Burning Desire

Chapter 8

Hale

It's been more than an hour and Sky's not back yet. "How long does it take to make a damn pizza," I mumble as the ringing sound once again filled my ear. I frowned when the call went to voicemail. It's not like Sky to ignore calls. I shrugged and fell back on the couch. He must have been busy. Maybe he's driving. My eyes grew heavier as I stared at the TV screen. Maybe I could just have a quick nap before dinner.

I open my eyes to the obnoxious ringing sound coming from the phone on my chest. My eyes struggle to adjust to the total darkness of the apartment. It was still light enough outside before I fell asleep that I hadn't turned on any lights. "Hello," I answer the phone groggily. Where the hell was Sky?

"Hale." The ice cold voice filled me with terror. I'd told him that I wasn't going to sell his product anymore. I'd told him to leave me alone.

"Larry, I told you to stop calling me. I'm done working for you." I started walking through the apartment, hoping to find Sky safely tucked underneath the covers of his bed. I knew it was a pipe dream. He would have woken me the moment he got home.

"No, believe me, Hale. You're gonna want to hear me out on this one," Larry said.

"Hale?" Sky's voice cracked over the phone and my heart stopped. No. This couldn't be happening. Not Sky.

"I swear to God, Larry, if you so much as-"

"Oh, no, no, no. Don't be like that, Hale. We had a deal. You work off your debt and I don't harm pretty boy over here. You didn't stick to your side of our little bargain. Now, I'm a man of my word. I swore to make him hurt if you dubblecrossed me, boy."

"No, wait!" I was fighting back tears at the thought of Sky in that disgusting man's hands. "I'll do it. I'll come back. I'll work for you again." My shoulders slumped. Surely I could continue until my father's debt was paid off. I would do anything if it would save Sky.

Larry's laughter trickled over the line. "If you think it's going to be that easy, Hale, then you must not know me very well. I can't just let my employees run about willy nilly. I can't let your actions go unpunished. If I did, what kind of message would I be sending to the rest of my workers?"

My gut twisted as I thought of what they could do to Sky. This was all my fault. If anything happened to him, I would be the one to blame. I gave up my fight and tears started rolling down my cheeks. I fought to keep my voice steady even as trepidation roiled in my gut. "What kind of punishment do you have in mind?"

"It's simple really. You see, the Bossman has many areas all over the world that he covers. He wants someone reliable to run his dealings elsewhere." My head started spinning at his words. Surely he wouldn't want me to run it. I'd already betrayed him once. Larry seemed to read my mind with his next words, "There is no man more trustworthy than one who has a dagger hung over his head."

And there is was. They were going to use Sky's life as incentive. Bile rose in my throat. I didn't even have to consider it. The other option was unthinkable. "Alright. I'll do it. Just let Sky go."

"Good, good. You're a good boy, Hale." My mind was already spinning through all my options.

I barely heard Larry rattle off an address before the line went dead. I lowered the phone from my ear and stared at it without really seeing it. Sky was out there. He was scared and probably injured, but at least he was alive.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. I grew up on the wrong side of the law. My father taught me that you made your own justice in this world. For so long, I'd believed him, too. But Sky was right.  My father did some shady stuff.  It was my choice to take over where he left off instead of running straight to the police. At the time, I'd thought it was the better choice. The safer one. The one that wouldn't get me thrown in jail. Sky had tried countless times over the last few weeks to convince me to rethink my stance. He'd researched and asked around and had finally come to the conclusion that if I turned in the drug ring, I'd probably not get thrown in jail.