CHAPTER THREE

Weeks went by, and Lance was happy he didn’t have to see Ragnar again. He honestly hoped he never would. He liked life without being involved with a mafia boss.

Things slowly went back to normal. Lance stayed busy with college and basketball. Everyone still saw him as the star player. He was still dating Ylva too. He did love her, but a part of him also knew staying with her meant staying safe from her scary father.

Everything was fine.

Until one day it wasn’t.

One afternoon, Lance came home earlier than usual. He thought he would walk in and see his little sister Tamera watching TV or maybe fighting with the babysitter like always.

But that’s not what he saw.

The moment he opened the door, his heart dropped.

The babysitter was lying on the floor, not moving. The whole apartment was a mess. Chairs were flipped, the table was broken, things were smashed everywhere.

And Tamera was gone.

“Tam?” he called out, panic already rising in his chest. “Can you hear me baby girl?"

No answer.

He rushed over to the babysitter and knelt beside her. For a second he thought the worst, but then he saw she was still breathing. Relief hit him, but only a little.

He gently shook her.

“Hey, wake up. Please wake up,” he said.

Her eyes slowly opened.

“What happened?” Lance asked fast. “Where’s Tamera, can you walk?”

She looked confused and scared.

“Men… they had guns… they took her,” she whispered.

Before Lance could ask anything else, she passed out again.

That was all he needed to hear.

Anger filled his whole body, anger he couldn't hold back.

“Loan sharks,” he muttered.

He already knew it had to be them.

Years ago, his dad had borrowed a huge amount of money to save his business. The business still failed, and his dad died not long after. But the debt stayed. It fell on Lance.

For five years, Lance worked nonstop trying to pay it off. Part-time jobs, side jobs, anything he could find. And still, he wasn’t even close to finishing, the amount was too much especially for an undergraduate who was still trying to figure out his life.

But he had paid them this month. He always paid.

So why take Tamera?

He made sure the babysitter was okay, laid her properly on the couch, then stormed out of the apartment.

He knew where he had to go.

The warehouse.

The place he knew they always would be after harassing people who owed them even a cent.

As he got closer, his anger started turning into fear. But he forced himself to keep walking.

When he reached the big metal doors, he took a deep breath and pushed them open.

That was the first stupid choice he made.

Inside were a bunch of men. Big, rough-looking men. Most of them had guns. All of them looked dangerous.

Every single one turned to stare at him with scarred faces or eyes.

Guns were pointed his way.

Lance quickly raised his hands.

“I’m not here to fight,” he said.

One big man walked up and pressed a gun against his chest.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“My name’s Lance,” he answered. “I need to talk to your boss.”

The man laughed and looked like he was about to pull the trigger.

But then someone else stopped him.

Another man stepped forward. He was shorter and covered in tattoos.

Lance recognized him. He was the one who always came around collecting money.

“Where is my sister?” Lance asked angrily.

The man crossed his arms. “Where’s my money?”

“I paid you this month, you had no right to take my sister she's a child”

The man laughed.

“And you think that’s enough?” he said. “You’ve owed us for years. You haven’t even paid half.”

“That wasn’t the deal,” Lance snapped.

The gun pressed harder into his chest.

The man stepped closer.

“Our rules are simple,” he said. “If you can’t pay, we take something valuable.”

He smirked.

“So we took your sister.”

Lance froze.

“What?”

“A young heart sells for a lot, especially that of a girl,” the man said calmly.

Lance grabbed him by the shirt.

“You sick bastard, if you touch her I'll kill you!”

The man didn’t even look scared.

“You have three days,” he said. “Bring the money, or she gets sold. Or killed. Your choice.”

Lance slowly let go.

Three days, that was too little time to do anything, was that man crazy?

“You know I don’t have that kind of money,” Lance said quietly.

“Not my problem,” the man replied. “Find it. Steal it. We don’t care. Just bring it.”

Lance left the warehouse feeling numb.

His mind was full of Tamera. Her smile. Her laugh. The way she always followed him around and held his hand when she wanted to show him one of her questionable work of arts.

When he got home, the babysitter was still asleep on the couch, she was probably passed out from whatever happened and would wake up after sometime, he didn't bother her.

Lance went to his room and sat on the bed.

He felt empty.

He thought about who he could ask for help, but every option felt wrong. He didn’t want to drag anyone else into this mess.

He picked up his phone and stared at Ylva’s name.

For a moment, he wanted to call her.

But he didn’t.

He knew she would help him. She would jump in without thinking.

And that was exactly why he couldn’t tell her.

“I’ll save you, Tam,” he whispered.

“No matter what.”

He closed his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Ylva… but after this, I can’t be with you anymore.”

He needed to escape this men, this life, even if he meant leaving the only girl he loves, which hurt him so much to think about.

All he had to do was get a million dollars in three days.

And he had absolutely no idea how.