Page 36 of Brazen Mistakes

“Not here.”

Nodding, I try to adjust to my new reality. “I’ll put in my two weeks then.” I squint up at him. “You’re not fucking with me, are you?”

“As if I fuck around with money, Clara.”

I chuckle despite my distraction. “Got it. Always be serious about money. Noted.”

He rolls his eyes and opens the door. “Just quit today, Clara. You don’t need the reference. And you’ve got a shit ton to learn in a very short amount of time.”

“I can’t leave Carrie hanging like that, Trips.”

“I need your A game in a week and a day. And at least your B game in four days. You’re not even getting a passing grade right now, Crash. Quit. Today.”

“What’s happening in four days?”

“Our New Year’s high rollers game.”

The familiar scent of espresso and chocolate tickles my nose as Trips follows me into the cafe. Years of wiping down these tables, knowing that the left steam wand screams no matter how you putz with it and that the milk cooler only closes when you kick the bottom corner.

I swallow, the familiarity of the shop and the set path with the FBI somehow mingling in my mind.

Safe. Expected.

Poorly paid, slightly broken.

Predictable.

“Hey, Clara! Jen had to cut out early for an appointment. Can you finish up restocking the fridge?” Carrie calls from the counter.

I take a step toward the back and Trips snags my elbow. “Clara. We’ve got more problems than time. And you have more skills to perfect than days to learn them. If you want to be a part of the team, you need to act like it.”

Closing my eyes, I imagine the rest of winter break on the predictable path. Extra shifts at the coffee shop to afford books next semester. Responding to the FBI and securing my place in the internship program. Running, old heist movies, and a party or two with Emma when she gets back.

Familiar. Quiet. Easy.

Or I could spend break learning to pick pockets. To waltz. To play poker. Learning to bluff, to lie, to throw a punch andtake one. Time spent practicing reading the room, reading a person, reading the secrets someone accidentally shares online.

Risk. Danger. Adventure.

Is that the life I want? I open my eyes to Trips glaring at me, impatient for me to just do what he wants me to.

“This is the same deal the other guys have? The same money, the same stipends or whatever?”

“Yup. They all have sidelines they keep a portion of, but in exchange for the majority going to the pot, they get everything covered.”

“How do I contribute to the pot?”

“You already did. Without you, we wouldn’t have gotten paid for the Rubens job. That’s a plenty big enough chunk to cover what you’ll be taking. At least for a while.”

“Clara?” Carrie calls from behind the counter.

Swallowing down my indecision, I know it’s time to see if I can even be an asset to these guys before I dump my future.

I need to train.

Turning away from Trips, I slump my shoulders. There are plenty of things I’ve learned about liars in class, but the main takeaway is that the closer a lie is to the truth, the easier it is to remember and the more honest it’ll sound. “Carrie?”

I approach the counter, shoving the excitement that courses through my veins to the side, pulling up the fear and frustration I have over Bryce, the anxiety over whatever is going on with RJ, the anger at Trips for still not letting me in. “I feel terrible about this,”I really do,“but I think I’m going to have to take myself off the schedule.”

---