Wesley

I stand back and survey the progress on the kitchen renovation I’ve managed for Eddie. It’s a big job, as we had to literally demolish every part of the kitchen, break down a wall, and construct a new kitchen with a whole new flow in the house.

Austin’s doing all right. He’s still jittery, like he’s nervous about something, but he’s a hard worker. My gut tells me I shouldn’t leave him alone, so I don’t, but so far, he hasn’t done anything sketchy.

A glance at the clock, and I’m anxious to wrap it up. I want to take Anna out on an official date tonight. Maybe talk about letting everyone know about us.

I feel closer to her than I ever have before, and I’m sick of hiding. I know she is, too.

My angel.

I love the excited, shy smile she flashes when we talk about what we want to do in the future. She mentioned volunteering at the children’s hospital. I’m so proud of her for finally turning in her application. She was scared, but she did it anyway—yet more evidence of how strong she is.

“Hey, Austin. Time to clean up and head back to the warehouse.”

He startles at my voice, then nods a few times.

We drape the tarps over the unfinished cabinets and countertops and move supplies out of the way for the family. It’s a pain to live without a kitchen, especially when the living room flows right into this open space.

I insist on bringing the tools back to Eddie’s warehouse every day. I don’t feel comfortable with keeping them on site or in my car. Definitely not in Austin’s car.

We load up the bed of my truck with tools and drive together.

“What are you up to this weekend?” I ask him.

He wipes sweat off his upper lip. “Not much.”

What is with him?

Once we get to the warehouse, he helps me unload the tools from the truck. I follow him in, and if I wasn’t watching closely, I might’ve missed it. He bends over to set a toolbox on the floor, and his shirt rides up. Then, I notice a sparkle. Squinting my eyes, I see light reflecting off something just above his pants.

I stare hard, trying to figure out what the light is reflecting off of, and sure enough, I see his shirt bulge around an item tucked into the waistband of his work pants.

Austin is carrying a gun.

I knew it!

I fucking knew he was up to no good! He has been carrying a gun at work. While we went to work in businesses and residences, representing Banks Carpentry.

I set the tools in my hands down and approach him. I am not standing for this shit.

“What the fuck is that in your pants?” I bark.

His eyes widen, darting all around like a ping-pong ball. “N-n-nothing. What are you talking about?”

Austin is scrawny, but I didn’t think he was stupid.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” My voice is quiet but serious. “Eddie gave you a chance, and you break his rules by carrying? You’re breaking your parole, you dumb shit!” My nostrils flare in fury, jaw clenching, hands in fists at my sides.

I’m taller and wider than this kid but not bulletproof.

“I…” He trails off, hands up, as if innocent.

“Give me the gun.”

“Please don’t tell Eddie. I need this job! No one will hire me. You know how hard it is. I don’t want to go back to jail, Wes. Please! I’m sorry, all right?” he carries on, all but crying.

“Give. Me. The. Gun.”

“What? No, I need it. These guys are going to come for me. I’m not strong like you. I need the gun for protection. I lost their supply when I got arrested, and they want their money back, plus interest.”

Fuck.

All the nervous glances, the way he startles so easily and constantly looks over his shoulder. He’s been waiting for someone to find him.

I’m pissed that he brought this shit to work. I’m pissed that, now, I’m involved. But, more than anything, I’m pissed that I actually feel for the guy because that was me so many years ago.

“Listen, you get one chance. Give me the goddamn gun, and we’ll talk to Ross and Eddie about your situation. If not, get the fuck out of here, and don’t come back. This is a good job, and Eddie doesn’t deserve this shit.”

He heaves a sigh and hands me the revolver. I take it and freeze. Fucking hell, I don’t want to touch this thing. I don’t know where to put it though. Releasing the cylinder, I empty the bullets from the chamber, spinning it to make sure it’s empty. I quickly dial Winston, his instructions from that first meeting running through my brain on repeat.

“Please, if you get into a situation you’re worried might get you into trouble, call me.”

