by Bry Ann
“Oh, I'm glad. I can’t promise I'm much help. I’m a workaholic and will always put my mom first, but I like you and cannot wait to meet up again.”
She smiled. “Have a great night. Be safe okay!”
I laughed. “I’ll be safe.”
She seemed genuinely concerned about me, and it just made me laugh even harder as I headed out the door. I’d been doing things on my own for so long worrying about safety was more of an inconvenience to me. I never really thought about it.
“Dana, I’ve gone home this late a million times. I’ll be fine.”
“You sure you don’t want a ride?”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay, well if something happens to you make sure to tell Logan I offered because he’d kill me right along with you.”
I burst out laughing. “I love your sense of humor.”
“I try,” she giggled before shutting the door.
I headed out feeling more optimistic. Despite how late it was I decided to go to the lake. The nurse was scheduled overnight because my mom has been a seizure risk the past 24 hours because of her blood pressure or something like that. The doctor explained it to me, but I didn’t fully understand. I just knew I had to keep a nurse on staff 24/7 until everything had calmed down. More financial pressure. I decided to take advantage of the time I had to myself to stay out as late as possible. I would feel like death the next day at work but, whatever, it’s not like that would be a new sensation.
Speaking of my mom’s seizure risk, two days ago I figured out a way to potentially earn the money I needed to get that treatment for my mom. It’s not safe, but after ruling out every other possible option, I realized it was the only choice I had left. It was illegal too. Not to mention it would probably ruin any hope of a friendship I had with Logan, but if it got me the money to potentially save my mom than it was completely worth it. I pulled up to the lake twenty or so minutes later and walked through the familiar gated territory. Good thing this was such a private area or I’d feel a lot more uneasy walking through dark shrubbery at night. Walking through this dark of an area, even though it was private and gated, was still eerie.
I climbed down the rocks and sat by the water. I pulled out my cell phone. It had been going off during the whole bus ride back from Dana’s, but I needed time to think, to mentally prepare myself for what I had to do. Like expected there were two texts from Logan asking how Dana and I’s meal went. I told him it went well and asked how his search was going. Of course, it was going well. It was Logan. Not only that but he was actively pursuing his case against Rogan, and it was apparently going well also.
Once I cleared Logan’s texts I started a new text message. To Timothy.
“Tim,” I wrote, “It’s Sam. I know your side gig. I want in.”
“How do you know about that shit? What happened to your little partner?” he replied.
I sighed out loud. “Well first, I’ve been to your place. It’s fancy as shit. It’s not hard to deduce you sell on the side. Second, Logan is gone. He owed me for saving his ass. We aren’t friends.” Lie.
“You sure seemed friendly at the restaurant.”
“He was protective of the topic being discussed, not me.” Bigger lie.
“Let’s meet.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow. After you finish work.”
“Where?”
“The bar on third.”
“I’ll be there.”
Okay, I was able to breathe again. I was worried the confrontation with Logan at the restaurant would make Tim more resistant to letting me in on his drug dealing gig. Oddly enough, Timothy was strangely open to it. I’d have to keep my guard up. I decided to head back to my house after that. My whole body shook with the reality of what I was about to do. I was about to enter an illegal, dangerous drug business, but it was the only way I knew of to save the kind of money I needed to save my mom’s life. I got home and immediately fell into bed. I felt the need to cry but I couldn’t. I felt dry and scared. Truly and utterly scared for the first time since my mom was diagnosed.
Why wasn’t I asking for help?
Why was I this stupid?
I knew why. I knew it well. I’d rather sell drugs than ask for help from one of the very few people who cared about me. I was so naïve. I truly believed getting involved with these criminals would be easier than having to face my feelings. Than owing someone. This would be the biggest I ever made.
Getting up to work the next morning was brutal. I felt like death. Shauna took one look at me and told me to try and hide my face from the customers as if that was a viable option. Matt raised his eyebrows and walked over to me.
“Thank God your off tomorrow. For all our sakes.”
He wasn’t just referring to my exhaustion and shitty mood, but also the fact that there were still so many fans coming in to see me. It was so annoying I don’t know how Logan dealt with this all the time. I truly didn’t. I mean, I was losing my mind at just the most minor version of it. I had more respect for the excessively kind reputation he had with his fans despite his bad boy image. Work flew by, and that was only because I didn’t want it to. I got off at three o’clock today because I had to be in early, and I already had way too many overtime hours. Matt was ready to strangle me.
I took the bus to the bar on third and walked in confidently. I changed at the restaurant into a pair of jeans and a brown sweater. Something dark, hidden. Timothy sat in a booth in the back, and I swept in to sit across from him.
“Sup Tim.”
“Sup Princess.”
“Princess,” I said raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah, I feel it’s a good term for a girl who hangs with Logan Prescott.”
I groaned. “I fucking told you we aren’t friends. He owed me. That’s it.”
“Fine. Whatever. What do you want? I’m solely here out of a… let’s say an ode to our past time.”
“Okay fine. I want in on your business.”
“Why? You’re a vanilla girl. I don’t trust you.”
