“Don’t fucking move.”
Twenty-Five
Lying on his back in the dark apartment, the man’s weight holding him in place and the barrel of a gun pressing against the side of his head, Erik took a moment to consider his options.
He quickly realized he had none.
Erik whispered, “Okay.”
The man didn’t move at first, keeping the barrel pressed against the side of Erik’s head. Erik was faintly aware of soft footsteps somewhere else in the apartment, which meant the man wasn’t alone. At least one other intruder. Maybe more.
The deep voice whispered again.
“Stay flat on the floor. Move a muscle, and I’ll shoot you in the face.”
Erik said nothing.
The man waited a beat, and then the heavy weight pressing Erik to the floor eased away as the man stood up.
Erik stayed where he was, staring at the dark ceiling. Wondering if the other intruder had a weapon. Wondering what the chances were he could manage to commandeer one of those weapons without getting shot.
The deep voice said, “Go ahead.”
At first, Erik wasn’t sure what to do—was the man speaking to him?—but then he heard the soft footsteps behind him again and a light came on.
It was a sort of a lamp with a blue glow, enough to illuminate the entire apartment with subtle light. Erik took in the man who had pressed the gun to his head—he was big, just as Erik had suspected, and he had a full beard, the kind that made Erik peg the man for a SEAL.
Shifting his eyes up, he saw the other man was tall but thinner. This man regarded him curiously. He looked to have a phone in his hand, but no weapon.
The SEAL leaned over Erik, keeping his gun trained on him. Now with the soft light, Erik noted the gun was an FNX-45 with a threaded barrel.
The man said, “Who the hell are you?”
Erik wet his lips but said nothing.
“We don’t have time for this shit. You have a wallet?”
Erik nodded, just once.
“Give me your wallet.”
For a crazy moment, Erik wondered if he was being mugged. If these two men were here to rob the place. Alden was a small town that got a few B&Es during the year, but those were mostly from stupid kids who didn’t know any better.
The man said, “I’m not going to ask you again.”
Erik whispered, “My left rear pants pocket.”
“Go ahead and pull it out. Slowly.”
Erik did, slipping his leather wallet from his pocket. Besides his driver’s license and a debit card and a couple bucks of cash, there wasn’t anything else in there.
The man didn’t even look inside the wallet and instead tossed it to the other man. The other man opened the wallet and pulled out Erik’s DL. At first, Erik wasn’t sure what this man was doing before he saw the man hold his cell phone over the DL and snap a picture.
“What the hell are you doing?”
The SEAL said, “Background check.”
Erik started to sit up, but the SEAL stepped forward and aimed the gun at his face.
“Let’s not do anything stupid, okay, chief?”
Erik rested his head back on the carpet. Braced himself, took another deep breath. This wasn’t how he wanted to die. Not by the hands of these assholes.
The SEAL said, “Well?”
He wasn’t talking to Erik. The other man stepped forward and handed him the phone. The SEAL scanned the screen before he nodded and cut his gaze at Erik on the floor.
“Erik Johnson. Was raised in foster care. Entered the Marines at eighteen, stayed for five years and was honorably discharged. Now works as a Colton County sheriff’s deputy in Bumfuck, Texas.”
The man paused, and grinned down at Erik.
“It doesn’t say Bumfuck, but let’s be honest here, this town is pretty shitty.”
Erik said, “Who the hell are you?”
The man ignored him.
“Deputy Johnson, don’t you realize you’re trespassing?”
“Fuck you. You’re trespassing.”
The SEAL glanced again at the phone.
“Nothing here about unoriginal comebacks, but not every background check is complete.”
The SEAL handed the phone back to the other man, then crouched down beside Erik. He was close enough that if Erik tried anything the man could squeeze the trigger and place a bullet in Erik’s head before Erik moved a muscle.
“What brings you here tonight, Deputy Johnson?”
Erik felt his jaw tighten.
“Fuck you.”
“Didn’t you see the notice on the door? Law enforcement forbids anybody to enter, which includes neighbors. And don’t go telling me it’s because you’re law enforcement, too. I read that you were suspended today. What’s up with that?”
A chill shot through Erik’s veins. He wasn’t surprised basic information was so easily accessible to these men, but how would they know about his suspension as it had happened just that afternoon?
When Erik didn’t answer, the man said, “My associate and I don’t have all night.”
Erik wet his lips again. For a moment he didn’t think he’d have a voice, but then he managed to speak.
“I was here this morning.”
“You were where?”
“In this apartment.”
“Why were you in this apartment?”
“I was … in bed with her.”
In the soft light, Erik thought he saw something pass across the man’s face.
The man said, “Go on.”
“There isn’t much else to say. The police raided the apartment. Took her into custody. Because I was here, they questioned me, too, and because of what she did, they suspended me.”
Erik expected the man to ask more about what Jen or Holly or whatever her name was had done, but he didn’t. He glanced once at the thin man and then flicked his eyes back down at Erik.
“Sucks to be you, doesn’t it?”
Erik no longer had the sense that his life was in danger. Whatever these men were doing was shady, but he didn’t think they would kill him.
“Can I sit up?”
The man took a step back but kept the FNX-45 trained on him.
“Be my guest.”
Erik sat up, slowly, and shifted so that his back was against the wall. He
