Travis

“I don’t like this any more than the two of you. The job is postponed. Our inside guy informs me that a big fish is coming into town. If we wait a little while longer, we will find ourselves swimming in cash.” Owen was usually more anxious, but something was making him lick his lips with a salivating hunger for a bigger payday.

“The present owners of the vehicle that I borrowed from will be home the first of next month. Does this postponement make it necessary to bring the vehicle back? I went to a lot of trouble to get it.” I still owed Olivia a dinner.

“I would hold onto it for now. It might be cutting it close, but we should be able to utilize the vehicle.” Owen was standing with his hand on the trunk of the tree.

Harper was once again playing with the knife between her fingers on the hood of the jeep. We had met at the lookout point. It was still early and the teenagers looking to score wouldn’t be showing up for hours.

She didn’t nick herself and she was quite proficient at playing that game. I had a feeling she could do it blindfolded if requested. The black tee shirt did nothing to hide her obvious attributes.

The view of the city from this dizzying height was a stellar display of dazzling lights. It wasn’t quite the same as what I would find on top of the hospital roof.

“I hope so. I have already returned the security uniform.” I could’ve gotten a job with the company, but anything that went wrong would obviously be traced back to the new guy.

“One of these days you’re going to have to tell me who is helping you. Knowing your reputation with the ladies, I have to assume it’s someone of feminine persuasion. Is her name Olivia?” This little tidbit of information made Harper stop with the knife poised in her hands.

“I’m not sleeping with her, but it’s not from her lack of trying. She does these small favors to try to get into my pants. I know I can’t keep stringing her along without putting out.” She had heard rumors of my prowess and was ready to find out for herself. I had been playing it casual giving her hints of impropriety, but not taking it much further than second or third base.

“I admire how you keep her begging for it. The more she wants you the better chance she will come through with whatever request you might have.” His black windbreaker was flapping loudly with the wind blowing in a gale over the cliff.

“I don’t suppose you can give us a tentative date of when this is going to happen. I would like to know when to be ready. I don’t think it’s unreasonable considering what I’m going through with my mother.” She was getting weaker by the day, but she was smiling through the ordeal for me.

“A high roller will be coming in on Christmas Eve. He has procured the services of a boat for his daughter’s wedding. It’s basically a shotgun wedding, probably a bun in the oven. The bride’s family is loaded so I would expect a lot of cash gifts on the boat that night.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about doing this during the festivities of a traditional holiday. Robbing a wedding was a new low.

“Owen has done his due diligence, but he is still reluctant to share what he knows. I was impressed, but now it’s getting on my last nerve.” Harper was once again using the same shampoo, but there was an extra added bonus of her perfume.

“I have good reason to keep some of these things to myself. Call it whatever you want. I will give you more of the particulars when we get closer to the date. I don’t see anything changing with the original plan. There might be some deviation since it’s Christmas and all.” Owen always had been a bit paranoid when it came to information. Christmas Eve would be a mad dash for many to do their holiday shopping.

“I will pick up a few things to make us blend in with the crowd. The stores will be busy raking in the cash. People will be stressed and their concentration will be on what they have to get for little Johnny. The men will be frazzled trying to come up with something unique to sweep their women off their feet.” I couldn’t understand why people were still shopping the conventional way when it was convenient to do it online.

“I do like the way you think, Travis. I have already tentatively made arrangements for us to get out of the country that same night. There are three tickets waiting for us at the airport. I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but it’s better to be prepared.” Owen had made this unilateral decision without first consulting me.

“I’m going to have to risk staying behind until I am able to finish my business with my mother. They have been saying that she has very little time left for the past few months.” I could tell that Harper was still angry. I was going to have to do something to make it up to her.

“We both understand your commitment to your mother. There are still a few days before the job. Spend as much time with her until then. We won’t get in the way.” Owen and Harper had always been a family who stuck together through thick and thin.

“My brother speaks for me. The one thing I have always admired about you is how you put her welfare first over yours.” Harper wasn’t easily swayed by gestures of goodwill, but the love I had for my mother was something she could understand and empathize with.

“Have you thought of doing something else after this gig? I mean we can’t be doing this forever. At least I can’t, I am not going back to jail again. This gig has to be the last.” I was ready for a new start. Desperate, in fact, for a change. I wanted to be a better man. Not just for the chance with Aurora.

“I can’t speak for Harper, but I can’t say no to easy money. After this job, you’ll have a good chunk of change to work with. That should be enough to buy you some time to figure out your next move. You’re more than welcome to join us.” Owen had always felt like the dysfunctional black sheep little brother I had never had.

“You should seriously consider taking my brother up on his offer. I can’t speak for you, but our time together was explosive. There’s no reason why it can’t continue. Take a leap of faith and see where it goes.” I couldn’t deny the way my body could respond to her touch.

