Page 27 of Enter if you Dare: Part One

I take a breath to brace myself; I have not shared this with anyone before now. “My brother’s name is Rowan Calloway. He has been running up debts since he was about twenty. I know of one when he was younger that our father paid off, but once our parents passed away, it was up to me to pay them. The man he owes now, his name is Dennis Hale—but he goes by Steedy. He’s a loan shark, and the money gets borrowed at a rate no one can afford to pay back. When you can’t clear it, they take other things. Last year they took his car, but that wasn’t enough.”

Cipher writes everything down without looking up.

I clear my throat and continue. “The man who took me the other day was Tommy. He was one of Hale’s collectors. He hasn’t reported back to Steedy since then, and now Steedy thinks I have something to do with his disappearance.”

“Did you?” Kayla asks.

“All I remember is Cave standing behind him. Cave hit him, and Tommy fell down. I passed out after that and woke up in the cornfield.”

“I buried him,” Noa says, and tears lace my lashes.

“You killed him?”

Noa shakes his head. “No, but when Cave took me to him, he was no longer breathing. If he was still alive, it was a shallow grave, so he could have dug his way out.”

“Oh no!” I lament. “This is so fucking bad. I’m going to die!”

No one rushes to tell me I am wrong, and I appreciate their honesty even if I hate it.

Kayla refills my coffee without being asked, which I understand is her version of I’ve got you. I wrap both hands around the mug as I try to get my breathing to slow down.

Cave puts his hand over mine. “Mine.”

I sniffle. “Your possessive act won’t save me, Cave.”

“I can run their names. I’ll know by tonight who works under him, and what the liability looks like,” Ares says, and Clay nods.

“And Rowan?” I ask.

“We’ll need to talk to him,” Clay says.

“He won’t talk willingly.”

“He doesn’t have to,” Noa says.

My phone buzzes on the bar and I turn it over. I let it ring for a second because I know what’s coming. “Hello?”

“You’re not here,” my boss snaps.

“I know. I’m sorry, but I had a family emergency.”

“I don’t pay you to have family emergencies. If you can’t be reliable, I’ll find someone who is. You have an hour to get here.”

“Please, I can’t come in today.”

He scoffs. “Then don’t bother coming back.”

The phone is removed from my hand, and Cipher looks down at the screen before putting the phone to his ear. “This is Valli’s attorney. For the record, under the Worker Adjustment and Retaining Notification Act and the applicable federal provisions, terminating an employee without documented cause or adequate notice carries significant liability for businesses operating under the state labor code. I’d recommend that you consider all implications before committing to a course of action.” Cipher then listens for a moment. “Good.”

He ends the call and places my phone back on the bar in front of me.

“Are you actually a lawyer?” Noa asks.

“No, but he doesn’t know that.”

Noa laughs and holds his hand up for a high-five, which Cipher reluctantly returns.

“Thank you,” I whisper, and Cipher nods before going back to his notes.