Joe

I turned the key in the lock on the front door to the gym with a heavy sigh. It had been a long day, but rewarding all the same. I started a class of brand new students this morning and a few of them actually showed promise. On top of that we signed up several new fighters in the area, one of whom was an up comer I was going to keep my eye on. We seemed to hit it off pretty well.

But I was beat tired and could think of nothing else except a hot shower and a cold beer. Well, almost nothing else.

Ever since the other night Gina’s beautiful face had been imprinted in my mind. She was definitely not the teenager I remembered as being Ronnie’s brat sister all those years. And the way she had matured and grown so comfortable in her sexuality and her confidence was damned sexy.

I’d thought long and hard about what we’d said to each other in that short time where we were alone while Ronnie was in the kitchen prepping to give himself a coronary. It was appealing on so many levels. I mean, what if Gina and I really did decide to give it a good go? What if it worked out? The timing of everything was perfect.

But then there was the obstacle of Ronnie, which I’m not sure how much of an obstacle it really was. I knew him better than just about anybody, so I knew how much he loved and protected his little sister, but sooner or later he was going to have to realize that she wasn’t a little girl anymore and that eventually a new man would enter her life who would take over the role of the protector.

Not that she really seemed to need much protection. Gina was a tough girl. I loved that about her. I’ve always been a tough as nails type of a guy, if I wanted to get serious about a woman then the truth of the matter is she was going to have to be as tough as me. I needed a girl who wouldn’t put up with my arrogance. Yes, I can be as stubborn as a mule sometimes and I don’t back down.

Gina just might have been the woman who could put me in my place when the time was right.

I unlocked my truck, and threw my jacket into the passenger seat. I was just about to climb in when I noticed something strange out of the corner of my eye.

A group of nefarious-looking men were standing around in a circle about a half block away from the gym. They were all standing in front of Ronnie’s car. And as I observed more closely I could see that standing in the middle of the group of men, circling around him almost like vultures was Ronnie.

I stood there watching for a moment, not wanting to do anything rash just yet.

The men were talking as they continued to walk around Ronnie. At first glance it almost seemed like an ambush of some kind. Just when I was about to run over to intervene and help my friend a man from the group stepped out of the circle so he and Ronnie were face to face. He smiled and put his arm on Ronnie’s shoulder in a very big brother kind of way.

I took a deep breath, feeling the tension easing out of my body. What the hell was happening here?

Ronnie seemed apprehensive but still relaxed from what I could see under the light of the half busted street lamp above them.

As the man turned slightly towards the rest of the group that I recognized who he was.

Victor Silas. The head of the gang known as “The Cobras”.

My heart sank about a foot in my chest. What in the world was Ronnie talking to these guys about?

The Cobras were a dangerous local gang on this side of town. They were nefarious for a lot of robberies, gang style beatings, and there were rumors that they regularly killed those who crossed them. And they were getting more powerful by the day it seemed. I remembered when my uncle Bob used to talk about them when he was on the police force when I was a little boy. These guys were not to be involved with and they definitely weren’t to be crossed.

What sort of trouble was Ronnie in? I could only imagine. Ronnie could be a pretty secretive guy but I was sure he’d always had a good head on his shoulders. Surely if there was anything major going on in his life I would have been the first to know about it.

At least that’s what I thought.

I watched them for a few minutes and then the gang dispersed. All of them hopping into two large, black SUV’s parked across the street.

I waited a moment until they drove out of sight and then I jogged over to Ronnie, catching him just before he got into his car.

He noticed me running over and smiled good-naturedly.

“Hey, Joe,” Ronnie said. “How’s it going?”

“Well, you tell me,” I said.

“What? I’m not sure what you mean.” Ronnie said.

“I just saw you talking to Victor Silas. Don’t play games with me, man. What is going on?”

Ronnie laughed and shot me his flashy used car salesman grin. “Ah, nothing. They just wanted to chat.”

I laughed. Wow, that was rich.

Ronnie, guys like “The Cobras” don’t just stop by for a chat. Now level with me; what is going on?”

I stared into Ronnie’s eyes as he tried to avert my gaze. Eventually he stared back and relented.

“I owe them some money for some gambling debts,” Ronnie said.

“What? Are you crazy? Gambling? Gambling with them of all people?”

“I thought it was a sure thing,” Ronnie said. “Some guys invited me to earn some easy money in a drag race on the other side of town. I’m a great driver. I figured I couldn’t lose, so I bet some cash on myself. I didn’t find out who it was until after the race.”

“Jesus,” I said. “That’s messed up, man. You know better than to get mixed up with stupid stuff like that.”

“I thought I couldn’t lose, otherwise I never would have done it. But the other guy cheated. It was a big setup. They had something under the hood of that engine that didn’t belong there.”

“And what happened when you tried to challenge it?” I asked.

“Well, then “The Cobras” showed up. You know they really do live up to their name. They are snakes in the grass, all of them.”

“How much do you owe?” I asked.

“Twenty grand,” Ronnie said.

“You blew Twenty-grand on a race? That’s so stupid,” I said.

“I know that!” Ronnie yelled. I could see he was scared to death. “I made a stupid mistake.”

“So, how are you supposed to fix it? I’m sure they weren’t just asking you to please pay them.”

Ronnie sighed heavily and looked down. I saw the shame on his face right then, but he wouldn’t talk.

“Tell me,” I said.

Ronnie looked at me. I could see he almost had tears in his eyes. My friend was hard as stone and I don’t think I’d ever seen him cry before.

“They want me to help them on a job,” Ronnie said.

“What kind of a job?”

“I don’t know yet,” Ronnie replied. “They said that they will let me know when the right opportunity comes along for my skills, whatever that means. I guess in the meantime I just get to sweat it out, right?”

“Yeah, but I’m guessing this job is not going to be the legal variety,” I said.

“No, most likely not.”

“You have to go to the cops,” I said. “That is the only way you might get out of this.”

“The cops? Are you nuts? The Cobras are not afraid of our local cops. Hell, half of them are probably on their payroll.”

I winced at that notion. My uncle Bob had always praised our police division, but he did let it slip that there was corruption wherever it could find an entrance.

“They can help,” I said. “They could assign officers to you, or put you in witness protection.”

Ronnie laughed. “You don’t get it. That stuff is not going to work here. I am just going to do what they ask me to and then my debt to them is paid.”

“How do you know that? How do you know they aren’t going to string you along as their little errand boy until you get arrested and then they find someone else?”

Ronnie didn’t have any words to say. I knew all of this had crossed his mind. I wasn’t telling him anything new, but sometimes hearing the words from a trusted friend could mean all the difference in the world.

“Look,” Ronnie said. “This is my mess and I’ll figure a way out of it. Just do me a favor and don’t mention any of this to Gina.”

“She doesn’t know anything about it? She is your closest family and she is living with you. This puts her in direct danger, too. I think she deserves to know what is going on.”

“No,” Ronnie snapped. “Like I said, it’s my mess and I will clean it up. She is safe. As long as I do what they say then she has nothing to worry about.”

I paused a moment.

“Wait, have they threatened her?”  I asked.

“No,” Ronnie answered quickly. “But I think it’s kind of implied.”

I had nothing left to say. The idea that Gina might be in grave danger over something stupid her brother did angered me to my core. I felt like belting Ronnie across the face for his feeble actions. But I figured he was going through enough grief and he might have been right keeping this from Gina for the time being.

But if things got worse I was telling her. And if it meant putting her on a plane back home then I was willing to make sure she went.