by Avery Ford
Hale frowned. He was cute, even when he was oblivious. Austin sighed. He couldn’t stay frustrated with him, even if he’d made a horrible choice. Hale was young and inexperienced. He’d never left Hidden Creek, never seen the world, and probably had never worked a job outside of his family-owned business. He didn’t have the life experience that Austin did.
But that didn’t excuse Michael for staying in a place that dangerous. He knew better. When Austin saw him, he was going to chew him out.
“So, you came to get me this morning,” Austin said, getting the conversation back on track. “And now we’re going to head over to Michael’s and talk to him about what the hell he was doing with those people in that warehouse.”
“Right.” Hale nodded. The embarrassment and guilt left his face, and Austin hoped all was forgiven. “I’m going to find out what he was doing even if I have to drag it out of him. He can’t keep us in the dark when all we’re trying to do is help.”
“Then you’ll want as much time possible, because I know Michael, and I know he’s as stubborn as you are.” Austin gestured to the front door. “Let’s go.”
They left the apartment and crossed the hall. Austin unlocked the door, then knocked three times and entered. Austin followed him in.
“Michael?” Hale called. “We’re here. Make sure you’re decent. Austin is here, too. We need to talk.”
“It’s too early,” Michael grumbled from what had to be the bedroom. “Come back later.”
“We need to talk now,” Austin said, stepping in for Hale so he could back him up. Hale smiled at him. “We’ve waited long enough. We need to know what we’re up against, and you’re the only one who can tell us about it.”
There was noise from the bedroom—Michael was getting up. Austin listened to the floorboards creak and followed Michael’s movement from the room as he approached the bedroom door. He opened it looking exhausted and disheveled. His hair was stuck up at all angles, and there were bags under his eyes. It looked like now that he’d had a taste of relaxation, his body was demanding he get the rest he needed. It was too bad he needed to be present for just a little while longer while they figured out what had gone on.
Michael plucked at his t-shirt to fan it out, then shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants and left his room. He stood before them, unimpressed. “What do you want to know?”
“Who were those people, and why were you with them?” Hale demanded. He wasn’t shy about speaking up. “We need to know so that we can figure out what steps to take next.”
That wasn’t going to be necessary, but Austin wasn’t going to tell Hale that. For all Hale knew, the bad guys were still at large with no one out to stop them. Austin knew otherwise. It wouldn’t be long before his tip led the police to the right place and the criminals were shut down. Then they could all sleep easily.
“I don’t want to tell you.” Michael said.
“You’re going to tell us whether you like it or not. We’re the ones who saved your ass,” Hale shot back. “Who was it, and why were you with them?”
“I’m the one who saved your asses after you got caught.” Michael shook his head. “You’re not going to win this one, Hale.”
“If he’s not going to win, then I’ll step up to the plate.” Austin stepped forward. “Who the fuck was that, McMillan, and why were you involved with them? Are you part of their gang? Going through initiation? If you don’t tell me, then I’m going to take what I know to the police, and they’ll be the ones asking the questions. So tell me—who was that, and what the fuck were you doing with them?”
He couldn’t see Hale’s face, but he felt the energy in the room brighten—Hale’s doing, no doubt. He was pleased that Austin had stepped up for him, and in a small, perfect way, that pleased Austin as well.
Michael glared at him. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Fucking try me.”
“All this because you’re pissed that I stole your headphones?”
“So you admit to it.”
Michael sighed and shook his head. “Listen… this has gone on way too long. You want to know what I was doing out there? I defaulted on a loan, okay? They took me in and they told me that I was going to start working for them in order to repay it. One month. Those were the terms—and they were generous terms, too. They went easy on me.”
“And they kept you in a warehouse?” Austin demanded. It didn’t add up. “Who did you get your loan from, Michael?”
Michael glared at him. “Why is it your goddamn business?”
“Because we need to know what we’re up against,” Austin replied just as aggressively. “Tell us. Your cousin deserves to know so he can work on saving his own ass. It’s clear that you don’t care in the least what happens to yours.”
The tension was amping up. Austin’s body was already bracing itself for a fight, and he struggled against the tiny voice in his head that told him to resolve this dispute with fists instead of words. Michael was being a shit, but Hale deserved better than that.
“And you’ve made it clear that you don’t care what happens to his ass, either.” Michael’s eyes narrowed. “What were you thinking, letting him do something like follow me to somewhere so dangerous? You let him get caught. He could have been killed.”
“And if you had told anyone about what was going on—if you hadn’t involved yourself in allegedly illegal activity to begin with—no one would be in this mess.”
Anger simmered in the air between them. Austin locked eyes with Michael, who glared at him in return.
“It was a bookie,” Michael admitted, but his voice still simmered with anger. “They had bad connections, and I got dragged in when I couldn’t repay my debt.”
“What were you borrowing all that money for?” Hale asked, looking pale. “What were they making you do?”
“I’d rather not talk about it.”
“What are you spending the cash on, Michael?” Austin demanded.
