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“I think I’ll take this with me, just as an insurance policy. When I come back, you better have my money.” The or else is left off, but I know it’s there.
He walks out almost as silently as he walked in, and I collapse. My legs give out, fear and hysteria overtaking my body until I’m shaking on the floor like a discarded leaf.
With my hands uncooperative and trembling, I pick up my cell and call Warren.
“I need you at the store. Right now.”
I don’t realize I’m in tears until he arrives mere minutes later, a winded sound coming from him when he asks what’s wrong.
“We’re not doing this anymore. This thing where you hide and try to handle everything on your own. Put up barricades, protest, I don’t care. I’ll mow them all down. You’re done going at it alone.”
Warren’s voice shakes with authority and fear as he paces the short length behind his desk.
Leona, Alana, and Warren pulled me into his office at Hope Pizza after they locked up Lily. I was in such shock that I could barely walk, and they guided me through the back door and into a chair before making sure I drank some water. After that, I recounted the entire story to them, trying to detach myself from how scared out of my mind I was with that thin, tall man almost assaulting me.
“You can’t fix everything,” I tell him, and he sends me a glare so lethal that I think it might melt my face off.
“I swear, August, if you don’t cut this bullshit, I’m going to?—”
“You’ll what?” My shock and fear are wearing off, and the anger is coming in. I’m just directing it at the wrong person. “He came after me! What good is you guys getting involved going to do?”
“If you hadn’t realized, this family pretty much runs this town!” Warren throws his hands up. “I don’t say that lightly, you know that, but give us a little more credit, Auggy. We have influence. We have people we can call to figure this out. And I have a hell of a lot of money to get you out of anything. So just stop it!”
This is Warren’s last straw currently breaking, and I’m nervous, as I’ve never seen him so pushed over the edge.
“Babe, calm down.” Alana soothes him as she hugs him around the middle.
He relaxes just a smidge, leaning into his wife. “I’m sorry. I just … August, if anything ever happened to you …”
I nod, tears in my eyes, and he detaches from Alana to walk toward me.
“What is going on?” Evan walks into Warren’s office. “I can hear you yelling from the kitchen, and that’s not normal. We’ve got customers out there.”
He doesn’t round the corner fully because when he does and can finally see me sitting in the chair, his face goes white as a sheet.
“What the hell happened?” He rushes to me, taking me in his arms for everyone in the room to see before Warren can hold me.
“Someone came into Lily and threatened her.” Alana watches closely for his reaction.
“Was this about the gambling debt?” He takes my face in his hands and wipes away an errant tear.
Without thinking, because all I want is his comfort soaking into me, I bury my face in his neck. For a moment, the world vanishes, and a sense of calm flows over me.
“You knew about the debt?! And didn’t mention it to me? What the fuck, Evan?” Warren curses, a rare occurrence for him.
But Evan ignores him, still clutching me to him as he barks commands.
“Out. Get everyone out. The restaurant is closed.”
“What? No. You don’t need to—” Quickly, I rear back, trying to look into his eyes.
“You are scared out of your mind, and someone threatened you. I’m not going back into the kitchen to make people their goddamn dinner. If you don’t think this is way more important to me, then you’re delusional.” Evan looks me straight in the eye but speaks to his mother. “Tell everyone we’re sorry, but there has been a family emergency, and the restaurant is closing. All bills are comped, and they can come back for a free pizza on us sometime this week.”
The authority in his voice and to-the-point direction are filling the black hole inside me with a little bit of hope. He’ll figure this out for me. I can count on him.
“Good thinking, sweetheart.” Leona passes him, laying a hand on his shoulder, and the look of pride in her eyes is so sweet I could cry some more.
Once she’s out of the office, Evan guides me to a chair, sits first, and pulls me onto his lap.
