Page 117 of Lion’s Den

Outraged, she glared at the assassin. “You promised me that if I helped you, his debt would be cleared. Are you reneging on your promise, Mr. Simpson?”

“I agreed to wipe his debt, and I will. Since my boss isn’t as forgiving as I am, I must let Eddie work off part of the debt to my boss.”

“How magnanimous of you,” she said, sarcasm filling her words.

“I thought so.” Simpson gave another of his henchmen a chin lift. “Show her what’s at stake if she doesn’t cooperate.”

One thug propelled Sedona out of the room and into a corridor. A moment later, he flung open a door and shoved her into the room. Inside, a lamp cast a dim light on two people sitting on the floor, backs propped against the far wall. Eddie Ramirez had his arm around Daisy Cole’s shoulders.

The couple was in terrible shape. Eddie had been beaten. Daisy’s beautiful face was bruised and her upper lip split and swollen.

Sedona ran to Eddie and dropped to her knees beside him. “Eddie!”

He opened only one eye since the other one was swollen shut. “Miss Hart, is Julio okay?”

“He’s in the hospital, getting the best care. He’ll be fine.”

“Mom, Emily?”

She patted his arm lightly. From the appearance of his hand, Sedona feared the thugs had broken some fingers and maybe his hand, too. “Are you okay?”

Dumb question. He so wasn’t okay, but how else could she ask without embarrassing a proud teenage male who desperately wanted to save face in front of his girlfriend?

“I’m fine, or I will be in a few days.”

“Looks like you have a couple of broken fingers.”

“Maybe.”

Sedona turned her attention to his girlfriend. “Hello, Daisy. Do you remember me?”

She nodded, a careful smile curving her lips. “I should ask you that question. My sister hasn’t been in your class for a while.”

“Are you all right? Looks like these jerks hit you a few times.” She glared at the two men, who had the good sense to look uncomfortable and shift their weight back and forth on their feet.

“Just following orders,” the bigger of the two men muttered.

“That doesn’t make the orders right, does it? I’ll bet your mother taught you not to hit women, including teenage girls, didn’t she?”

The skinnier man elbowed his buddy. “I told you beating on a girl was a bad idea, Trey,” he said.

“It was a bad idea, but the boss wanted Eddie to know the consequences of not paying his debts. The beatings prove penalties will affect people he cares about.”

Sedona faced the men. “How much money does Eddie owe your boss?”

“Miss Hart, don’t,” Eddie begged, voice soft.

“Didn’t you know?” Trey asked.

She scowled. “Would I ask if I knew?”

“Why don’t you tell her, kid?” Four-Eyes said. “Confession is good for the soul, ain’t it?”

Color flooded the teenager’s face. “I owe ten thousand dollars.”

Sedona’s mouth gaped. “Are you kidding me? How did that happen?”

He looked as if he would be stubborn and refuse to answer until Daisy nudged him with her elbow and whispered something to him. Eddie closed his eyes a moment, then sighed. He looked at Sedona. “Online gambling. I got a fake identification made and bet part of my money.”