“I’ll think about it. Also I made sure to change my route on the way here to prevent anybody from following me. I’m sure the both of you took the necessary precautions.” They were anal about everything, constantly looking over their shoulders to see if the long arm of the law was onto them.

“Listen Travis, I’m going to give you some incentive to really give it some thought. I have several different bikinis I haven’t even tried on yet. Each one is more scandalous than the last. I could even be convinced to wake you up in the morning a different way every time. I will let you use your imagination.” As much as Harper was tempting me, all I could think about was Aurora. I was tired of Harper always trying to get in my pants, either she was using me to satisfy her nymphomaniac ways or she was clinging to her past through me. I needed to steer the topic of discussion back to the job again.

“This is all depending on how the job goes. I’ve always been a big believer to be prepared for everything. I’ve been looking at the area and there are a few things that concern me. I will look into them further and assess the best way to avoid any possibility of being identified.” I’d already mapped two different routes in case one was compromised.

“I don’t know about my sister, but I trust you will have everything in hand. We’ve always worked well in the past and I don’t see anything changing this time.” I wanted to believe there was honor amongst thieves.

The slim possibility of being backstabbed was still hanging in the air like an unseen threat to my life.

I kicked a stone and sent it sailing into the air. It hung there for a second before plummeting into the canyon below. It didn’t occur to me, but this would be a good place to get rid of a body. It always worried me when I couldn’t read in their body language what they were thinking.

“I can help you and we both know I have ways of getting your mind off your problems. I would even consider letting you take the reins. I don’t normally let anybody have the control. I will make the exception for you.” Her golden rule was always to be on top.

“You do drive a hard bargain.” The very idea conjured up these obscene images in my head.

“You mull that one over and then get back to me. Don’t take too long or I might have to take my frustrations out a different way. I have this insane lust burning through me. You know what I’m saying…” She looked at me seductively, then walked back to the candy apple jeep and got inside to wait for Owen.

It gave me time to contemplate how I was wasting my time with her in the past. Aurora was a breath of fresh air with her own sense of being.

Owen came over and put his hand on my shoulder squeezing to get my attention. I wasn’t sure what was on his mind, but he was always thinking three steps ahead on the chessboard of life.

“She has carried this torch for you for longer than I care to admit. I don’t want you to hurt her. If you both agree this is casual then I will gladly step aside.” His fingers were getting a little stronger.

He was sending me a message hard not to recognize.

“What makes you think I have any desire to hurt her?” He always seemed to know things he shouldn’t and he was never one to take chances.

“Do we really have to do this dance? You would think after all these years you would know me better than that. I don’t like surprises. I reached out to you because you are the best, but I know about the distraction. It has nothing to do with your mother and we both know it.” I was on my heels watching and listening to see if what he knew was going to cause me some concern.

He ran his hands through his hair and shrugged his shoulders to give me the indication I was playing a dangerous game.

“I’m not sure what you’re getting at, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.” He walked to the ledge with his hands outstretched like he was at the top of the world.

“It’s my business to know what is going on with the people I work with. I don’t care who you sleep with or who you spend your time with. It only affects me if my sister loses one wink of sleep over you.” I was getting a better idea of what was causing him to ask me these questions.

“You are like a brother to me. I would respectfully ask that you stay out of it. Some things are private. I do what I can to separate personal from business. You should try it sometime.” I felt like my life was under scrutiny, but I could understand why he would want to make sure my head was in the game.

I put my hands in my pocket and fiddled with the change moving each piece of currency along my fingertips.

“I was hoping you would do me the courtesy of admitting what I already know. You have an infatuation for a woman that came out of a coma. Aurora is out of your league, you and I both know it. You don’t belong in her world. You are going to have to make a decision between the two of them. Don’t do anything until after the job.” He was always going to have his sister’s back, but the job would always come first regardless of her deep and abiding feelings for me. 

‘You don’t belong in her world’ did sting, even though it wasn’t untrue.

He jumped back into the jeep with his hands holding onto the roll bar over top. It was a crisp evening and he was fighting the season change by keeping the top down. It meant Harper had to bundle up with a blanket found in the back. She flicked her tongue and made a certain part of my anatomy begin to unfurl with the flag of my excitement.

It was hard that Owen reminded me that Aurora was out of my league. Hell, I knew it when I was sixteen. But I swore there was something between us on the rooftop of the hospital. At the same time, I needed to be realistic. A woman like Aurora deserved someone better than me, a convicted felon, a fallen man now trying to start his life at 31 years old.  I was behind in life in every single aspect.

Harper was a realistic choice, an easy one. I knew I could do worse than Harper. The sex would be extremely adventurous. She had a hair trigger sex drive. Nobody was safe when she got that overwhelming urge. Aurora definitely brought more baggage to a relationship than Harper. That was saying something.

Maybe it was time to wake up from this dream I created with Aurora in it.