Michael scowled. “I have a… poker problem, okay? I lost some money I shouldn’t have lost because a game was fixed, and I needed cash to make up for it, but I ended up blowing through that, too. They were letting me work off the money I owed them by doing what they wanted.”
“You didn’t kill anyone, did you?” Hale asked, paler than before. “Michael… we would have helped if we’d known. I swear.”
“It’s done now,” Michael said. “Except they’re going to be pissed that I left a week early, and they’re going to come looking for me. It’s not going to be pretty. You need to stay out of this so that you don’t get involved. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“This is crazy,” Hale murmured. “I didn’t know you had a problem. I didn’t even know you gambled. Why… why didn’t you tell us?”
“I didn’t want to worry you,” Michael said. He folded his arms over his chest. “It’s not a big deal. It’s not a problem—I win most of the time. I’m good. I make extra cash to keep me going, and I have fun while doing it. It’s not like I’m sitting at a slot machine for eight hours a day, cranking a lever. Poker takes skill. It’s mathematical. I’m getting better all the time.”
“It’s a problem if you’re betting enough money that you have to take out loans from people—then can’t afford to pay them back.” Hale shook his head. “Michael… I’m sorry. If I’d known, I would have helped you sooner. We’ll make sure you get help.”
“I don’t need help,” Michael insisted. “I’m fine on my own. I’m doing what I want to do, and I’m on my way to making a career out of the game.”
“A career?” Hale squeaked. “What are you talking about?”
“Look.” Michael grabbed the television remote and turned it on. “There are professional poker players, and I’m almost ranked in the professional tier. There’s a whole network on TV for it. It’s insane. And—”
He stopped speaking abruptly. His eyes were glued to the television screen. Austin looked as well, trying to see what the hold-up was.
The television had turned on to a news channel, and it was playing footage from a bust on the warehouse they’d been in not even twelve hours before. The room went quiet, and the television did the talking.
“Sixteen arrests have been made so far, but one suspect is still on the loose. Full details are unknown, but the police describe the suspect as a male in his late thirties with black hair and a thin frame. He’s armed, and considered dangerous. Residents of Hidden Creek and the surrounding townships are asked to exercise caution when they leave their homes. Should you witness a suspicious individual matching the police description, the department urges you to call in a tip at the following number…”
“Oh shit,” Michael murmured. “It’s Kevin. This isn’t good.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Hale
“Kevin?” Hale found he was holding his breath. He let it out all at once and fixed his attention on Michael. “Who’s Kevin, and why isn’t it good?”
“Kevin is the one pulling the strings,” Michael said. His eyes were still on the television, and the expression on his face was of horrified disbelief. “He’s the one out of all of them you don’t want to fuck with. It doesn’t surprise me that he managed to escape—he would have been the only one with a plan, I’m willing to bet, but… it’s not good. With this happening right after my disappearance, he’s going to put the blame on me, and he’s going to be out for blood.”
“What’s the worst he could do?” Hale asked, but he thought he already knew the answer. People like Kevin weren’t like the people of Hidden Creek, who could sometimes be bigoted or small-minded, but who very seldom got physically violent. Someone who was unhinged enough to run a group that could get itself busted by the police was a threat, and they’d found themselves directly under its crossfire.
Michael looked away from the television and met Hale’s gaze. He said nothing, but his face was drawn, and he was pale. It was answer enough. Hale looked nervously toward the hallway, then shook his head.
“We can take you somewhere to stay until he gets caught,” Hale said. “Would he know about my mom’s house? He might know about your parents, but mine should be fine, right?”
“I wouldn’t trust it. I need to get the hell out of town before he comes looking for me.” Michael sprang into action. He hopped over the coffee table and made his way to the bedroom at a sprint. Hale glanced nervously to Austin only to find that he was on the move, too. He went to stand in the doorway to Michael’s bedroom, and Hale found himself tagging along. He peeked around Austin’s frame to find Michael had wrenched open a dresser drawer and was shoving clothes into a backpack. It didn’t look like it would hold much.
“I’ll set you up at a motel,” Austin said softly, almost apologetically. Hale hadn’t realized how hard all of this had hit him until then. “How far away do you want to go? A few cities? A few states?”
“Right now, I just need to get out of here. We got lucky last night, but if he’s serious about this, he’s going to come knocking. I don’t have time to make decisions like that right now. I’ve got to grab my shit and go.” Michael pushed his drawer back in and zipped up the bag. It was stuffed, and he struggled to close it. “I’ve got what I need. Everything else can stay here, and if I need anything else, I can get it on the road. You guys need to go, and you need to go, now. Hale, can you lock up for me? I’m going to run for it.”
“Do you have your phone?” Hale asked. He wasn’t about to lose Michael again. “You need to update me so I know that you’re safe.”
“Then you need to do me a favor and change my name in your phone to something else... maybe some girl’s name. I don’t care. I don’t think he’s desperate enough to try to hold any of you hostage when he’s the only one left out of police custody, but he’d be crazy enough to steal your phone and look through it, looking for me. If he sees that I’m talking to you…”
“I’ll do it.” Hale stepped out of the doorway as Michael whipped by. He had his backpack slung over his shoulder. He was still wearing his sleep clothes—a pair of sweatpants and a t-shit—but he didn’t seem to care. He headed down the hall and put on the runners he’d left by the door. Hale followed him, Austin right behind him. “Just please, please let me know that you’re okay. I’ll make sure that your parents know, too.”
