Anton chuckled. "No complaints. It does the job."
"What can I do for you?"
"I need to disappear. I've tried twice, and the cops keep catching up."
"Came up on the wrong side of someone, I heard," she led him into a tastefully decorated dinning room—nice, but not highest end.
"Yeah. Someone is still after me. I'm not safe. I'm good, but I obviously need great."
"You came to the right place. Sit. Coffee."
"No thanks, just ate."
She shrugged. "Do you have your current papers?"
"Yes."
She held our her hand. Conservative manicure, good quality. This girl knew how to fly unnoticed. He handed over Donald's license, passport, birth certificate and Social Security card.
"These are good. You do these?"
"Yes."
"You have my money?" She knew he did, she'd felt the envelope in his pants.
"Twenty K." He pulled it from his pocket and handed it over. "We set?"
"We have an accord," she said, holding out her hand to shake his. "Soon, you'll be a whole new man."
Anton took her hand and smiled. "Great." He shook and held. "You forgot to lock the front door," he whispered, pulling her close.
The door burst open, with Newton leading the team. Rose screamed and tried to draw her weapon, but Anton held her in a death grip.
"You have the right to remain silent," Eilene said with great satisfaction as she snapped on the cuffs.
"You're making a huge mistake. I'll be out in an hour. I demand to call my lawyer."
"Oh, don't worry," Newton said, walking her out. "He's already there. Of course, he needs a lawyer of his own."
"What? What!"
"Your network is crumbling," Eilene said. "This precious little illusion, kiss it goodbye."
They put her in back of the squad car and it took off to jail.
"You did great!" Eilene complimented Anton.
"Thank you. When you go through the house, think like a criminal."
"What do you mean?" Bailey asked.
"The money doesn't show up in the bank. Cage couldn't find off-shore accounts, which means it's in the house. A woman like that, she knows she'll get burned eventually. She'll have at least one go bag, and a mountain of cash."
"Show us?" Canon asked.
"Yes, sir." Anton led them inside and showed them around, pointing out obvious, and less obvious, hiding places. Her biggest stash was under her son's bed, in a compartment beneath the floorboards.
"Great mom, huh?" Canon said. "We don't tell Rivera this."
"Oh, hell, no," they chorused.
Hours later, Anton finally headed home. His cheek throbbed, his teeth ached. He smoked a joint and popped open a beer. Putting on some Zeppelin, When the Levee Breaks was playing when someone rang the front bell. The Sisters always came to the back door, so he glanced through the peephole. Tabitha stood there with carryout bags. Grinning, he opened the door.
"I brought food. How are you feeling?"
"Better now."
He took the bags from her and set them down. His fingers wound in her hair, the sable curls felt alive. Despite the pain in his face, he kissed her deeply. Tabitha's arms snaked around him, pulling him close. He marveled at the feel of her body, muscular, but still softly feminine. She smelled fresh and clean, like sunshine and bleach, and a sweetness that was uniquely hers.
They got too aggressive and it felt like a lance of fire hit him in the cheek. Gasping, he stepped back, hand flying to his face. Tabitha took charge, leading him to the kitchen.
"Ice," she said, putting some in a zipper bag and a towel. "Pain pills?"
He pointed, holding the ice in his other hand. "Had a joint."
"Take it anyway. It won't kill you, but it might make you sleepy."
"No." He closed her hand over the proffered pill. "I refuse to sleep right now. Pain or no pain. Tabitha, I want you. I have since I met you."
"Don—I—"
"My name," he said softly, taking her hand. "Isn't Donald. It's not Anton, or Tony, or anything else I go by. It's Matthew Wriggly. I'm not a waiter, or an investment banker. I'm a thief—a retired thief. That's behind me now."
"Don—Matthew—that feels strange to say...."
"You can call me Don. But you deserve to know the name of the man who's about to make love to you."
His kiss muffled her reply.
©2021 Dellani Oakes
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