Chapter 23 #2
Nate takes his time thinking, although it should be a no-brainer. Nothing would surprise Will about this man, including his attempt to think of another way to cause trouble.
Finally, Nate nods. “Fine. I’ll speak with the mayor and tell him what you want. When can I get out of here?”
“I’ll bring the phone over so you can call him,” the sheriff says.
“Wait, not face-to-face?”
“Where I can’t keep my eye on you? No, those days are over.”
The sheriff exits the holding area, leaving Will alone with Nate. As he looks at the skinny little man behind bars, it’s hard to imagine someone like him being capable of causing so much chaos.
“You look like you want to kill me,” Nate says.
“I do, but I think you’ll have too much fun in hell.”
Nate snorts. “Good one.” His face sobers. “I’m sorry about how I treated Owen. He just got caught up in this.”
“In what?”
“In you and me.”
Will is too tired for this shit. “There was never you and me, just me being weak and you taking advantage of that.”
Nate shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. It happened. I won’t apologize.”
And Will doesn’t want him to. He was as much to blame in their sick arrangement, though that doesn’t mean their intentions were the same.
The sheriff returns with a cordless phone. “I wrote the number on this note. Put the call on speaker. Tell him that a neighbor called the police about a noise, and we got there in time to take out those two dealers and save Owen. That’s it.”
Nate takes the phone and the note. He hesitates before dialing, but he finally makes the call.
Will’s heart beats faster at the sound of the dial. Since Nate is inside the locked cell, it gives him enough time to tell the mayor they are on to him before they can take the phone back.
Veronica answers the call, her voice flat and lifeless. “Mayor Walker’s residence.”
“Hey, it’s Nate. Can I speak with the mayor?”
“He has been looking for you. Wait on the line.”
Nate chews on his bottom lip as he waits, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
“Nate?”
Will tenses at the sound of Ray’s voice. He has the ability to sound judgmental and dissatisfied no matter what he says.
“Hello, sir. Sorry for not calling sooner. Things have been hectic around here.”
“What the hell happened at Eminence?”
“Well, you didn’t tell me what you had planned.” He watches the sheriff as he says that, as if to bring the point home that he wasn’t involved.
“I don’t report my actions to you, Nate. What happened?”
“A neighbor called the police because of the noise. When the cops got there, those two idiots who work for you started shooting. They were killed, and Owen was rescued. He doesn’t know of your involvement. No one knows.”
The mayor goes quiet for a long moment before saying, “Why isn’t this being reported as a kidnapping event? Someone is trying to keep it under the radar. It’s suspicious.”
Will glances nervously at the sheriff. They didn’t discuss how to answer such a question.
Nate says, “You think that the sheriff wants something like that on the news? Sheryl was wounded, and two junkies kidnapped her nephew. It will make us look bad, and the department doesn’t need any more bad press.”
“I see. And what about Owen?”
Will grinds his teeth at how casually the man who ordered Owen murdered dares to ask about his condition.
“He’s resting at home,” Nate says. “I think you should let it go, sir. You dodged a bullet there.”
“Perhaps. You keep me updated if anyone starts connecting the dots.”
“Will do, sir.”
They hang up the call, and Nate returns the phone to the sheriff. “I did my part,” he says. “Can I leave?”
“Of course. On Saturday.”
“What the hell? We had a deal!”
“Don’t raise your voice at me, you son of a bitch. Did you forget that all our phone calls are being recorded?”
Nate’s mouth drops. “I… shit.”
“I want to take down Ray and his partners for their drug operation, but if I can’t get that, I’ll settle for kidnapping and attempted murder. You’ll stay right here until we get more evidence against those fuckers, and you’ll be quiet like a mouse, or I’ll come down on you harder than a hammer.”
Will wants to be out of there. Although the sheriff’s rage isn’t aimed at him, it reminds him of too many times when he was the subject of that rage, and how powerless he felt to fight back.
“I’m done here.” He walks out of the holding area, then out of the station. He takes deep breaths, feeling lightheaded and so deeply tired. He worries he might collapse if he just closes his eyes.
“We need to talk about Friday’s event,” the sheriff says as he comes to stand beside him.
“Not now.”
“Okay, we have time. I prefer that you be the one updating Owen on what we discussed, since I won’t be welcome at Sheryl’s house for a while.”
Will nods, dreading that conversation but knowing he must face it. “I’ll do that. Let’s catch up tomorrow.”
He begins to walk to his truck when the sheriff says, “We need to talk about what Nate said. About… the truth of Joel’s death.”
Will stops but doesn’t turn around. No sort of conversation could erase the years of abuse he received from that man and his employees. “I’m not ready to have that conversation, Mitch. Maybe someday. Maybe never.”
Without waiting for a response, he enters his truck and drives away.
*
It’s almost evening by the time he parks in front of Sheryl’s house. He stopped by his place earlier to shower and to grab some clothes, since he’s not going to leave Owen alone tonight, and it would be unfair to ask him to leave his aunt and stay at Will’s.
He knocks on the door, and Owen opens it after unlocking two different locks. He seems refreshed, wearing a dark sweater that is a bit too big on his lean frame. “You’ve been gone a long time.”
“I stopped by my house to grab some things.”
Owen moves to let him in. “Are you staying the night?”
“I’d rather not leave you alone if that’s okay. I can sleep on the couch.”
“Since it’s not big enough to fit both of us, you’ll be sleeping in my bed.”
“Your aunt might have other ideas.”
“She’s out cold with all those painkillers, and I don’t think she’d mind either way. Francie left about an hour ago.” Owen watches him closely. “You look exhausted. Can I make you something to eat before you get some sleep?”
