Secrets to Keep (Phan)

Chapter Four

I could feel my smile drop, my already pale face draining color. Thunderous footsteps could be heard from upstairs as Wesley stormed his way down to the basement, and Dan's small frame began to tremble in my arms. As much as I wanted to hold him, to tell him I would protect him, I knew that the sight would only piss Wesley off even more. So instead, I gave him a swift peck on the forehead, and shoved him behind me just as the door burst open, sending pieces of the door-knob to go scattering across the floor. I stood facing an enraged man, his dark brown hair tousled and red face seething with rage. Wesley's greyish eyes looked absolutely murderous, and he obviously planned to carry out the orders made earlier himself.

"Move Lester." he muttered through clenched teeth, eyes focused on Dan who was most likely still visable from behind me.

"Tell me what happened first." I argued, my voice surprisingly brave considering I was facing a man who could easily overpower me. Sure I was a bit taller, but Wesley had the build of a wrestler, with extremely broad shoulders, and a wider frame, all covered in muscle that rippled under his skin when he moved.

"I don't take orders from you." he retorted with a sneer, still glaring daggers at Dan.

"Whatever he did couldn't have been that bad. He shouldn't even be involved in this, it was his parent's mistake, not his." I replied, still standing my ground.

"Not that bad?' Wesley said through an angry laugh, "The little shit led us straight into a trap!"

"What?" I asked, shock present in my voice. Had Dan really lied to me about not knowing anything? That doesn't seem like something he would do, or does it?

"Yeah. I sent some people to Stockport yesterday to get some info from the locals. Then not five minutes ago I get a call from Matt in prison!" Wesley raged, pacing the floor now in attempts to control his anger. "Three of our guys are dead Phil." he added, turning to look at me with misty eyes.

"I-I don't get it... Were they not there?" I asked, my brain trying to shift the pieces and make it all make sense.

"Oh they were there alright... along with about six other men with guns!" he replied, voice raising again and making Dan let out a tiny whimper from behind me. "Apparently one of the neighbors called the cops." he added angrily. "You knew there would be guys there didn't you ya little fucker?!" Wesley shouted, now speaking directly to Dan who was letting out whimpers as a struggled response.

"I-I swear I d-didn't know." he mumbled from behind me, trying to control his trembling voice. I wanted to believe him, I really did, but I wasn't sure if I could. I needed to think fast, or Dan would die, and that certainly wasn't what I wanted, liar or not. An idea clicked in my head, it certainly wasn't a very good one but it was all that I really had.

"Wes, you can't kill him now... if he doesn't show up to school the week after what happened in Stockport, you know exactly who they'll turn to." I explained, trying my best to use reasoning to delay whatever lay in store for Dan. "I'm sure they'll figure out pretty quickly what Matt and whoever else is in there with him does. Without any leads they can't come after you, but a boy goes missing after his mom got involved with us, and they'll be all over this place with warrants." I added, starting to see some understanding rest itself between the angry lines in Wesley's face. His gaze switched from me to Dan, as he was mentally weighing his options, deciding if revenge was really worth going to prison over. He didn't appear to be very satisfied with his conclusion.

"You're probably right, but that doesn't mean it's completely off the table. I'll contact the boss, and there'll probably be some sort of meeting tonight." he huffed in defeat, and I could hear Dan sigh in relief from behind me. Wesley got out his crappy disposal phone and started to dial, walking out of the room and not even bothering to shut the broken door.