I rolled the window halfway. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Marty leaned in, toothpick rolling lazily between his teeth, that easy, too-friendly smile already in place. “That’s not very nice. I thought we were building something special here.”
My grip tightened on the wheel. “What do you want?”
“Easy, McKallister. I’m just checking in on my favorite delivery guy. You’ve been quiet lately—makes me wonder if you’re trying to skip out on this week’s contribution.”
“I didn’t make anything this week,” I said.
“See now, that sounds like ayouproblem.” He looked back over his shoulder, surveying the apartment complex. “That’s yours, ain’t it? Second floor. With the blue curtains?”
The threat hung there. My jaw ticked. I dug into my wallet, pulling out all remaining bills, and thrust them through the gap. “That’s everything I got.”
Marty thumbed through them slowly. “Aw, come on, McKallister. This is barely enough for a six-pack and some smokes.”
“Because Sinclair didn’t need any extra cases this week. No overflow, no side cash.”
Marty’s grin widened, slow and oily. “Then get creative next delivery. I’m flexible… up to a point. Let’s not make this awkward for the missus upstairs, yeah?”
“I swear to god, Marty, if you even think about involving my family—”
He raised a hand, placating, still leering. “Maybe you should have thought of that before you started stealing from the boss.”
God, he made me sound like such a lowlife. It wasn’t like I’d set out for a life of crime. There was one extra box of liquor on a shipment. I’d already loaded it back in my van when the bar owner offered me cash for it.Your boss won’t know, he’d said.It’ll be our secret.And so, when I needed some extra cash, I made sure extra cases were in my van when I made my delivery. No big deal. I was stealing profits from a rich guy. The way I saw it was sort of like a modern-day Robin Hood thing, only I was giving to myself and not the poor villagers.
Things were going fine until Marty caught on to the scam, but instead of turning me in, he hooked onto the crime, shaking me down weekly for his cut or he’d tell the boss and get me fired… or worse, have me arrested. That money Michelle was questioning me about? It was going to Marty on the weeks I wasn’t stealing enough.
I’d tried to stop it more than once, but Marty had backed me into a corner, and I couldn’t see any way out.
“I’ll let it slide this time,” he said, tucking the cash inside his jacket. “But I’ll expect the rest on the next payday.”
The words had only just left his mouth when the door to our second-floor apartment opened and Michelle stepped out, barefoot in one of my old shirts, arms folded tight across her chest. “Scott? What are you doing out here—” she cut herself off when she saw Marty.
He turned, all charm now. “Evening, ma’am. Didn’t mean to interrupt family time.”
Her eyes flicked between us, sharp and suspicious. “Who are you?”
“Just a coworker,” he answered smoothly. “Your husband and I go way back.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “Way back.”
She didn’t buy it. I could see it in the tilt of her head, the way she scanned Marty like she was memorizing his face for later.
“Are you coming up?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said, forcing a smile. “He was just leaving. Go inside. I’ll be right up.”
Marty smirked as Michelle disappeared back inside, then gave me a salute, and strolled toward the curb, whistling like the creep he was.
I remained in my truck for as long as was safely allowed before Michelle came after me. I just needed a few minutes to get my story straight, but even I knew that wouldn’t be enough time. Michelle was a lot smarter than me. If she dug in, I was done for. Finally, I exited my vehicle and made my way upstairs to face my fate.
Michelle was waiting for me inside the door. She pulled me in and locked the door. “Scott… what was that?”
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“Don’t worry about it?” She stepped closer, her voice low and concerned. “Who was he, really?”
I exhaled hard, rubbing the back of my neck. “It’s complicated.”
