4

The two weeks went by very slowly, although Susan was pretty sure that wasn't the case. She just felt that way because she'd spent the days in a perpetual state of worry and agitation. So far, she didn't have any updates as Samuel was doing everything in his power to keep her out of the loop. He didn't want her involved so he refused to tell her anything, and refused to let her visit him again.

Susan was almost tempted to get into her car and drive to his house like she'd done the last time, but Samuel had warned her against doing that too, and frankly, she didn't really have the guts to do it as she wasn't over her encounter with the two men she simply knew as Leo and Asher.

After one week, curiosity got the best of her, and she began asking questions and doing some research. On the internet, she didn't really get the information she wanted, although she found out his full name. Leonard Spencer.

All she could find was his name and occupation as “business owner.” Susan rolled her eyes at that piece of information. Business owner indeed, she scoffed. There were articles from blogs about him, but all of them were basically rumors with no tangible proof to back them up. This Leo Spencer obviously had connections, just as Samuel had told her and he left no trail.

She resorted to asking questions about him, and finally, she got something…A llittle detail about the mighty Leo Spencer. Hannah, a colleague at the office, was a very chatty lady, and was more than ready to spill everything she knew about gang boss, Leo Spencer. She mentioned that she'd seen him once at a party, and then she went on for a full minute talking about how attractive he was. A fact that Susan had already registered but refused to think about.

But Hannah also mentioned that Leo Spencer owned a nightclub and usually spent some of his nights there. That little detail stuck with Susan, but she kept it to herself. She didn't tell Samuel what she'd found out because she'd promised to stay away from the whole thing, but was he really expecting her to keep such a ridiculous promise and not do anything to help him?

So she waited, and at the end of the two weeks she called her brother. Panic set in when she couldn't reach him although his phone continued to ring. Very early the next morning, Susan was in her car, driving to Samuel's house without giving a shit about the speed limit. The entire way she hoped and prayed that he was alright, and then she blamed herself for listening to him and doing nothing. Oh God, if anything had happened, she….

She came to a stop and hurried out of her car. When she noticed his car was missing from the driveway, she raced to the front door. Without knocking, she tried the door. When it didn't bulge, she searched the top of the lamp where he usually kept his spare key, and found nothing. Unable to hold back anymore, she slammed her hands on the door repeatedly.

“Sam! Sam, are you in there?” she yelled, banging on the door the entire time that she didn't hear the door being unlocked and opened from within. The door opened, and she almost fell through it.

Susan fought to steady herself. When she looked up, her brother was standing in front of her, dressed in his robe. Susan flung her arms around him in relief. He moaned in pain and she let him go and backed away. Only then did she see the black eye, cuts and bruises on his face. She held back her scream because she didn't want to startle him, but she couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her eyes.

First she helped him to the couch and made him sit, then she hurried to the kitchen to get some warm water and a cloth. When she returned and gently pressed the warm cloth to his wounds, he flinched.

“We need to get you to the hospital,” she said softly.

Samuel shook his head, “It's just bruises. I'll be better in a day or two,”

Stubborn Sam, Susan thought. She knew he was going to say that. “He did this to you, didn't he?” she asked.

Samuel nodded, “Yeah, they took my car away too. Asher said Leo will have it returned when I pay up,”

“That's it,” Susan said and wiped her cheek with her free hand, “I don't care what you say anymore, Sam. I'm going to the cops. No one should be able to get away with doing something like this,”

“Leo does,” Samuel told her, “Believe me, Susan. It will only make things worse. Besides, I had it coming, but I'm working on something. Once I'm able to pay up, I'll get my car back,”

Susan stood angrily and slammed the towel into the bowl, “Oh really? And you trust the man who did this to you to return what he took from you,”

“Leo keeps his word,”

Susan scoffed, “Oh sure he does. He threatened to hurt you if you didn't return his money in two weeks and sure enough, he did. Of course he keeps his word. I see why you have such faith in him,” she added sarcastically. “And what exactly are you ‘working on’ this time around? Are you going to borrow money from yet another mob boss or are you going to make another bad investment?”

There was silence between them for a long moment, and Susan felt horrible, “I'm sorry,” she told him, “But I'm just worried for you, Sam. See what he did to you. What is he going to do next time when he comes and you still don't have his money?”

“I can handle myself,” Samuel said, and although Susan believed him, she also believed that he needed her help, whether he wanted it or not. He was going to accept it, she'd have to go through with her plans without him.

Slowly, she began to tend to his wounds again, but at that moment, she made up her mind. She couldn't go to the police, and she had no means of helping her brother raise that money he owed, but she had an idea, an idea that would probably change her life forever, but she was involved now and there was no going back.