(Penny)

I sat in a chair in the corner of the motel room. I wasn’t tied up or really being held by Erik. He at least kept to his word with that. He stayed on the opposite side of the room, sitting in a chair too.

He was drinking whiskey or something.

I had a glass of water.

“This has to end,” he said. “It’s gone too far.”

“Erik, you don’t have a badge. You were suspended. You’re in serious trouble with this.”

“I don’t care. When I found out about my brother… the goddamn truth.”

I swallowed hard. “Which is?”

“He was set up. Paid to be killed. Seth and Noah…”

“Noah doesn’t do that. No. He’s not a murderer. He’s not a hit man.”

“He was there that night. I want everyone to pay. You hear me?”

“Okay. I hear you.”

“There were conflicting police reports, just like with your father’s murder.”

I sat up straight in the chair. “Are you going to tell me about it now?”

“My brother was all I had,” Erik said. “He wasn’t the greatest person in the world but nobody is. I worked hard for us. I was going to get him a job with me. Take good care of him, you know?”

“What does this have to do with my father?”

“I told you before there were problems with the police reports, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I wanted Noah in exchange for the truth,” Erik said. “But I’ve taken this as far as I can go now. Andy is dead. I sent that punk fighter a clear message. I tried to track down the whore that had been fucking my brother when he was killed, but she was gone. That told me Noah was playing smart. Smarter than I thought him to be. So I had to react.”

“Dani…”

“She brought you a bag,” Erik said. “She was involved.”

The guilt hit me hard. I touched my chest and felt like I was going to pass out.

“This is my fault,” I whispered.

“It’s Noah’s!” Erik yelled. “You need to see that. And you will.”

“How?”

“Your father was murdered, Penny,” Erik said. “And I know who did it.”

“Who?”

“He was targeted by a hit man. Someone was paid to kill him. The same thing that happened to my brother. That’s what happened to your father. Seth and Noah did it.”

* * *

The room spun for a few seconds and I stood up. I reached for the wall and fell into it. My shoulder hit with a thud.

“Noah wouldn’t,” I whispered.

“Seth was the hit man,” Erik said. “But Noah was involved. Just like with my brother. Noah was the one who beat up my brother. He beat him senseless. He hit him so hard and so many times, that Aiden was just there, sitting on the ground, unable to move. Unable to speak. Unable to defend himself and speak the fucking truth.” Erik stood up and pointed the liquor bottle at me. “So what do you think happened with your father?”

“No. No, no, no…”

“Yes, Penny. Your father had a drug habit. He lost your mother and turned to drugs. The problem with drugs? They only work for so long until you need more. The more you need, the more expensive it gets. He fell into debt with a dealer. The dealer was being run by the mob. The mob wanted your father dead for his debts. That’s why he was at that fight. He was going to try and sell drugs back to his dealer. He was going to try and bet on the fights to earn a little cash. By then, it was too late. The hit had been ordered and your father was a marked man.”

I refused to believe it. I shook my head as hard as I could, wanting to shake away Erik’s words. But he kept talking. He kept saying it over and over. The details. The different reports. That Marcos had guys in the police on his payroll and that they were taken care of to make sure the reports didn’t point to anyone for the murder. The same way it had been done for his brother.

Erik stood there, drunk, tears rolling down his cheeks.

I was in a corner, feeling trapped.

As tender as the moment perhaps appeared to be, it wasn’t. Erik put the bottle down and grabbed his gun. He then opened the nightstand drawer and took out a revolver.

“There’s one bullet in this gun,” he said. “It’s up to you to decide who gets it. Either you or Noah.”

“No,” I said.

Erik pointed the gun at me and pulled the trigger.

* * *

Before I could actually let out a scream, Erik pulled the trigger a second time. My brain told me to get the hell out of the way. So I dropped to my knees and tried to hide. Erik moved fast though, coming around the bed truly putting me in a corner. I grabbed the chair and tried to throw it at him, but it simply toppled and bounced against the bed and rolled to the floor.

Within seconds of him pulling the trigger the first time Erik was hovered over me, gun aimed right at me.

“Don’t,” I managed to say as my mouth had gone bone dry. “Please, don’t.”

“Too late. Just like everyone else in this.”

“What does that mean?”

“That means I want to be heard. I want Noah. Got it?”

“You took me from the fight,” I said. “I don’t know where he is right now. And with Dani’s father showing up-”

Erik pulled the trigger again.

I screamed.

I started to kick at him, feeling childish, but having no other means of defending myself. Of course my feet weren’t going to protect me from a bullet, but I thought maybe I could get lucky enough to knock the gun out of his hand.

Luck was not on my side.

Erik dropped to one knee, knocked my legs out of the way, and kept the gun on me.

He pulled the trigger again.

“It won’t say silent forever,” Erik said.

I completely froze up.

How many shots did he have left? Three? Four?

I took a few deep breaths, reminding myself of the situation I was in.

“Look at me, Penny. Just please look at me.”

“Okay,” I said. “Just stop pulling the fucking trigger, Erik.”

He nodded. “Okay.” He slowly reached back and put the gun away. “I’m sorry it’s come to this for us, Penny. But you have to know the truth. What he’s done. To me. To my brother. To you. To your father. If Seth were alive, then maybe it would be easier. But Seth was taken out, right?”

“That’s what Noah said.”

“Who took him out?”

My lips quivered.

“Exactly,” Erik said. “I bet Noah killed Seth. Kill the killer and it all goes away.”

I didn’t respond. Either Erik was really fucked in the head or he was really smart at this detective stuff. Or a strange combination of both.

“We can do this together,” Erik said. “I swear you’ll survive. Forget about everyone else.”

“Dani,” I whispered. “I need to see Dani.”

“Okay. I promise. I will make sure you see Dani again. Yes. You’ll get to hug her. Tell her everything. Figure it out, okay?”

What choice did I have in it all? I was literally in a corner.

Erik started to reach back for the gun.

I grabbed his arm. “Wait. Let me get my phone. I’ll call Noah. I’ll help you set him up.”