AN- You are awesome if you are sticking with this story. I suck for taking so long to finish it.
Here is a new installment though-
Chapter 17- This is Why I'm Hot
It was countdown time for the job. Mac knew it would be a matter of days now, not weeks.
This was always the time when the adrenaline started pumping through his veins, getting him hyped, ready, hot for the score.
During the long year when he was without- without his brother, his wife ( she called herself ex, but he never would), without his girls on most days, without anything to get him out of bed at all- Mac was a shell of a man.
The only thing he lived for was to keep his promise to Anna. He cooked her dinner, dried her tears- the very few that ever fell- and he waited for the day she went home where she belonged and he could start to piece back together his wreck of an existence.
But now, feeling all pumped up with desire for looting and stealing and conning and all the things that made life worthwhile, Mac did what he hadn't in 376 days.
He knocked on Felicia's door.
If Noah answers he's dead, Mac thought. His fist clenched and unclenched, but he wore a smile.
When the door opened, it was her. She looked him up and down, still pissed but he could see some real excitement in her gaze, and a heart that was full of pain in her eyes.
"You don't live here anymore," she said.
"Not since you threw me out on the lawn," he said
"And you never tried to come back."
"Was I supposed to?"
She shook her head at his comment, choosing to not go there. "Your daughters aren't home. They are sleeping over at Robin's tonight."
He gave her a crooked smile. "Come on, now, you know damn well I didn't come here to see them. I see them on Saturdays at Kelly's. Tell me you don't know why I am here."
He stepped inside. She only moved an inch back. He closed the door behind him.
Leaning down, close to her ear, he whispered "Tell me you don't know why I am here..."
He heard her suck in a breath through her nose, inhaling him and them, the past, the moment, what they both wanted.
His hands moved to her hips. She rocked them closer to him.
"Tell me you don't know..." he said again, as his nipped her shoulder blade.
Felicia exhaled and spat out, "Stop talking. Its been a year. No more talking."
She was the one who kissed him. He wouldn't have stayed if she hadn't.
XXXXXXXX
Carly and Jason slipped out the back door of Jake's and into Jagger's Hummer Escalade.
The dark tinted windows would keep the world from knowing the old friends were hanging out.
"Hey," Jason said and nodded his head at the brothers.
"Long time," Jagger said
"Couple of lifetimes at least," Jason agreed.
Carly was riding a high from the engagement party- and still kind of shocked that The Hitter came through with a ring.
But she twisted her face up at the rap music that bounced around the inside of the vehicle as they drove away.
This is why I'm hot
This is why I'm hot
This is why (this is why)
This is why I'm hot
I'm hot cause I'm fly
You hate cause you not
This is why (this is why)
This is why I'm hot
I'm hot cause I'm fly
You ain't cause you not
This is why (this is why)
This is why I'm hot
(By Mims)
"What in the hell is this crud?" she asked
Stone looked back and said, "His new favorite song."
Carly rolled her eyes. Then she stuck her hand forward, showing off her ring.
"Look, Jag, look."
"Who did you steal that from?" Jagger asked
She smacked him. "We're getting hitched. After this job. You have to come. It will be in Aruba, where no one knows any of us so we can actually relax a little."
Though none of them ever let down their guard too much. It was a sure way to end up dead.
"Congrats, Caroline," Stone said
Jagger met her eyes in the rearview. Once they had been more, way back in Florida. He was the reason they called her The Heartbreaker. Carly had broken Jagger, but good.
That was long before she met Jason. Ever since that her and Jagger were only the best of friends, almost family.
She smiled at him. Jagger nodded back. And in that motion she saw he was happy for her.
Jason said, "You guys headed back to Boston in the morning?"
Stone rolled his eyes and grumbled "We should be."
The older Cates brother said, "Nah, I thought we would stay for a while."
Carly shot Jason a look. Then she said "Oh, hell no, you aren't...you can't. This job goes down soon and if Sonny sees you around town after he paid you off, who knows what he might do."
"I got it under control," Jagger said " You know I like seeing the final showdown."
Jason warned him. "Don't screw this up. We clear?"
"Yeah, Hitter, we're clear."
Then Jagger started the song over and sang along. Everyone groaned but soon they were all joining in
This is why I'm hot
This is why I'm hot
This is why (this is why)
This is why I'm hot
I'm hot cause I'm fly
You hate cause you not
This is why (this is why)
This is why I'm hot
I'm hot cause I'm fly
You ain't cause you not
This is why (this is why)
This is why I'm hot ( Mims)
Jason loved the crazy big smile on Carly's face. There were times he went months without seeing that look and then it was back, and they were okay, and life was more than just living once more- it was love and her and a high that couldn't be gotten from anything else on the planet but grifting and loving Sweet Caroline.
XXXXXXXX
Todd walked back into the motel and found Blair watching the movie Fatal Attraction. It was one of her favorites.
He threw his bag on the bed. It contained his usual tools of the trade- when it came to getting rid of the men Blair deemed a nuisance. Binoculars, rope, handcuffs, a knife, a handkerchief to gag them with if they tried to scream.
"He won't be as easy as the rest," Todd said in disgust. "I just checked out where he lives. You could have told me that he had over twenty guards there at all times."
"So make them go away," she said with her eyes on a bunny that was boiling on the screen.
Todd shook his head, "You even planning to help me with this?"
She gave him a hard look. "Do it. Just get it done. Or else the kids and I are moving out when we get back home. If you would let him live after what he did to me..."
"He's dead," Todd said. But he wasn't sure how he would be able to make that happen.
XXXXXXX
Back inside of Luke's, music was blaring and the con artists were enjoying their rare night off.
Gia was dancing with Zander, the man she loved too much for her own damn good.
Emily was killing Lucky in a game of pool. He swore he let her win every time. But the truth was that Luke had turned her into a shark at thirteen and she could run a table like nobody's business.
Skye was trying to cheer up Robert. Luke was trying to figure out a way to get Skye out of her lovely green dress before the night was over.
Robert looked over the people in this room, and thought about the ones that weren't here. He thought about every con that they ever did and how he doubted they could ever stop.
What a way to spend a life. But he had loved nearly every second of it.
(Sing with me, sing for the years
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good lord will take you away) (Aerosmith)
Emily threw down her pool stick, as the eight ball went in the side pocket, and then crawled onto the table.
"Listen up all you sinners! I just beat Romeo for the billionth time and though he had no chance of winning he bet me that if I did...we would be married next Sunday. That ceremony at St. Timothy's will be for respectable folks only.."
They all laughed.
She smiled. "So don't let me see any of your asses there. Our ceremony will be Saturday night- midnight- here."
Lucky gave her a grin. They hadn't talked about having a private ceremony first but he loved the idea.
Emily ordered " Now tell me Congratulations and some one pour me a damn drink!"
They room erupted in cheers and the champagne was soon flowing.
(Dream on, dream on
Dream yourself a dream come true
Dream on, dream on
Dream until your dream come true
Dream on, dream on, dream on...
Sing with me, sing for the years
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tears
Sing with me,
if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good lord will take you away)
For now, all was right in their world. Even the job was falling into place. But everyone in this room had been out of the life, and little did they know, they would soon be wondering if they should have just stayed out.
Every job was a risk and no one could beat the odds forever, could they?