My heart thumped. “Okay… so what exactly is the job?”
Marcos folded his hands on the table. “I won’t go into too much detail today. I will say that the work’s simple, though. You pick something up… you drop it off. No opening it, no asking what’s inside. So yes, it involves traveling…lotsof traveling.”
I hesitated. “T-That might be a problem.”
“How so?”
“My brother.” I swallowed. “He’s sick.”
Marcos studied my face carefully. “Still?From the other day?”
“It’s an ongoing condition,” I divulged.
Marcos leaned forward. “If you don’t mind me asking, although knowing this is important now that you’ve mentioned it. You know… in case you may need to be off. But what exactly is wrong with your brother?”
For a second, I debated whether to answer, then I sighed and disclosed Kyrin’s situation to him.
Marcos nodded slowly in understanding, then he leaned back in his chair again. “I can work with honest desperation. What I can’t work with is someone who pretends they’re stronger than they really are.”
I let out a slow breath. “I’m strong.”
Marcos nodded. “Yeah… you are. But now I gotta see if you’re smart too. That being said… this might actually be theperfectjob for you. If you make the runs, you could have that money in a matter of weeks.”
My eyes widened in shock. “Weeks?”
“Three months at the most… could be sooner. We pay very well, and since you have a little situation, Boss may be a little generous and give you an advance. Just depends on how well you do in the first few weeks.”
“Boss?”
Marcos smiled slightly. “Oh, I forgot to mention…I’mnot the boss. I’m the middleman—a recruiter, to better put it.”
I sat there processing that.
Well, who the hell is the boss?
“Who is he… or she?” I asked, out of curiosity.
“You’ll meethimwhen he’s ready to meet you. Until then, you basically work for me.”
“Got it.”
Marcos clapped his hands once—light and final—like that alone shut the conversation down.
“So it all comes down to one question. How bad do you want this job?”
My fingers rubbed together nervously. “Can my brother come with me on the job?”
“Hell no!” he shouted in response, causing me to flinch.
“My bad,” he quickly apologized. “Look, I understand your brother’s situation… I do,” Marcos continued, sitting back, his voice losing some of its edge. “And I respect you wanting to be there for him. But this?” He tapped the desk with his finger. “This is asolojob. No exceptions. No tagalongs… no family… no kids… no one riding with you or waiting in the car…ever.”
He let the wordeverhang in the air.
“It’s not because I don’t trust you; it’s because this operation doesn’t care about good intentions, sad stories, or the fact that you got a little brother who needs you; it cares about risk, and bringing anyone with you is a risk we can’t take… and neither can you.”
I swallowed hard.
“Yeah, it sounds harsh. I know. But the truth is, sometimes you gotta give something up to get out of the hole you’re in, sometimes you’ll miss moments you don’t want to miss, and sometimes you’ll carry guilt you don’t deserve. But if you’rereally trying to change your life? If you’re trying to keep that boy of yours alive and taken care of? Then this sacrifice?” He nodded slowly. “This is the one that gets you there.”