Page 38 of Last Chance

“Gave it to Hugh to buy food. Once I started lifting jewels and cash, we never went hungry again. We bought nothing to raise suspicion. If we went on a spending spree, people would talk. That would lead to disaster. So any extra money left after buying food and paying bills, Hugh managed for us.”

“You were good at stealing?”

“Very.”

She led the operatives into the workroom where she made stock. “What did Hugh do with the extra money?”

“He split the money six ways and dumped an equal portion into bank accounts he set up for each of us. When we turned eighteen and graduated from high school, we could take the money accumulated in our personal account and go to college or trade school. Hugh put himself through trade school to be a welder. Once he finished and landed a job, he started adding money into each account, too.

“One by one, my older brothers either went to college or joined the military. Each of us contributed money to a house fund and eventually bought Mom a home of her own, a nice condominium with neighbors her age. She’s having the time of her life and no longer having to work two jobs to make ends meet. In fact, she stopped working when I went to the police academy.”

Janie motioned to the stools on the other side of her working island. “Have a seat and tell me more.”

Jesse headed toward the front of the shop. “I want to look around for a bit.”

She started gathering ingredients and tugged on her favorite baseball hat and rubber gloves and handed a pair of gloves to Sawyer. “I’m sure the police conduct background checks on their applicants. They didn’t know about your questionable skills?”

Sawyer shook his head. “Told you. I didn’t get caught. Charlie taught me how to bypass alarm systems and look for surveillance cameras.”

“He must have done a great job training you. What did he say about you becoming a police officer?”

He chuckled. “He was horrified.”

“I can imagine. Why did you choose law enforcement as a career? Why not the military like your brothers?”

“Oh, they encouraged me to think about it, but as a street rat, I saw a lot of injustice. One street walker shared food with me almost every day when she found out who I was and what a tough time we were having keeping ourselves fed. Shana said she grew up in that kind of poverty and didn’t want to see us boys come to a terrible end. She knew about my dad and what a hard time Mom was having. Mom was always kind to her, even when other people treated Shana as though she was beneath them.

“One day, Shana wasn’t on her corner and no one knew where she was. A few days later, I heard that a customer beat her to death. The police never found out who killed her. I decided I wanted to right that wrong. I wanted to carry a badge and solve Shana’s murder.”

“Did you?”

He smiled a little. “I did. He’s still in prison.”

“Good for you. Does your mother know why you joined the police?”

“Of course. Mom is a sharp lady. Although I didn’t tell her my reasons, she knew. I guess word got around the neighborhood about Shana sharing food with me and my brothers.”

“Do you and your brothers keep in touch with each other and your mother?”

He snorted. “Oh, yeah. We’re in each other’s business all the time. I’m the only one not married, so I’m getting dating advice from all of them.” Sawyer shook his head. “It’s embarrassing.”

“I think it’s sweet.”

He flinched. “Don’t spread that around, okay? I’ll never hear the end of it from my teammates or my brothers.”

Janie laughed. Oh, this was a fun conversation. She could see him running wild in the streets and stealing to provide for his family. Sawyer Chapman had that knight-in-shining-armor thing going, although he would be horrified to know she thought that about him. “I’d love to meet your family one day.”

He was silent a moment.

She glanced up, her smile fading. “That’s not allowed?” Would she never see him again after she was finally safe? The possibility hurt her heart.

“When this is over, if you still want to meet them, I’ll take you to meet my mother and Hugh along with his family. My other brothers are scattered around at different Army bases.”

“It’s not against Fortress rules? I don’t want to get you into trouble with Brent.”

“Once you’re safe, the choice will be mine. I’d like to introduce you to my family. They’ll enjoy meeting you.”

“How do you know?”

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