You're going to fix his family’s debt.” I stepped into Deal’s personal space, pressing my chest against his, tipping up my face to look at him.
“You’re impossible. And your instincts are shit.” He let out a deep sigh, but I knew he was resigning himself to the idea of what we were about to unleash. “Do you want a shirt or something there?” He pointed at my boobs with his index finger and pinkie, pointedly looking over my shoulder.
“Nope. I’m letting them run free for my last job. They’re distracting.” I shook my shoulders, letting them do a little dance.
“You’re wrong about a lot of things. That this man is worth saving. That those tits are going to be enough to save you. That I don’t love you. But we’ll do this anyway.”
“Thanks, Deal.” I went to my tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. I held out my hand to Case. “Stand up. We’re going to make them think we’re gonna have a threesome.”
I watched Case’s eyes go wide. “What the fu—?”
I leaned forward and kissed Case on the lips mid-curse. Deal put his hand on my hip and kissed the top of my head. Case mostly stood there until I told him to kiss my neck. Deal and I had pretended to be into one another on so many jobs, his moves were super familiar. I watched as the snipers eased back from their guns, turning their heads to talk to each other.
I grabbed Deal’s and Case’s hands, pulling them behind me toward the bar. The bartender/hitman had a surprised look on his face.
When Deal got to the bar, he opened with, “One last roll, you know?” And then he winked.
I ordered three more margaritas and then leaned into Case, whispering, “When he places the drinks onto the coasters here, you’re going to hop over the bar. No matter what. Got it?”
I waited to see if he comprehended how important this was, if he could keep up. I wasn’t sure a teacher could keep up with the subtleties of the dangerous maneuver we were about to pull.
FOUR
Him
WELL, THESE TWO were crazy. Deal was insane and in love with Eight here. And her name was really Eight? And he killed her sister but was still going to do her a solid and save my family? I read third grade creative essays about dragons that made more sense than these two, who were trying to rub their random logic together.
And now I was clearly involved in a Netflix original story about a threesome. Because none of this made sense. If Lexa’s cancer wasn’t as real as the day is long, I’d think this was an elaborate joke. I waited and glanced around me as the bartender mixed our drinks. Eight took my hand and put it on her leg. Her skin was hot and had a touch of sand on it. Deal and Eight barely said anything to each other, but I watched as they gave each other hand signals.
As the bartender walked the margaritas carefully over, I tensed. Was this the worst move possible? Was siding with these lunatics really the right way to save my niece? They knew where my brother’s house was. Who he was. How far could I really get, realistically? I was wearing bike clothes.
I watched as the drink intended for me sweated a cool drop that landed on the napkin the bartender had slid underneath.
I had to make a choice. And maybe I was influenced by the free-bouncing boobs, but I was going with Eight.
The second the drink touched the paper napkin, I let go of Eight’s leg and used my upper body to launch myself over the top of the bar. As I hit the freezer, I knew I had pushed too hard. I knocked the wind right out of my lungs and slid the rest of the way to the floor like a boneless pile.
The cacophony of limbs and violence were proof that Eight and Deal had also jumped behind the bar. From my crumpled ball position, I watched as Deal knifed the bartender. Well, I hadn’t even known what had taken the burly man down until I saw the blade glisten in the sun, blood giving it a thin stain of red.
Eight rolled under the bar and sat up enough so she could yank a machine gun free from where it was mounted.
We made eye contact.
She half-smiled in a way I think she assumed was comforting. “They have guns