Page 19 of Devil's Iris
I study Mom curiously. For the first time in a while, her gray eyes are clear instead of glassy and unfocused as they usually are when she’s high. The sight is almost more shocking than?—
CRACK!
The front door finally gives way, and a jolt of fear punches through me. I lock eyes with Ethan, then Mom, and we all swallow hard before creeping towards the living room to investigate. My heart thuds erratically in my throat, and my hands are shaking so badly, I’m not sure I could actually hurt anyone with this knife.
When we make it into the living room, I freeze. About seven men—I count them—are standing right inside our busted door. Heavily tattooed, mean-faced men with silver chains around their thick necks and suspicious bulges at their hips that can only be guns.Gangsters.
Holy shit, we’re going to die.
My stomach lets out a loud, nervous gurgle, but I’m too terrified to even feel embarrassed. Sweat trickles down my spine and the side of my face, and I suddenly feel the need to pee, throw up, and maybe shit myself all at once as I try to process the scene.
Behind me, Mom sighs and steps forward. “What’s all this, Rick? I asked for more time. Can’t you just give me that?”
She knows them? How the hell does she know them?
“You’ve been given more time than you deserve,”Rick—apparently their leader—says. “It’s time to repay your debt. And until you do, you’re coming with us. Can’t risk you running away, now can we?” He chuckles and signals to his men, who immediately grab Mom and Ethan by the arms and start dragging them towards the broken door.
“Wait!” Mom screeches, struggling against their grip. “How are we supposed to pay you if we’re your prisoners?”
It’s a reasonable question, and I nod frantically, even though I still have no idea what’s happening.Debt? What debt? “Yes, yes, she’s right. We just need a little more time to work, and we’ll pay you back.”
All seven pairs of eyes turn to me, and I instantly regret opening my mouth.
“Yes!” Mom jumps on my words. “My daughter is right. She’s working hard to pay back the loan.”
My jaw drops.What? Loan?
My throat closes up, and I try to swallow, but my mouth feels like sandpaper. “What exactly are we paying back, Mom? What’s going on?”
“Ahh, yes. Amelia did mention you’re the family’s breadwinner. So you’re the one paying back my money?” Rick’s eyes travel over me from head to toe, and a wave of heat prickles across my skin as I’m reminded that I’m standing here in nothing but a sleep shirt and boxer shorts. Every instinctscreams at me to cover up, to shrink away—but instead, I force myself to stand tall, shoulders squared, chin lifted.
“How–how much are we talking about? Two hundred bucks? Five thousand?” Surely not ten?
“Five thousand?” Rick glances back at his men as he barks out a laugh. “You think I’d drag my ass out in the middle of the night over five thousand dollars? Between your mother and brother, your family owes us twenty–seven grand—before interest. With interest, that rounds up to about forty.”
“Forty thousand?!” My body chills with shock as I stare at Mom and Ethan, completely floored.What the hell did they do with twenty–seven grand?The house is as barren as ever, and neither of them has ever contributed a single penny to any of the bills I pay, not even groceries.
Mom looks away, shame written all over her face, and anger heats my blood back up because I already know where her share went.
It wasn’t enough to sell off our possessions to feed her addiction—now she’s borrowing from loan sharks?
And Ethan? I direct my glare at my brother. What the hell didhedo with the money?
“Are you the next of kin?” Rick asks, pulling my attention back to him.
The urge to deny them crowds the back of my throat. But all I manage is, “I—I suppose I am.” My voice is thick with emotion. They knew this was coming, and they didn’t think to warn me?
I wish I had it in me to be as selfish as they are—to just walk away from them and leave them to deal with the mess they’ve made and the weight they keep dumping on my shoulders.
“It’s settled then. The debt falls on you now. And to make sure you’re properly motivated, these two are coming with us.” Rick nods at the men holding Mom and Ethan, and theyimmediately start dragging them out of the apartment again, kicking and screaming.
“Don’t disappoint me, Charlene.” Before I can question how he knows my name, he starts to leave too.
“Wait!” I rush after him, panicking as reality sets in. “Can we talk about this for a second? You can’t just take them away. We need to come up with a payment plan, figure out how–”
Rick bursts out laughing, clutching his stomach like I just told the world’s dumbest joke. I frown, failing to see what was so funny.
“Payment plan?” he scoffs. “Your family had a whole year and blew it.Youhave until the end of next week to cough up every cent. If I don’t have my money by then, you can kiss Mommy and baby bro goodbye… and”—his eyes rake over me—“start working it off as a stripper in my boss’s club.”