“Not until he’s captured.” Michael tightened the strap of his backpack. “I don’t want them to know anything so he can’t coax it out of them. Even knowing that I’m okay would be too much, because it means I got in touch with someone, and that someone might know where I am. I can’t risk that. I have to keep you guys safe.”
Hale’s heart was pounding, and his anxiety shot through the roof. He wasn’t the one in danger, but he empathized with Michael’s plight, and it pained him to think of what he was going through.
“Just… if anything does happen, I love you, Hale. I know that I’ve been a shithead lately, and I haven’t done a good job proving to you that I care about our friendship, but I do.” Michael’s lips tightened. He looked at Austin. “And I’m sorry for stealing your headphones all those years ago. I… might have a problem. If I get through this, then I’m going to look into how to get better. I’m sorry that I did that to you, and that I ruined what we had. It was dumb as shit for me to do.”
“Stay alive so we can hash it out some other time,” Austin said. “You’ve got to go. Your safety comes first.”
“If I don’t come back, tell my mom and dad I love them, and that I’m sorry. Make sure everyone knows that it’s not their fault, and make sure you know that it’s not your fault, either, Hale.” Michael sighed. He shook his head. “It’s my own stupidity that got me into this thing. No one should feel at fault for this but me.”
“I love you, Michael. I know everyone else loves you, too.” Hale’s voice rose in pitch, and his throat closed up. Michael was only twenty-five… he shouldn’t have had to be saying goodbye. The whole situation was horrible, and he wished that there was another way. “Make sure that you take care of yourself, okay?”
“I promise.”
There was nothing else Hale could think to say. He shook his head and winced as Michael opened the door, sure that he’d never see him again. If he’d just listened to Austin and involved the police, Michael would have been okay. He wouldn’t have had to run, because he would have been rescued by the police tonight. He wouldn’t have been blamed for leaking details about whatever illegal activities were happening in that warehouse. Everything would have been fine.
He wished he could go back and tell himself to stop—to accept what Austin was saying as the truth, and let it all go. Hale knew that he was hard-headed, and that there were times when he acted without thinking, but he’d never felt so miserable about a choice before.
He heard Michael’s footsteps pass through the door, but they didn’t continue. Instead, Michael grunted, and Hale opened his eyes to see him staggering back into the room. Hale cleared out of the way to give him space, not entirely sure what was going on.
It didn’t take long to find out.
A man entered the apartment. He had a slender build, and he wore casual clothes—jeans and a t-shirt. His black hair was slicked back, and there was an ugly expression on his face.
Hale connected the dots, and his heart sank.
Kevin.
“You must seriously be the dumbest sack of shit on the planet,” Kevin sneered as he entered the room. Out of the corner of his eye, Hale saw Austin step up to block him, but Kevin’s hand went straight to the waist of his jeans, and he pulled out a handgun. Austin stopped abruptly, frozen on the spot as Kevin trained the weapon on him. “You flew the coop with your two little friends and came right back home, where we found you hiding the first time. Good thing you aren’t mid-piss this time around. If there’s one thing I never want to see again, it’s that noodle you call a dick.”
Hale had been around guns before—there were hunters in Hidden Creek, and back before guns had become a hot-topic i
ssue, it wasn’t unusual for seniors to drive to school with gun racks on top of their trucks, ready to go hunting once class was over. But as familiar as Hale was with guns, he’d never had one pointed at him maliciously before, and he didn’t know what to do about it. He stood, frozen and staring, as Kevin made himself at home in the hallway.
Kevin kicked the door closed, his gaze darting between the three of them. His whole body was tense, and Hale thought he saw his hands tremble as he held the gun steady.
“Now, all of you fuckers are going to slowly drop to your knees,” Kevin instructed. “And when I say slowly, I mean it. If you throw yourself down, I will shot your fucking face off. You can ask Michael how good a shot I am. I had to save his ass a few times over the past month when he fucked up the robberies I’d ordered him to go out on.”
Robberies? Michael was stealing for this guy? I can’t believe it…
Hale looked at Michael, and his heart bled. How was it that his cousin had sunk so low? He wished that he’d been there for him—that they could have fixed his gambling addiction issues before they grew so out of hand.
“HEY!” Kevin shouted. Hale jumped, and in the next second, he felt the cool bite of metal against his jawline. Kevin had pressed the gun right against his skin. “Why the hell aren’t you doing anything, pretty boy? You Michael’s boyfriend? Wouldn’t surprise me that a pathetic waste of space like that would want a little faggot to call his own.”
It wasn’t the first time Hale had been called disparaging names, but it had been a long time since he’d been forced to confront that word in person. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about the gun pressed against his jaw.
“I-I’m… I’m his cousin, sir,” Hale murmured, trying not to let fear into his voice. He did a poor job of it.