But he wouldn’t be.
Hell, no.
He intended to be a distant memory before the ice even started melting in that vodka.
Tyler stepped into the hallway and took one step toward the bathrooms before scampering on his tippy-toes down the hall to the back door. Holding his breath, he tried the knob.
Please, please, please—
It turned.
Thank you, Jesus.
He cracked open the door, slipped outside onto a wooden deck and hurried down the steps.
Heart ping-ponging inside his chest, Tyler turned the corner of the building and entered the alley between Jay’s Joint and a donut shop. His car was parked out front. It was a Volvo. He’d kept the car his parents had handed down to him.
How mature was that?
He was capable of making a smart decision. He didn’t buy the Maserati he’d wanted so badly.
All good decisions from now on.
I’ll never put myself in this position again.
No more playing poker with the big dogs.
No gambling. No drugs…except a little weed. No drinking past midnight except really massive parties…
He glanced up and saw the lit window where the game was playing on the second floor of Jay’s. He hugged the building a little tighter.
He already felt better. He could see his trusty Volvo on the street. Tomorrow would be a new day.
First, he had to pay off his debts. Alain was a reasonable guy. He had to be. The people at his poker games were famous. He couldn’t just knock them off or break their knees. There would be press. Paparazzi and whatnot.
Tonight he’d go home and get a good night’s sleep. Then tomorrow, he’d make arrangements to repay Alain—
“Where you going, Tyler?”
Dez appeared so suddenly in front of him, Tyler stumbled backwards as if she’d pushed him.
Quick. Answer her.
“Hey, uh—hey, Dez. I’m, you know, stretching my legs a little.”
He peered past her, looking for the big guy or the blue-eyed corpse man. They were nowhere to be seen. He released a jagged breath. That had to be a good sign. Little Dez wasn’t going to rough him up.
Dez licked the corner of her mouth. “You need to settle up before you go. You know that, right?”
She clenched a fist and released it. In her sleeveless top, by the light of the street lamp, Tyler saw the muscles in her arm bulge and relax.
Dez is ripped. How did I not notice that before?
“What?” He jerked back his neck, expression pinched, as if she’d wounded him. “Of course I know I have to settle, wait, you didn’t think I was trying to sneak out, did you?” He laughed until Dez’s stare made him feel like a giggling idiot. His chuckles grew softer and farther in between until they died.
Dez pulled something from her boot. Tyler didn’t know what it was until she flicked her wrist and a small black, cylindrical object telescoped into a baton.
He put out both hands, fingers up, palms facing Dez. “Whoa. Easy. You don’t have to do anything like that.”
“I’m afraid it’s looking like I do.”
“Seriously? Look, yes, I may have played a little too deep tonight—”
“And last night.”
“And last night. And no, I’ll be honest with you…I don’t have what I owe on me. But I just signed a multi-million dollar deal. You know I’m good for it.”
She took a step forward. “I don’t know you at all.”
He clapped his palms together in mea culpa. “Easy, Dez. Stop. Please. You can’t mess me up. I’m due on set in a couple of days.”
“Not my problem.”
“Well it kind of is. If I lose my part, I’ll never get the money to pay you back.”
Dez made a show of scratching her chin, pretending to be deep in thought. She came to a conclusion. “Nope. Still your problem.”
He smiled to demonstrate he’d appreciated her little pantomime.
Everyone thinks they’re an actor in Los Angeles.
A thought crossed his mind and he pointed at her. “The studio. Don’t forget them. The studio will be pissed if you mess me up right before production starts.”
Dez cocked her head. “Will they? Are you saying it’ll be hard for them to find another fresh young face in Hollywood willing to play a superhero for millions of dollars?”
“I—” A different kind of fear washed through Tyler’s nervous system. Now even Dez and her baton didn’t seem so scary. What she’d said about his part—that was the thing of nightmares.
What if the studio replaces me?
Dez took another step forward.
Tyler felt the panic rising in his chest. “Dez, look, we can work this out. I can get you the money. Next week—”
Dez’s chin raised, ever so slightly.
For a second Tyler thought he’d captured her attention, but his relief proved short-lived.
She’s not looking at me.
She was looking past him, over his shoulder…
Tyler heard the dirt crunch behind him.
Oh no.
Something struck the back of his skull.
He saw sparkles—like a burst of fireworks—and then, nothing.
~~~
Fiona watched as Dez and the large man with webs on his pudgy arms walked by carrying the boy, Tyler, between them. They humped him to a car, opened the trunk, and threw him inside.
Not so good at poker, that one.
The trunk slammed shut. Dez nodded to Fiona. Fiona nodded back.
Rune stood beside Fiona, sucking his canine tooth with his tongue.
“So you’re saying it’s that easy?” he asked, watching the car with Tyler inside roar away.
Fiona nodded. “Yep. I’m telling you. Take a walk around tomorrow. You’ll feel the weakness. The desperation is almost choking. Everyone in this town is begging for someone to tempt them into something. Anything.”
“So I should stay following my immediate business?”
“If you like. With the two of us here, anything is possible.
