Page 14 of The Devil's Dilemma

“What’s wrong, Austin? You’re distracted.” It wasn’t the first time she’d asked, but what could I tell her?

That I was about to go swindle the biggest casino around and hoped it didn’t all go to shit. Not to mention, I could be leaving my grandpa with nothing.

Things were getting out of hand, and the feeling of being trapped in a situation I couldn’t escape from grew stronger and stronger. But I’d committed to do the job. I had no idea where Joel sat in all this, but if I dropped out, I could be upsetting the wrong people.

Out of the frying pan into the fire, or maybe it was the jaws of hell.

Only time would tell. Right now, I had a shift to finish. I smiled at the next customer and tried to put the worrying thoughts from my mind.

After closing, Amber and I sat with a cold drink, resting our legs. Patrick was off in his office, putting the takings in the safe. Thankfully, he left us alone.

“What’s going on with you? I’ve never seen you like this. Is Stan okay?”

For now, yes. A deep sense of foreboding settled in my chest.

“He’s fine. Look.” I paused, swirling the ice in my glass, “if anything ever happened to me, would you look after him until I get back?”

“What the fuck, Austin? You’re scaring me.”

“Everything’s fine. I just worry what’ll happen to him if I’m not around.”

“It’s those guys you hang with, isn’t it? You know they’re trouble. What are you mixed up in?”

“Nothing, I swear. I could get knocked down by a bus tomorrow, and then where would he be?”

She didn’t look convinced, and for a split second, I regretted mentioning it to her.

She reached across the table and took my hand. “I don’t know what you’ve got yourself into, but take care of yourself, please. You’re my best friend.”

“And you’re mine. Just… look after him, okay?”

We said no more about it, but I could tell my words had shaken her, and when we said good night, she looked at me with tear-filled eyes.

I wiped a tear with my thumb and drew her in for a hug.

“It’s going to be fine. I promise.”

“If only I believed you.” And with that, she retreated into the darkness of the night.

If only I believed me too.

Chapter four

Austin

The next couple ofdays, I spent on a knife’s edge. I heard nothing from Joel, yet somehow I managed to get through each day.

I’d confronted Grandpa about the store again, but he’d smiled and sipped his tea. Frustrating old goat.

I carried the chip with me everywhere, even though I was not entirely sure what I expected it to do.

What had the man said? Use it for protection or assurance? I didn’t think I needed protection, but maybe an assurance that I wouldn’t be detected. That I’d be able to fly under the radar, go unnoticed.

As that thought settled in my mind, subtle changes began to happen. I’d be ignored in a line of people. Not that unusual, but when you were at the front of a queue, and they addressed the person behind you, not once but twice, that was weird.

The moment I spoke up, a look of surprise would appear on their faces, and they would mutter an apology, saying they hadn’t seen me. Maybe there was something to this after all.

I tested out my theory, starting small with some petty shoplifting, stealing from right beneath their noses.

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