“That would be nice.”
“You can leave your things here.”
Will drops his bag, and Owen holds his hand, leading him into the kitchen.
“You’re tense,” Owen says. “Did you speak with Nate?”
Will sits by the small table next to the window in the kitchen.
Even his bones are tired, making him debate whether he should leave this conversation for tomorrow.
But Owen watches him with concern as he stands with his arms crossed.
Will won’t ever forget entering that house and finding him spasming on the floor.
Then his heart stopped. For a moment there, Will had lost another man he loved, only this time, there was no relief and no sense of closure; there was only grief and sorrow.
Using what he learned about CPR for Julie, he managed to bring Owen back to life and keep him breathing until the ambulance came.
He can’t live through that pain again, so he’s going to take down Ray Walker.
There’s no force on earth that can make him change his mind.
“I spoke with Nate and the sheriff,” Will says.
“Do you know why Joe and Carlos decided to kidnap me?”
“Because Nate told the mayor you were doing undercover work for the police.”
Owen, who is leaning against the counter, asks, “Why would the mayor care about that?”
Will lets out a long breath. “It seems that the mayor is a big part of the drug pandemic we have around the county. He and his business partners have been managing the show for years, and Nate has been their secret informer. Nate claims he only spoke with the mayor about you to break us up, but Ray had other plans.”
Owen rubs his face. “That’s so messed up. I’m sorry that your uncle is behind this. I know you two barely speak, but still.”
Will shakes his head, knowing that this is where he bares his soul and hopes for the best. “There’s not an ounce of love between me and that man.
He hated my mother because his parents adopted her, and he hated me for bringing him bad press.
I was fine with having no contact with him, but then Julie got sick, and I wanted to get her the best treatment.
She and I used all our savings, but they ran out in less than a year.
I went to speak with Ray about our situation, even though he never offered us financial help.
I was ready to beg him for a loan, but he had another idea. ”
“What idea?” Owen asks quietly, though it sounds like he’s beginning to connect the dots.
“He offered me money if I agreed to come to his house every once in a while and serve his guests.” Before Owen can ask, he says, “I mean that in a sexual way. For about four years, I’ve been going over there to be used however they want.
Ray likes to keep his partners happy and loyal, and he added me as part of the package.
” He dares to meet Owen’s eyes. “I’m not sorry or ashamed about that deal.
It gave my sister more than I could have ever given her on my own. ”
Owen’s face can’t possibly be paler, his skin a strong contrast to his long, dark hair.
He seems ill, like he doesn’t know if he should sit or stand or leave.
The first words to leave his mouth are not what Will expected to hear.
“I need to get you out of this town. I don’t want you living here anymore. ”
It warms his heart more than Owen could ever know. “In due time, sweetheart.”
Owen grabs a chair. He sits and holds Will’s hand. “I did similar things for money when I was at my lowest, but my motives were much less noble.” He kisses Will on the lips. “You know I’m not going to judge you, right?”
He didn’t know that, but he had hoped, and now he’s so relieved that he can finally breathe normally. “Thank you.”
“Is the sheriff going to arrest the mayor now?”
“Not yet. We need more to bring him and his partners down. Those are powerful people, and there’s no point going after them unless there’s enough rock-solid evidence.”
“Well, Nate can testify, right? How else are the police going to get more evidence?”
Will hesitates before answering, but Owen catches on. “Does the sheriff want you to help with that? How?”
“By doing what I’ve been doing for years—going over there and spending time with the mayor’s guests.
We need to iron out the details, but I’ll need to hide recording equipment so that the police can listen.
Getting those people on record talking about their illegal activities is our strongest case against them. ”
Owen lets go of Will’s hand and leans back in his chair. “You might get caught. Please don’t do that.”
“The police will be waiting outside in case of trouble. And those are not low-level drug dealers that will try to kill me. I won’t pretend I’m not afraid—I am—but I need to bring those people down, Owen.”
“But Julie—”
“Will be fine. Ray trusted my cooperation, so he already paid the hospice for the next year in advance.”
“And what about the year after that?”
Will shakes his head. “She doesn’t have that long. And if she does, I’ll figure something out.”
Owen exhales, heaviness in his shoulders. “I’m going to be there. When the police keep watch, I’ll stay with them. That’s non-negotiable.”
Will smiles and strokes Owen’s cheek. He’s not a fan of the idea, but he’s not going to treat him like a child who can’t make his own decisions. Partnership doesn’t work like that. “Okay.”
“When are you planning on going there?”
“This Friday.”
“So soon?”
“There’s no point giving the mayor time to try something. Nate will remain in custody until then; the sheriff knows not to trust him.”
“I have more questions, but they can wait. Let me feed my man.”
Will sits quietly as Owen puts together a meal with meat from Francie and some other things they were supposed to eat during the dinner that never happened.
Will eats everything, then asks for more.
He feels better once he’s done, but it’s getting late, and parts of his brain have already gone to sleep.
He follows Owen into his bedroom, where the bed is on the smaller side, but it’s not like they don’t usually sleep with their limbs tangled. Will remains in his underwear and slips under the blanket.
Owen shuts off the light and flicks on a small night lamp by the desk. He sits in a chair and takes out his sketchbook from a drawer. “Do you mind?”
“No, but I might drool.”
“I can draw liquid.”
Will chuckles. “Good night, Owen.”
“Good night, Will. You’re safe here.”
He wants to say that it is his job to keep Owen safe, but maybe it should work both ways.
He likes that thought.