Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 76396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“I’m working to pay your debt off. Found out who you owed, went to them, told them I’d work until it was doubled. Your debt times two. I’d get nothing out of it. He swore that he’d clear us both when it was done, provided I did it until it was paid out. Goin’ to do it. Nothin’ you can do now, as it’s already done. If you argue with me, or go in and try to change it, you’ll put us both in the shit, and I know you don’t want that.”
For a moment, Lincoln just stares at me, his face blank and full of rage, then he bellows, “You can’t be fuckin’ serious? What the fuck is wrong with you, Slater?”
“What’s wrong with me?” I laugh bitterly. “What the fuck is wrong with you? You’re the one who got us into this mess, I’m the idiot pulling us out, but I’m doin’ it and there is very fuckin’ little you can do or say about that.”
“Fuck!” he roars, launching out of the bed and charging at me, face wild. “Fuck you, stupid idiot!”
He reaches me, and I don’t move. We’re eye to eye now. The same size. He no longer has it over me. “You hit me, Lincoln, and I’ll take Finn and Damon, leave you to your mess, and you’ll never fuckin’ hear from me or them again. I’m protecting my family from the mess you put them in. Now, you either let me do that and guide me, or you fuckin’ throw down and try to get me out of it, in turn, putting us both in deeper shit.”
He backs away, but he’s still panting. He rubs his hand down his face and looks at me. “What were you thinkin’ Slater? These people aren’t to be trusted. These people won’t just let you walk...”
“Maybe they won’t, that’s a risk I’m willin’ to take. Because you running, thinkin’ they’ll just forget about it, is even worse. We need your income, we need it or we’ll lose everything. You were willin’ to put us through that. So now, I’m taking a risk, maybe a bigger one, but I’m doing it, Linc. With, or without, your help.”
“Don’t you understand what you’ve gotten yourself into?” he exhales, closing his eyes, gathering calm. “I don’t trust that fucker.”
“Well, we’re just goin’ to have to risk it. Because I made a deal with him, and I have to pray that he holds up his end of it. If not, we’re goin’ to live with this for the rest of our lives. Either way, it wasn’t goin’ away on its own. My option is a whole lot better than yours.”
He shakes his head, and holds my eyes. “You’ll get hurt, and I can’t live with that...”
“I won’t get hurt,” I point out. “Because I’m not fuckin’ stupid. I’ll do what I have to do, for as long as I have to do it, and then I’m out. Understand?”
Lincoln shakes his head, “Nothin’ I can do about this now, if I interfere it’ll make it even worse. I’ll help you, where I can, but know this Slater...the world you so stupidly just put yourself in, is fuckin’ dangerous. It’s dangerous and it’s deceitful, watch your back, every step you take, because I guarantee someone will be riding it lookin’ for ways to bring you down.”
I nod. “I’ll be careful.”
He walks forward, and I tense up, but instead of getting angry, he puts a big hand on my shoulder and squeezes. “You did somethin’ big, to fix what I fucked up. Love you for that, even if I hate what you’re doin’. You’re a good man, Slater. Better than I am. If anything happens to you, know I’ll never fuckin’ forgive myself.”
I place a hand on his shoulder. “Nothin’ will happen to me.”
And I hope I’m right.
God. Fuck. Do I hope I’m right.
~14~
NOW – ELLIE
“So you have flashes of old memory, you say?”
I’m sitting in the office of a very high-end doctor, who apparently deals with memory loss, and its causes. I don’t know what they call him, but I know he’s the best in his field, and Erin pulled a lot of strings and probably paid more money than I’d like, to get me in to see him. I’m grateful to her, because I want to get to the bottom of whatever is going on, no matter what it takes.
I want to know who I am.
I want to remember.
“I wouldn’t even call it flashes,” I say, “It’s almost dreamlike, I never really see faces, just flashes of scenarios, or I feel a familiarity around certain things, or people. There are a few memories I can recall, from before...the incident. But they’re usually a big deal. Really big, dramatic, climactic things that I don’t think anyone would be able to forget. The rest is hazy. Just a mess.”