Free The Con by Justine Elvira Page A

Damien's warehouse in Phoenix, and they shut me
down immediately. I walked away never thinking Damien would change
his mind.
    Only a week later and I broke him. I can't
help but feel a little victorious.
    If I do this, if I actually try to pull off
what could possibly be the stupidest thing I ever do, I'll be two
and a half million dollars richer. I'll also have the Esposito
organization and possibly the Manchini cartel after me, and a giant
target on my back, but in all my years of doing this I've never
been caught. Angelo is probably right; I am the only one who could
pull this off.
    My nephew Mason could go to college, Charlie
could get a place of her own, and I'll be set for the rest of my
life.
    It's funny how money can mask pure
stupidity.
    "So many things could go wrong," I say
trying to convince myself just as much as I'm trying to convince
him. Am I really considering doing this?
    "Like what?"
    "Do you really want me to list them, Angelo,
because we'll be here all day?"
    "Do you need me to remind you how easy it'll
all go down? Because I will. I told you we already have our in.
I've been screwing the assistant manager at the bank for months
now. This has been thoroughly thought and planned out. Cheyenne is
in love with me. She's going to help us. She's not going to let me
go down for this."
    "Cheyenne? See, this is the first and
biggest problem. Too many people know about the damn job. I don't
like it, Angelo. It only takes one guilty conscious to get all our
ass's thrown in jail."
    Taking a swig of my beer I stand up from the
table and walk over to the sink to look out the bay window. The
trailers in this worn down trailer park are dirty and falling
apart. Although my grass is green because of the money Charlie
throws at our landscapers, the patches of grass in everyone else's
yards are brown, matching the surrounding patches of desert and
dirt. Kids are playing on the road and a group of them, who can't
be older than eleven or twelve, are over by the street sign
smoking.
    I grab the loose cigarette from behind my
ear and light up, taking a drag and inhaling the nicotine that
keeps me sane day in and day out. I was about their age when I
started this bad habit. Now I can't imagine ever quitting. I want
better for Mason. He's going to be a teenager soon and I want him
out of this place before it can bring him down like it did me.
    He's better than that.
    I ask myself the same question I ask before
committing to any con. Does the risk outweigh the reward? While taking this job will be the riskiest thing I've ever done, I
can't say the risk of getting caught outweighs two and a half
million dollars.
    "I have your word that Damien said we split
the pot in half? This isn't some Cracker Jack toy I'm playing for.
If we do this, I want my even share."
    "You have my word, Jagger. We really need
you in on this with us. I hate being the one helping inflate your
ego, but you taught me everything I know and you're twenty times
better at it than I am. We need you for this to work."
    "Why Esposito?" I ask him. It's been
bothering me all week. Stealing this kind of money is a huge
gamble; it's why I stick to the smaller jobs. So why does Damien
want this job so bad? Why steal from Matteo Esposito?
    "Why not?"
    I turn against the sink and face him. It's
pointless to ask him again because I'll never get a straight answer
out of him. I know it must be personal between Damien and Matteo
for him to risk so much on this, but it's none of my business as
long as he doesn't let his personal vendetta blow the job.
    Taking another drag of my cigarette I exhale
out. "Okay, I'm in."
    The legs of Angelo's chair drag against the
linoleum floor as he stands up. "I'll let Damien know. We'll be in
touch."
    We shake hands and I walk him to the front
door of my trailer. I'm ready to start planning this thing out
meticulously in my head. While I'm sure their plan is a good one, I
trust no one when it comes to my safety and evading jail. I need to
find