“Slater. Fuck.” Lincoln breathes, running his hands through his hair. “What have you done?”

“I know,” I mutter, drinking another huge mouthful of beer. Something to try and ease the ache in my chest. “I know what I’ve done, and I don’t know how to fuckin’ fix it.”

“You don’t fix it without takin’ down the person after you. And we both know you can’t do that. He’s goin’ to come after you, man. He’s goin’ to take what he needs for payment. Chances are, it won’t be you, it’ll be something that matters to you...”

“I broke up with Ellie,” I say, and the words burn, “so he won’t be able to link her to me.”

Lincoln shakes his head. “You can’t be that stupid as to think he wouldn’t already know Ellie is your girl...”

Fuck.

I feel sick.

Vomit stirs around in my stomach. “What the fuck do I do, Lincoln?”

My older brother shakes his head. “I don’t fuckin’ know, Slater. I don’t know. You stole money. I can’t believe you’d do something so fuckin’ stupid.”

“I thought I had it right, to make it look like I’d been done over, but...it backfired.”

“Men like Walter are smart, they know all the tricks in the book. You should have spoken to me.”

“We were goin’ to lose the house, Finn and Damon were scared. I wasn’t thinkin’ clearly...”

“Yeah, I know that, but now you’re in a mess so fuckin’ deep I don’t know how you’re goin’ to get yourself out of it. They’ll want payment, it’ll either be your blood, or someone else’s...”

I swallow, and drop my head into my hands, panting. I keep trying to take a deep breath, but nothing is working.

I don’t know how the fuck I’m going to get out of this.

“Best thing you can do right now, is disappear. Take Ellie. She’s not safe, even if you think she is.”

Ellie.

My beautiful Ellie.

“In fact,” Lincoln says. “Go now, get her. Don’t let her out of your sight.”

“She doesn’t want to see me. I fuckin’ broke her heart, Lincoln. Tore it out.”

“Then go and tell her the truth, tell her you fucked up, tell her what you’ve done and why, and tell her you’re takin’ her until it’s safe. You need to go tonight, Slater. Staying here is dangerous. So fuckin’ dangerous.”

“He don’t know where I live...”

“Won’t take him long to figure it out.”

“And if I go, what about the rest of you...ain’t safe for anyone...”

“I’ll take the boys, figure it out. You worry about yourself and Ellie. Leave the rest to me, owe you that much for all you’ve done.”

“Ok. I’ll go and get her,” I say, standing, exhaling, and then leaving the house.

I walk next door, and up the front steps. I knock on the door, and then step back. Marlene answers it a few minutes later. “Oh. Hello, Slater, what can I do for you?”

She seems...nice. Too nice. Ellie mustn’t have told her we broke up. Fuckin’ kills me she’s dealin’ with this on her own.

“Is Ellie around, Marlene?”

She frowns. “No, she’s not. I thought she was with you.”

My blood runs cold.

I feel like I’m goin’ to pass out right then and there, on the front porch.

Ellie isn’t here.

Calm down. Fuckin’ breathe.

Maybe she’s at a friend’s house.

“She ain’t with me...” I go on. “Could she be at a friend’s place?”

Marlene frowns now, too. “Well, no, I wouldn’t think so. She always tells me if she’s going to a friend’s house, hence why I assumed she was with you. It’s the only place she usually is, if she isn’t here, especially this time of the night.”

I feel sick.

Fuckin’ ill.

“I’ll call her,” I say, pulling out my phone and dialing her number.

It goes straight to voicemail.

“I’m goin’ to check out her friend’s places. If she comes home, call me...” I say, and I know my voice shows how frantic I am.

Marlene’s face goes white, but she nods. “Do you think she’s okay?”

“I’m sure she’s okay, Marlene,” I try to assure her, but don’t believe it.

Not even close.

I turn and practically run back to the house. I burst through the front door, and straight to Damon’s room. He’s alone, but jerks when I come barging in. “Fuck, man, what is it?”

“You seen Ellie?”

He shakes his head. “Na, I haven’t.”

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

“Lincoln!” I bellow.

Lincoln finds me in the hall, charging towards the front door. “What? What is it?”

“She’s gone. She isn’t at home. Her phone is off. Damon hasn’t seen her. He’s fuckin’ got her. He’s got her...”

“Calm down, brother. Calm down. She could be out, at a friend’s house, working, anything. Check all of those things before you panic.”

I nod, running towards the front door when my phone rings, without even checking the screen I bring it to my ear and yell out, “Ellie?”

A low voice chuckles on the other end, and I come to a complete stop.

“Who is this?”

“Walter. I wanted to tell you, you’re in the clear. I have something of yours that more than makes up for the cash you stole. She’s lovely, if I do say so myself. I know a few men will gladly pay a high price for her.”

No.

No.

No.

“You let her go you son of a bitch!”

He laughs. “Now now, Slater. You should have thought before taking what wasn’t yours, now I’m taking what isn’t mine. I’ve made sure everyone knows it, too. They’ll all see what happens when I’m double crossed.”

“I’ll do fuckin’ anything,” I practically plead, “anything you want. You can put a bullet in my brain if it means lettin’ her go. Please, fuckin’ let her go.”

He laughs, low, evil, cold. “Sorry, I can’t do that. She’s already out of my hands. I have her in a safe place until she’s sold. There is nothing you can do now. Consider your debt paid, Slater. Wonderful working with you.”

He hangs up the phone and I roar, tossing it across the room.

“Who was that?” Lincoln asks, his voice worried now.

“Walter has her. He’s goin’ to fuckin’ sell her. We have to get to her, now!”

“Let’s go,” Lincoln barks, grabbing his truck keys, his gun, and meeting me in the drive way.

We drive to the location I worked for Walter last, a big warehouse. When we get there, it’s dead empty.

There isn’t a single person around.

No.

Fuck.

No.

“He’s moved out, gone. Smart fuckin’ man,” Lincoln mutters.

“Someone has to know something,” I say, frantic, feeling my whole body shutting down with every passing second.

“We’ll call everyone we can, go everywhere we’ve been. We’ll find someone who knows something, Slater. We won’t rest until we do.”

“This is all my fuckin’ fault...and worse, she fuckin’ thinks I don’t love her. She’s gone and she thinks I don’t love her.”

My voice cracks, and I slam my fist into the hard plastic in front of me.

Lincoln reaches over, and squeezes my shoulder. “We’ll find her.”

I hope he’s right.

God damn, please let him be right.