“I need the money to save my mom. You can fucking trust that. I’m not doing this to scam you or turn you in. I need $100k to save my mom. Period.”
He sat back with a look of shock on his face as he sized me up. He kept sucking on his lip ring. “You know what I believe you. You are crazy enough to do some shit like this for someone you care about. You definitely have that weakness.”
I ignored his last comment.
“You’ll still have to prove yourself before I count you in and give you a cut. If you are loyal to me, I can get you $100k easily.”
“How do I prove myself?”
I tried to ignore the smoke from the bar filling my lungs.
“I have a client; he thinks I ripped him off on our last deal. I want you to go talk him down.”
“Did you rip him off?”
“It’s irrelevant.”
I felt a rock in my stomach sink. “Okay. When and where do I meet him?”
He smirked. “The room in the back of this place. It was supposed to be at five, but I’ll text him and say to meet you now. The dude works here so…”
“Oh well, the ease at which you agreed to this meeting makes more sense now.”
He smiled. “Smart girl.”
“Yeah,” I said coldly.
“Well go…” he snapped. “Bad business to be late.”
“Yeah okay. Uh, what’s the room?”
“Go to the hallway where the restrooms are. It’s all the way in the back to the left. By the way, Sam, stop shaking. You’ll get eaten alive here if you are scared. I’ve seen you be a bitch loads of times. Channel that.”
I rolled my eyes and nodded. My hands shook as I turned on my heel to head towards the back hallway. I didn’t feel good about this at all. It was all happening too fast. A day ago, I was with Dana, and a week ago I was with Logan, and now I was gonna sign on with drug dealers?! I had to think of my mom though. I thought of her face when she found out
she was on seizure watch, her face when she found out she was on bed rest and how weak her body got after she threw up. From there it was decided. I straightened my posture and walked to the back door on the left.
The door creaked as I opened it. I tried to swallow the bile rising in my throat as I looked across the room. My mom would be so pissed right now. Across from me were three men, all tatted and full of muscle.
“Shut the door,” the one in front grunted out. He was the clear leader of the group. “Name?” the front one spat out.
“Allie. I work with Tim. He says you guys feel jipped.”
“We do,” he said as they all took a step forward.
I stayed still. I knew I had too. One of the guys came behind me and forced me into the center of the room. I felt beyond scared, but I didn’t show it. Before I could do anything, I was punched straight in the face. I reeled back and wiped the blood from my face. I hid the pain well, even though it felt like someone had used my jaw as a personal punching bag.
“What the hell fucker?!” I spat out.
“Someone has to pay for the shortage.”
That’s when it hit me.
“You know you were shorted. Tim told you. I'm here to take the fall.”
The head guy smiled. “You are smarter than you look.”
“So I’ve been told.”
He smirked. “I like you. This is a shame.”
I stayed tense and alert as the main guy gave the nod to the other two and walked out the door behind me. Somehow, I knew he wasn’t guarding it. I could run, but this was Tim’s test. I had to take this. In that second a left hook hit the right side of my face, and I stumbled back. I had to guard my face. I ducked my head and protected my neck to make sure my face didn’t get hit anymore. I couldn’t have people asking questions, and I’d have to avoid Dana for a while and could only be around my mom when necessary, with lots of makeup. I was able to pull my thoughts elsewhere, so the beating didn’t hurt as bad. Eventually they stopped, and I was on the floor still guarding my face. I slowly looked up, and the man who was in charge and had previously stepped out was holding his hand out to me. I looked at him skeptically and with full of rage before refusing to take it. Stumbling, I tried to push myself up onto my feet. I failed twice before the lead guy let out an annoyed groan and picked me up from under my arms and planted me on my feet.
“You have your guys beat the shit outta me, and then you just, what, help me up?” I yelled aggravated and breathless from the pain.
He smirked. “We will be working with you. We aren’t clients. Well, we will be working with you given you know how to keep your mouth shut.”
I felt nauseous so I, as casually as I could, leaned against the wall behind me.
“Another story. Good God. Well, I have no idea what to believe, but all I fucking care about is that I'm in,” I spat at the guy in charge.
“Despite just being beaten senseless?”
“Yes, it’s irrelevant.”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Tim never told me why you were doing this Sam.”
“Sam?” I said. My heart started pounding faster. How did he know my real name?
“Yeah, Tim told me about you idiot. You can be Allie or whoever the fuck you want on the street but to us, especially to me, you are Sam.”
“Well fan-fucking-tastic.”
“So, your reason?” He crossed his muscular arms over his chest.
“It’s none of your business.”
In an instant the tall, handsome scruffy man was on my face pinning me to the wall by my neck.
“It is now,” he growled.
“Kill me,” I said with a lot more confidence than I felt. “Go on.”
My feet dangled beneath me and I had never felt more disposable than I did at that moment. The guy scoffed and set me down.
“You are something else, aren’t you? We will be seeing each other Sam.”
I stayed quiet. My inner strength and resolve wore thin. Before the three of them walked out the main guy turned to me again.
