Page 49 of The Mercenary's Guide to Mishaps and Romance

“Really?” I ask, thrilled as he leads me inside to where the “chief of police” is relaxing in a seat in front of Terry and Eugene with his own ski mask in place.

Then we have Terry, who is strapped down like some man out of a bondage porno, and Eugene, who is either dead or still pretending to sleep. All the while this “chief of police” is kicked back with his feet up, mask on, and watching what looks like a video of a kitten. “I… I don’t think that’s the kind of ‘police’ I was looking for. Ha… Like real police? Anyone? Please? Anywhere?”

“Ellis, this is Daddy Henry, who just arrived and is clearly already bored. Daddy Henry, this is Ellis,” Leland says.

“I’m… rather uncomfortable,” I admit.

“It’s fine, you’ll get used to it,” says “Daddy” Henry.

“Do I have to call you Daddy Henry too? Because… I really just don’t want to.”

“Henry’s preferred,” he replies.

“And why is that man tied up like some dominatrix got a hold of him?” I ask.

“It’s just…” Cassel starts, looking a little embarrassed. “He was really wiggly, so I just… kept going and then he looked like that. It’s fine. Just don’t worry about it.”

I eye Terry and find that both of us aren’t quite so sure how fine it is. Then there’s Eugene.

“Is he dead or pretending to be sleeping?” I ask.

“I think he believes he’s fooling others. It’s like when a little kid hides behind the curtain and thinks no one can see him,” Cassel says as he kicks Eugene’s chair.

“So what’d you guys find out?” Tavish asks.

“A whole lot of nothing, honestly,” the final masked man responds. This must be Leland’s husband. “These two seem to know very little about the whole thing. They could be lying, of course.”

“I have my crew coming to collect them,” Leland says.

“What the fuck’s that mean?” Terry asks, looking rather alarmed.

Leland gives him a manic grin. “You’ll find out.”

I walk up to Terry and take a deep breath. “Do you know anything about my father? Like what he was involved in? Or why this Arthur guy wants him so badly? Please? I really just want some answers. I would really appreciate it.”

“I don’t know shit,” Terry snarls at me.

I have absolutely no idea why or how I thought that would work.

Eugene cracks an eye open before both shoot open wide when he realizes I’m looking at him.

“You?” I ask. “Please? I just… please?”

He grimaces. “I… I don’t know anything, man.”

“Please? It doesn’t sound like they’re going to let you go if you don’t talk,” I say. “Don’t you want to ask that lady out on a date? You’ll never be able to see her again if you don’t help.”

Eugene bites his lip. “I… I’m really being honest when I say that I don’t know much. But I do know that Arthur is a pretty influential man. He’s made his money through mostly legal means, but something’s going on that just… suddenly made him become fixated on your father. It was like… a month or so ago, he just started acting frenzied. All he could think about was trying to find you and your family. So I’m not sure if something came up, or what happened that started it. I really, honestly don’t know anything more, man. I’m at the lowest end of this mess. Maybe his contact over here would know more? He’s the only guy Arthur frequently talks to, and from the way he speaks tohim, he seems to know something. He’s the guy who runs the business while Arthur’s off spending the money.”

“Thank you,” I say. “Thank you so much. I just want to keep my family safe.”

“Can I go free now?”

“Maybe. Maybe not,” Leland answers. “We’ll decide later. But for now, I think we need to get out of here before backup comes.”

We follow him out as a van pulls up. Leland simply nods at the guy who gets out, and I watch as a handful of men wander off toward the building.

Like… what the fuck are they doing? Are they just going to murder them and carry their bodies off? What the hell is this? Leland acted like they might let them go, so maybe they’re holding them until all of this is fixed? Maybe they’re taking them to jail… yes… that one. Let’s pretend it’s that one.

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