Page 3 of Glamour and Grit

I nod, trying not to lose control of my bodily functions. This is the kind of man who could, and would, order my death without a second thought. The last thing I want to do is make him angry.

“Good. So, can you imagine what it does to my reputation, when some weasel shit bag borrows a bunch of dough and then skips town when it comes due? Can you imagine it?”

I nod again, my heart in my throat. It takes a couple of tries to swallow it back down. I’ve never been so terrified in all of my life.

“You understand that I can’t just let this slight go. It would be bad for business. Pretty soon, everyone will think it’s okay to borrow money from me and skip town instead of paying. There are a couple ways we can handle it.”

As if on cue, the two big men stride over and grab hold of Justin.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

One man holds Justin in a full nelson, while the other sits on his legs, pinning him to the couch. He draws a small claw hammer from inside of his jacket pocket.

“What are you doing to him? Stop!”

“Usually,” Moreno says as if I hadn’t pleaded at all, “we would just break his legs. Nothing too bad for the first time, you understand, and we do it so he won’t be crippled for life afterward.”

His face turns into a mask of rage.

“But your brother made me look like an ass. That means we shatter the kneecaps instead. Oh, so much more painful, and takes alonger time to recover. And you never really do get back to normal. You’ll walk with a limp and a cane for the rest of your life.”

“Stop! Don’t cripple him, please, just tell me what you want.”

Moreno regards me for a long moment, then nods. The men let go of Justin and return to their posts. Justin glares at them. They smirk back. The one with the hammer doesn’t put it away. He keeps it out, fiddling with it, and buffing imaginary spots of dirt off its gleaming metal surface. Not too subtle, but if he wants to terrify Justin, it’s working.

“Now, the other option we have is that Justin can somehow supply us a good or service of equal or greater monetary value to his debt. He’s a waste of skin, but you, you might be able to help us.”

“No, thanks,” I say. “I’m willing to pay his debt, if that's what it takes, but I’m not going to do anything illegal for you.”

Moreno’s eyes narrow to dangerous, dark slits. The scar on his face twists the scowl, making his eyes seem demonically uneven.

“I never said you’d go uncompensated for your trouble. We’ll forgive your brother’s debt, in full, and pay you twenty-five K for your troubles. I know you can use that kind of cash, I’ve seen where you live.”

I look from him to my brother and back again. I’m shaking so bad it gives my voice vibrato when I speak.

“Not interested.”

I reach for the landline phone to call the police. The goon with the hammer smashes it down on the receiver before I can grasp it. I recoil with a shriek, but he missed my hand. He wasn’t aiming for it anyway.

My cell phone is still in my car. I have to try and make a break for it. But the gigantic man with the hammer cuts off my route of escape. I can see the murder in his eyes. He really wants to use his toy, and he doesn’t care who suffers as long as someone does.

He’s practically begging me to try and get past him. A flash to my right makes me start. Justin flies past me and tackles the man around the waist. They both go down in an ungainly heap.

“Run!” Justin shouts.

My legs move as of their own accord, propelling me outside. As I run like crazy toward my car, a loud bang makes me scream and dive for cover. An agonized cry gets me up and moving again. I can't tell if it was Justin’s voice I heard, or someone else’s.

I almost stop, turn back. The urge to help Justin is so powerful it overcomes my fear for a moment. But only for a moment. There’s nothing I can do here by myself.

Blinking away stinging tears, I burn rubber out of there. I have to get help. I have to help Justin.

I’ll never forgive myself if I lose him.

2

DANE

Iam not okay.

---