“You may want to clean up before you go back out there by the way. Consider that a friendly tip.”
If I weighed 200 pounds I would have decked him right there, but I was particularly fragile, so I just turned away from him.
“This is a business babe. Nothing personal, and to add to that I normally join in and if I did you would have been a hell of a lot worse off.”
With those closing words he walked out and shut the door.
“Am I supposed to fucking thank you?!” I shouted after him.
What the hell were those guys names?! Especially the hot asshole who did all the talking. I used the inside of my shirt to wipe off some of the blood. I looked around the room and realized they had left me a hat. I limped over there, gripping my left side and slipped it over the top of my head. I tried to cover as much of my face as possible and realized I looked as good as I was going to look. I headed out into the main area, and Tim glanced at me and gave a sarcastic wince. I flipped him off and walked out casually. By not saying anything and me taking the beating as I had I knew I had cemented my way in. I was one step closer to having the money for my mom.
I was less only a block away from the bar before I had to take a break. I was still half a mile from the bus stop, but my body couldn’t handle walking anymore. I had taken a pretty brutal beating. I leaned against a brick wall and slid onto my butt, mentally and physically exhausted. I stuck my head on my knees and pulled my hat down so no one could see my face. I was there for five or so minutes before I felt someone standing in front of me. I looked up and saw that lead guy who had let those three guys beat me up staring down at me.
“What the fuck?” I whispered furiously before putting my head back on my knees.
He crouched down in front of me. He was very handsome in a rustic, dangerous sort of way. He had lots of scruff and was extremely tall and muscular. He was a big guy. It was clear he lifted weights, but there was something in his eyes. Something dangerous.
“Need a ride?”
I looked at him annoyed and tired. I should have said no but honestly if he was gonna kill me, at this point, so be it. I needed a ride. I couldn’t make it to the bus stop. My body was way too tired and beat up.
“Fine. Only if you help me to your car though.”
“I don’t think you are in a position to negotiate princess.”
“Don’t call me princess. You know my name. Use it.”
“Fine Sam.”
“Speaking of, what is your name?”
“Gunner.”
“Gunner? How appropriate.”
He laughed and reached out his hand. I took it, and he once again helped me to my feet. Pain radiated throughout my body. I bit my lip trying not to show my pain in front of this guy. I didn’t trust him with that.
“My cars three cars up. Just follow me.”
“Gunner, can you give me a hand or something?”
“You are ballsy.”
“Yeah, well. It gets the job done.”
He nodded, and I grabbed his shoulder. Within a second we were in front of his car. I immediately let go and crawled into his passenger seat, trying to pant quietly to deal with the bone deep pain I was feeling. I saw Gunner glance over at me, but he gave me the privacy to try and suck up the pain myself. Gunner’s car was old and dirty with cigarettes and beer cans splattered throughout the back. I wonder what he did with his drug money because of it sure as hell wasn’t spent on cars.
Gunner started the car when my phone buzzed. It was Logan, and I felt my heart flutter. It was so good to hear from him, to reflect on one of the few good times in my life. He asked how I was and I shot back a quick good. I couldn’t get in a long texting conversation with Logan while I was sitting with Gunner. Logan could not know what I was doing! First, he’d probably arrest me to keep me from getting killed. Two, he’d find out why I did it. If he found out my why he would be hurt I didn’t at least ask him. I couldn’t fully comprehend why
I wasn’t asking him. Logan texted me again, but I chose to ignore it.
“So,” I said turning to Gunner. “Why did you seek me out?”
“First, where am I taking you?”
“Uh, drop me off at the coffee shop off Third and Fraser. I can make it from there.”
“Really? You seemed pretty incapable a second ago.”
I bit my lip. “Well head there first and let me think.”
“K.”
“So why do you seek me out?”
“It’s simple really. I want to partner with you. Tim texted me, and you’re in. I’ve been with those two idiots you well, met,” he said with a grin, “for years and can’t deal with them anymore. They are morons. The minute you walked through the doors and opened your stupid fucking mouth I knew you were the answer to my problems.”
“Why the hell would you want me as a partner?”
“You are smart, quick thinking, rational and semi-decent at hiding pain and fear.”
“True,” I shrugged.
“And confident. All essential when dealing with the type of men you will be dealing with. Plus, I can tell you have a reason beyond greed to be doing this. You won’t quit until you get what you want. What is it?”
“I thought I established it’s none of your f-ing business.”
“What. Is. The. Reason? Trust me partnering with me is to your advantage.”
“Fine you wanna know so bad well here it is. My mom has cancer. She’ll die if I can’t pay for this treatment she needs. It's not a for sure thing or anything, but I have to try. That’s it. It may sound lame to you but don’t doubt me. I will go to the ends of the earth for her. What I'm saying don’t fuck with me.”
“I knew it’d be some pansy ass reason. It’s lucky you have a fire about it that I can use to my, our, business advantage.”
“So why the hell would I want to partner with you over, say, someone else. Someone I trusted more.”
“You won’t trust anyone here babe.”
“Just answer my question Gunner. What can you possibly give me that would make me want to partner with you?”