty in one piece.”

“Scamming old ladies won’t get us a lot and I have expensive tastes. You should know that by now. Besides, you’re already twenty-nine,” she said while giving a shrug. “I think. You’ve never really told me, have you?”

“And getting gray hair early. Mostly because of you.”

“Don’t lie, Jack. You’ve loved every minute of it.”

She was right, of course. Those eyes, those lips — and especially those legs — made getting beat up, stomped on, and shot at all worthwhile. Or so I told myself. That might be a bit of a stretch since we weren’t an item — yet. That makes me an optimist, I suppose. Or an idiot.

But this robbery she had planned was crazy, in my opinion. Intercepting money from drug runners without anyone catching on made my stomach hurt. Then she curls up next to me on the sofa close enough to feel the heat from her body.

“Please?”