“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 issue, 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.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t still suck his cock, or take it up the ass,” Kevin hissed into his ear. “Do you suck on his worthless dick? That’s what I need to know. Yes or no. You say anything else and I’ll shoot you for being so stupid.”

“No.”

“Mm, then you must belong to the other one.” Kevin’s voice was in his ear, cruel. His breath didn’t smell putrid, like Hale thought it would—it was strangely minty, like he’d just brushed his teeth. Kevin tugged him close, locking an arm across Hale’s chest. Hale sucked in a breath, terrified. “What’s his name?”

Hale squeezed his eyes shut. He knew that he shouldn’t lie, but he didn’t want any harm to come to Austin if Kevin were to decide to track him down in the future. “Ryan.”

“Ryan what, you dick-leech.”

“Ryan Miller,” Hale uttered. It was all he could think of. He hoped it didn’t sound too generic.

“Ryan,” Kevin said, his voice just as sharp and cruel as it had always been. “You have to let me know—is his ass really worth it?”

“I…” Austin sounded deflated. He trailed off.

“Tell me the goddamn truth!” Kevin roared. The sound was so close to Hale’s ear that he flinched. “Is. His. Ass. Worth. It?”

Austin exhaled slowly through his lips. Hale’s eyes were squeezed shut in fear, but he could imagine the pained, defeated expression on Austin’s face. It broke his heart. He’d never wanted it to go this way.

“Yes,” Austin said softly. “It is.”

“Sick fucks.” Kevin laughed, but only briefly. Even then, the sound was maniacal. “Well, Michael, it looks like we have a few options, since you decided that you can’t uphold your end of the agreement anymore, and since you called the cops on our operation. Are you ready to hear them?”

“Yes.”

“Option one—I kill your dumb fucking ass like I wanted to when I came here.” Kevin chuckled. “That’s the easiest option for everybody involved, I think. Messy, but convenient. Option two—you try to fight me, and I kill every one of you dumb fucks. I wouldn’t suggest that one. That’s not going to pan out so well for anyone. Too much work for a payout you’ll regret. So that leaves us with option three.” Kevin chuckled. He nuzzled against the back of Hale’s head, and a disgusted chill worked its way from the nape of Hale’s neck all the way down his body. “Option three is my personal favorite, and I think you’ll agree. It’s a little complex, so make sure you keep your ear-holes open so you know what I expect from you. Option three is like this—drop to your knees right now and suck your faggot of a cousin off.”

“What?” Michael asked, breathless.

“You heard me,” Kevin snarled. “I want him to bust a nut in your mouth, and when he’s done, I want you to show me his cum on your tongue, and then I want you to swallow it. If you’re going to act like a bitch by running away and getting my men arrested, then you can act like one, too.”

“And if I do that… that’s it?” Michael asked. “You’ll let us go?”

Oh my god, he’s not going to do it, is he? He can’t.

“No.” Kevin laughed again. “Well, it will be for you. You and Ryan there will be free birds. But someone has to pay. You left me short, and worse than that, you tried to put an end to me. That week you still owed me? It’s going to be a year now, and your little cousin is going to pay it for you. Without my team, heists aren’t going to be possible anymore, so I’m thinking of dipping my toes into a new business venture. I hear there are some pretty sick fucks out there. I think with a boy this pretty, we could get into the adult entertainment business. What do you think, faggot? We’ll sell you to whoever the fuck wants you at night, and then, during the day, your ass will be the star attraction of our little homemade movies.”

Hale’s heart was beating so hard, he thought it might explode. That wasn’t okay. That wasn’t what he wanted at all—but he knew that there was no other choice. If he didn’t agree, Michael would die. They all might.

“Y-Yeah…” he murmured. He couldn’t bring himself to sound enthusiastic. Instead, his words were choked with tears. “I’ll do it. Please, just let Michael and R-Ryan go…”

“You ever fantasized about your cousin’s lips before?” Kevin asked hotly against the back of his ear. He adjusted the position of the gun. “You ever thought about sliding into bed with him naked and riding his cock?”

“N-No.”

“We’re going to have to work on that mouth of yours before you hit the streets or start starring in films, aren’t we?” Kevin snorted. “You’re going to be a filthy bitch by the time I let go of you… if I let go of you. You might never want to leave.”

Hale couldn’t stop trembling. He didn’t want this. He couldn’t imagine the hell the next year of his life would be like if this actually happened. It had to be for show, didn’t it? Kevin had to be testing Michael, goading him into doing something disgusting so that he could use it as leverage against him. He wouldn’t actually take Hale, would he?

“Michael, you have five seconds to get on your knees,” Kevin said. “Then five more seconds to cross the hall and bury your face in your cousin’s crotch. You’re not phoning this blowjob in, by the way. You’re going to rub your face against his cock, sucks his balls like you’re his lover, and lick him until I say that he’s ready to fuck your mouth. Got it?”

“I understand,” Michael murmured.

“Five,” Kevin said, and Hale heard Michael’s knees hit the ground. “Good boy. That was quick. Now, five more seconds to get over here and start teasing your new lover. Five…”

Hale heard Michael cross the floor on his knees. A whine sounded in the back of his throat, and he wished he could pull away from Kevin. His whole body was telling him to flee.

“Four…”

Michael’s hands touched his thigh. Hale made an audible sound of discomfort. He gritted his teeth and refused to look.

“Three… two…”

Nothing.

“Last second warning before I blow his fucking head off,” Kevin said in a sing-song voice.

Nothing happened.

There was a huge noise, then startling, painless freedom. Hale was sure he’d been shot, and even though he couldn’t feel his body shutting down, he accepted that these were likely his last seconds left alive. He braced himself to die.