This situation has trouble written all over it.

The line rings and rings, but I get his voice mail.

“Hey, Mr. Ross. I need your help. I have Austin here, and we’re in a predicament. Please call me back when you can.”

Next, I dial Eddie and want to break the phone when his voice mail picks up, too.

“Fuck.”

Austin slumps into a chair. “I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean to involve you in my shit. All I want to do is start fresh, but I don’t think that’s possible for people like me.”

“Like us, you mean.”

He looks up at me, eyebrows raised in disbelief. “You’re doing so well though. I’ll never turn my life around like you have.”

“I’m working my ass off and keeping my nose clean. That’s what you have to do, too.”

“I am, but the threats have been coming in. I’m trying not to go near my family, and I broke up with my girl. I’ve done everything short of skipping town, which I can’t do because of my parole.”

“Did you tell Ross about the threats?”

He shakes his head. “What’s he going to do about it anyway?”

“He could help you if you let him.”

“Nobody can help. I owe almost twenty grand in lost supplies. These guys won’t stop until they get their money back, and I have no proof to lock them up. If I don’t have proof, they stay on the streets and get even more pissed that I ratted them out.”

It’s like looking into a mirror and seeing myself at eighteen reflected back at me.

His shoulders slump in defeat, his expression resigned. “Maybe I should just skip town. There’s nothing for me here anyway.”

“Do me a favor and tell Ross. He’s a good guy. He might be able to help.”

“Yeah, okay,” he agrees, but I know he doesn’t believe me.

My phone vibrates in my hand, and I check the display, hoping it’s Ross but finding Anna’s pretty face smiling at me.

“Hello?” I answer, forcing my voice to sound calm and relaxed.

“Hey you.” There’s a smile in her voice, and even though I’m on edge with this gun on the table in front of me, I can’t help but smile, too. “When will you be here?”

I hesitate. I’ve been looking forward to seeing her tonight all day and hate that I’m dealing with this mess. “I’ve got a…situation I’m dealing with at work. Can you meet me at John’s?”

“Sure. Everything okay?”

“It’s complicated. But know that I’m trying to get to you as fast as possible, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I love you,” I say quietly but with so much meaning. I’m so grateful she’s in my life.

“Are you sure you’re okay over there?” She sounds worried, as I don’t usually tell her I love her on the phone in front of an audience.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll see you soon.”

“You’re at the warehouse?”

“Yes, but don’t come here.” Fear makes my words come out sharper than I intended.

“Wes, you’re scaring me.” Her voice shakes. “What aren’t you telling me? Is it the new kid? Austin?”

Boy, she pays attention.

“Yes.”

“Do you need help?”

“I’m on it. I’ve called Ross and Eddie. Just waiting for them to call me back.”

“What can I do?”

“Nothing. Just please go to John’s and wait for me there, okay? I’ll be there as soon as I can, I promise.”

“I love you, Wesley Scott. Please come home to me.”

“As soon as I can,” I promise, then disconnect the line.

I rub the back of my neck as I try to think of the right thing to do. What are the options? Tell Austin to get rid of the gun. Wait here with him until Winston or Eddie call me back. Bring the gun with me until I hear from them.

No, I’m not bringing this gun with me. Hell, I’m sorry I even touched the damn thing. Though Austin would most likely shoot himself instead of an opponent; he’s so damn jumpy and jittery. I could call the cops, but that seems a bit extreme. They’d be just as likely to arrest both of us than help. And I can’t wait here with him all night; Anna is waiting for me.

Austin needs to get this thing out of here and come clean with Ross. That’s the best way to keep us both out of trouble. I’m so close to getting my business loan approved; I can taste it. Any hint of trouble with the law though, and all of my plans are as good as gone. My jaw clenches with frustration.

“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do.”

Austin stops pacing the room and looks up at me.

“You are going to take that thing out of here and get rid of it. First thing tomorrow, you call Ross, make an appointment, and tell him everything. Names of everyone, what they’ve said, threats, how much you owe—all of it. See if he can help you find a safer location. Please give him a chance.”

