Page 13 of The Devil's Deal

The bakery is only a few blocks away from home, so I can always go back and get my brothers and come back with them.

Once I arrive at the shop, I find the closed sign on the door.

What the hell?

This makes no sense.

“Dad?” I knock on the door. “It’s Dom, where are you?”

I knock harder, but there’s no answer and the lights are off.

“Hey, buddy,” Gerard calls as he walks out of the candy shop he owns next door.

“Have you seen my dad?” I ask, my voice strained.

“No, I…ah…” He scratches his gray hair. “I actually haven’t seen him all day.”

“Okay, thanks.” I start walking away, unsure where else to go, before the panic sets in. “If you see him, tell him I’m looking for him.”

“Is everything okay?”

“I don’t know. I hope so.”

Then I run out of there, looking for him at the bank, the grocery store, the supermarket. But he’s nowhere. I dial Chiara’s mom’s phone, but she doesn’t answer either.

Deciding to walk back home and wait there a while, I take the long way, hoping to run into them. I make it a block before I pass an abandoned warehouse some kids from school sometimes hang out in.

There’s a single black car parked outside. It’s so shiny, I decide to check it out. When I pass the entrance to the warehouse, I hear voices coming from inside. They seem a little distant, so I don’t know what the man is saying.

My pulse speeds up, and instead of running away, my feet start moving inside.

Who can that be?

I sneak in, passing a dripping pipe, my sneakers not making any noise as I hide behind a partial wall beside the entrance. It’s a little dark in here and hard to make out faces, but when I peer around, I find four men.

A whimpering sound comes out of nowhere, like that of a kid.

I peek my head out a bit more and that’s when I see them: a little boy and a man, both on their knees. I can make out their shape and size from where I am.

My legs grow stiff, my body trembling.

What kind of weird shit is happening here?

A man lights a flashlight, illuminating his face, and when I see it clearly, I gasp.

Out loud.

Chiara’s dad’s head jerks in my direction.

“You hear something?” he asks the others.

My heart beats so loud, my chest and throat hurt, the panic taking over my entire body. If he finds me here, he’ll kill me.

He’s dangerous. That’s what Dad always says. My chest flies up and down, and even the hand resting against my beating heart can’t quiet the noise in my head.

“It’s that damn pipe, I’m tellin’ you,” another man says. “Fuckin’ annoyin’.”

Her dad nods and turns back to the two people on the ground, their arms tied behind their backs.

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