He nods. “Thank you for not calling the cops.”

“I’ve been in your shoes, kid. The same exact situation. But, luckily, when I got arrested, my boss was arrested, too, and the whole chain of command went down. I know you don’t have any good options right now, but don’t bury yourself in more trouble. It always catches up with you.”

Bryce sang like a canary when they arrested him, hoping to cut down his sentence. Too bad his rap sheet included things a lot more serious than dealing. He was transferred to a different security prison and is still serving out his sentence.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” He collects the gun and puts it back in the waistband of his pants. Then, he drops the bullets in his pocket. “I’m probably going to be dealing with this shit all day tomorrow. Sorry to leave you hanging.”

“No problem.” That’s the least of my worries.

I’m feeling frantic to get to Anna now. The gun is out of sight, and we have a plan. This is good, right? I shake my arms to loosen my tense muscles. Nothing bad is going to happen. Everything is fine, and I’ll be home in less than thirty minutes.

I follow him out to see Eddie pulling into the parking lot. Thank goodness. I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing he can help.

“Sorry I missed your call, Wes. What’s going on?” He looks between me and Austin, and I nod for Austin to explain.

“I’m in a bit of a jam, and Wes is trying to help me.”

“Let’s go inside. Maybe I can help, too.”

Eddie’s such a good guy. I respect him just as much as Mr. Bellamy.

“My girl is waiting on me. Mind if I go?” I ask Austin.

“Go on. Thank you.”

“See you tomorrow.” I wave at them and jog to my truck. It’s parked near the side entrance, closer to the supply room. It’s a far cry from the shabby-looking junker I bought a few months ago. Some body work and a new coat of paint made her look as good as new.

I shift the truck into reverse, smiling at the thought of telling Anna that I want to let the whole world know about us. Maybe even tonight. John’s probably home already, and Mr. and Mrs. B would love a spontaneous visit.

A flash of something shiny catches my eye, and I slam on the brakes. What the fuck?

A man dressed in all black is walking toward the door Eddie and Austin went through not just two minutes ago. Then, a second circles Eddie’s truck, checking out what’s in the bed. The glint of light flashes in my eye again, and my heart stops when I see a gun.

My hackles are on full alert, anxiety prickling my skin, making my heart jump into my throat.

These must be the guys after Austin. They’ve finally found him, and Eddie’s in there, too. My imagination runs wild with all of the possible bad outcomes this night could bring. What will they do to Austin? What will they do to Eddie? Because, sure as shit, they won’t just let him go home. And, if I know anything, he’ll want to protect Austin.

I reach for my phone, my shaking hands fumbling with the fingerprint unlock screen. Isn’t there some way to swipe for an emergency call? Fuck! Why didn’t I pay more attention when John showed me how to use this damn thing?

I manage to unlock the screen and tap the picture of the phone, quickly dialing 911.

Scanning the parking lot, I see the two guys are still scoping out the building, looking through the front window. It’s covered with a canvas, so there isn’t much to see. It’s only a matter of seconds before they see my car.

“Nine-one-one. What is your emergency?”

“Hello? Yes, I’m in the parking lot at—”

A splintering crack sounds right next to me, and I jump, dropping the phone in the process. I turn to see someone swinging a baseball bat right into my window. He’s tall, dressed in all black, a black skull cap to match, and sunglasses cover his eyes. His mouth stretches into a wide, malicious smile, nodding for me to hang up the phone.

I turn the screen off instead, lowering the volume as I slowly put the phone down on the passenger seat. Maybe the cops can track the call if I don’t hang up.

My hand lingers on the keys in the ignition. I could just…speed off. But, even though I want so badly to get myself out of this situation and go to Anna, I can’t leave Eddie and Austin.

I haven’t decided fast enough because the baseball bat slams into my truck again, this time smashing the hood.

“All right, I’m coming!” I put the truck in park, pocket my keys, and put my hands up.

Mr. Bat-man makes a show of swinging his bat, and I clench my teeth when he busts the headlight.

“What do you want?”

He laughs. “I want you to come inside, so we can have a chat.”

“I called the cops. They’re on their way.”

“Oh, good. They’ll like finding this in your car then.” He takes a baggie out of his pocket. It’s full of white powder. He tears it open, reaches through the now-shattered window, and pours it into the driver’s side.

Fuck. That’s the last fucking thing I need—drugs in my car.

He throws another baggie in there for good measure and then pulls a gun out of the waistband of his pants. The barrel stares at me, and this time, I don’t argue when he prompts me forward.

When we enter the warehouse, he shoves me toward Eddie and Austin, who are surrounded by the other douche bags dressed in black.

Eddie is as pale as I’ve ever seen a black man, and Austin is shaking worse than ever before.

“I told you, I don’t keep any money here. There’s no cash register or anything. Payments are all done electronically,” Eddie tells them, tone serious.

One of the men breaks apart from the rest and starts walking around the warehouse. So many expensive tools line the shelves as well as pieces of furniture in all stages of completion. Surely, these things are too big and bulky for them to want to steal.

“Zeke’s running out of patience,” the lead douche bag says to Austin.

“I told you, I don’t have any money!” He reaches for his wallet. “Here’s twenty dollars. That’s all I have to my name.”

Laughing, he takes the money and then delivers a vicious jab to Austin’s face. His nose crunches, blood pouring out.

“Fuck!” Austin squeals, grabbing his nose with both hands. “I don’t have any money! I swear!” He’s hysterical now, fear getting the best of him.

My muscles coil. I wish I could break that guy’s nose, too, but there is a gun trained on each one of us.

“What do you want us to do?” I ask calmly.

The lead douche bag turns his attention to me. “Your boy Austin here owes us money.”

“Did you think you’d find a large pile of money here?”

“My goal is to give him some motivation.”

“You don’t believe he doesn’t have the money to pay?” I know logic is not going to work right now. These are the henchmen, and they’re here to put the fear of God into Austin.

My only hope is that my call to 911 doesn’t go unanswered. If I can just keep them talking long enough for the police to arrive, we’ll be safe. The more talking they do, the less likely they are to shoot us.

“Oh, I believe he doesn’t have it. But Zeke isn’t in the habit of forgiving debt. He needs to get creative. If he doesn’t have the money, he needs to get it.”

The guy closest to Eddie steps closer, touching the metal barrel to his forehead.

Fuck.

I pull Eddie behind me, shouldering my way in front of him, and find myself face-to-face with two guns.

Sweat trickles down my neck as fear wraps around my heart.

“Your beef is not with us. But maybe we can find a way to help.” My voice is surprisingly steady despite my hammering heart.

Eddie puts his hand on my back. “Wes, don’t do this.”

He knows how hard I’ve been working to save up money and keep out of trouble. But none of that’ll matter if I’m dead. All that matters is making our way out of this standoff alive. I just need to make it home to Anna. I’ll worship the ground she walks on every day of our lives. I’ll broadcast my love for her to anyone who’ll listen.

If only I hadn’t made Austin unload his gun, he might have had a chance to defend us. As it is, his gun sits unloaded and useless in his waistband.

But they don’t know that.

The cops have to be on their way by now.

Austin is behind me, so I turn slowly to check on Eddie, and his scared eyes meet mine. I squeeze his shoulder, trying to convey how sorry I am that he’s in this mess.

I’m sorry we’re all in this mess.

I look up at the goons beneath my lashes, and the second Mr. Bat-man looks away, I take my chance. I pull up Austin’s shirt, grab the gun, and step right next to the asshole who hit Austin, shoving the gun into his head. My hands are steady as I scan the guys who are all pointing their guns at me.

“Back off or else you’ll be planning your friend’s funeral.”

The lead douchebag laughs, but it dies off when I kick the inside of his kneecap with all the pent-up anger I feel at being dragged into this.

“Drop the fucking guns.”

They eye each other but keep their guns pointed at me.

“If I kill him, I can claim self-defense. If you kill us, you go to jail. I called the cops, and they’re on their way. Consider your message delivered to Austin and get the fuck out of here before things get more out of hand than they already are.”

They eye each other, but no one moves.

I pull back the hammer on the revolver in my hand, the unmistakable sound of a gun ready to fire. “Tell Zeke Austin needs more time. We’ll help him get a plan, but he needs a week.”

“Fine,” the lead douchebag says, tenderly holding his knee.

The tension in the air is palpable as they all exchange looks and try to come to an agreement.

And then the pregnant pause is shattered.

“Everybody, freeze!”

Fuck.

My heart surges into my throat at the officer’s loud command. Half of me is so relieved to see six police officers swarming into the warehouse, guns drawn. The other half of me realizes I’m holding a gun to a man’s head, and there’s a baggie of cocaine in my car.

I’m innocent.

I did everything right after I got out of prison, so I’d never step foot in that hellhole again.

Somehow, in the last fifteen minutes, all my good intentions mean nothing.

I drop the gun and hold my hands up, trying to tell them that I’m the one who called, that these men came here tonight to hurt my friend and that Eddie needs a hospital. That I’m just defending myself. The gun isn’t even loaded.

But it doesn’t matter. All they want to do is neutralize the scene, remove the threat, and arrest everyone with a weapon. I’m shoved face-first into the cement floor, a foot at my lower back.

“Wait, what are you doing? He’s not one of them!” Austin cries out as they put the handcuffs on my wrists.

“That’s my employee. He defended me!” Eddie explains.

“You’re arresting the wrong guy!” Austin tries again.

But it falls on deaf ears.

“You have the right to remain silent…”

I barely hear the rest of my rights, though I already know them. I don’t fight or protest, just let him wrench me up by my arms, practically straining my shoulders in the process, and duck my head when he shoves me into the back of the cop car.

As I sit and wait for what seems like an eternity, I wonder when Anna will know I’m not coming home to her. I should have told Eddie to call her and let her know what was going on, but it all happened so quickly.

Will she believe me when I explain what happened? Will John? Mr. and Mrs. Bellamy?

I watch one by one as they remove the scumbags responsible for this shit show, relieved to see them all in handcuffs, too.

This night fucking sucks.

Just when I think it can’t get any worse, it does. Anna’s car pulls into the parking lot. I watch in horror as she jumps out of the car, John fast on her heels, and they run up to the building. A police officer meets them, holding up his hands to tell them they need to leave.

“Where is Wesley? Wesley Scott?” I hear her panicked voice shout my name, peering around the cop’s shoulder to look into the building. More words are exchanged, but I can’t hear exactly what they say.

My eyes burn, and I clench my jaw, swallowing the lump in my throat. God, how I want to go to her and tell her everything. My fists clench with anger, but the bite of the handcuffs reminds me it’s useless.

John sees me first, and I watch his face go from worried to scared.

Shit.

He taps Anna’s shoulder, nodding in my direction.

I don’t want to watch her realize I’m in the back of a cop car, but I can’t look away. The front door opens just in time to let me hear her shout my name.

“Wesley!” The anguish in her voice breaks my heart.

The cop gets in her way when she tries to run to me. John pulls her back, but she wriggles out of his grasp.

“Wesley! Where are you taking him? This has to be a mistake!” she shrieks.

I long to hold my hand up to the window, to tell her I’m sorry.

I’m so damn sorry.

Life was generous enough to give me a second chance.

I’m not sure I’ll get a third.

The cop starts the ignition and has to circle Anna and John to exit the parking lot.

I mouth, I love you, to Anna, not even caring that John can see, too.

Then, I watch as my girl breaks out of John’s grasp and chases after me. I crane my neck and watch her until she becomes a tiny speck in the distance.

Then, I let the tears of anger and frustration fall.