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2026-03-22 00:37:53
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THE THIRTY-DAY GAMBLE 40
"Wake up, you bastard! Wake up!"I slapped him. Hard. His head snapped to the side, but his eyes stayed rolled back, showing only the whites. A thin line of pink foam bubbled at the corner of his mouth."Is he dead?" Nathaniel’s voice was a jagged glass crawl from the dirt. He was clutching his stomach, his face a purple mess of swelling and leaked blood. "Tell me he's dead, Benji. We can leave. We can just go.""Shut up, Nate." I didn't look at him. I pressed my ear to Jonathan’s chest.Thud. Pause. Thud-thud. Skip.His heart was an engine failing in the cold. The double dose of Loyalty was a death sentence."We have to call the cops," Nathaniel rasped. He started to crawl toward his phone, which lay cracked on the concrete. "They’ll come. They’ll see he’s the one who brought the drugs. They'll see—""They’ll see everything, Nathaniel." I stood up. My legs felt like they were made of water, but my head was a block of dry ice. "They’ll see the stalker software on his phone. They’ll se
THE THIRTY-DAY GAMBLE 39
"One is a sugar pill. The other is a hit of Loyalty so pure your heart will pop like a balloon."Nathaniel's fingers trembled as he set the two identical white discs on the scarred wooden table. The warehouse floor was cold. Silent. The 'Wolves' stood in a semi-circle of shadows, their breath visible in the damp air."You’re insane, Nate." My voice didn't shake. I kept my hands in my pockets, gripping the micro-SD card until the plastic edges bit into my palm. "This isn't a game. It's a suicide note.""It’s a trial." Nathaniel looked at Jonathan. "You say you own him, Hayes? You say you're the one who saved him from the gutter? Prove it. Prove you're willing to go into the ground so he doesn't have to."Jonathan didn't look at the pills. He didn't look at Nathaniel. He looked at me. His eyes were dark. Bottomless. The red dot from the sniper outside had vanished, replaced by the flickering yellow light of the warehouse."The stakes are simple," Nathaniel whispered. Snot ran down his l
THE THIRTY-DAY GAMBLE 38
Put the gun down, Nathaniel."Jonathan didn’t move. He leaned against the hood of his black obsidian sedan, the engine still ticking as it cooled in the damp warehouse air. A single cigarette burned between his fingers, the cherry glowing like a warning light. In his other hand, the grip of a suppressed pistol tucked into his waistband caught the overhead yellow glare. He looked bored. He looked like a man deciding which wine to pair with a funeral."You think you’re in charge here?" Nathaniel’s voice cracked. He gripped the back of my jacket, his knuckles white, shoving the barrel of a snub-nosed .38 into the soft hollow beneath my ear. "I’ve got the Wolves, Hayes. I’ve got half the varsity line behind those crates. You’re alone.""You have a pack of boys who play with balls." Jonathan took a slow drag. Exhaled a thin, grey stream. "I have the deed to the ground they’re standing on. Drop the weapon. Maybe I’ll let you keep your tongue.""He’s lying, Nate!" I shouted. I didn't pull aw
THE THIRTY-DAY GAMBLE 37
"I can’t do this anymore, Jonathan."My voice was a thin, frayed wire. I didn’t look up from my lap. I sat on the edge of his bed, my shoulders slumped, hands buried between my knees. The "Good Boy" was back. Or the ghost of him. I made sure my bottom lip trembled just enough."You can't do what?" Jonathan stood by the window, his silhouette sharp against the city lights. He didn't move. He was a statue carved from debt and cold air."Nathaniel." I let a single, jagged breath out. "He’s spiraling. He came to my room again. He said if I don't help him, he’s going after the diner. He’s going after Olivia. He’s going to burn it all down."Jonathan’s reflection in the glass didn't flinch. "What does he want, Benjamin?""He wants the warehouse. The one on 4th and Main." I finally looked at him. I made my eyes wide. Raw. "He says you’re moving the next shipment of 'Loyalty' tonight. He’s planning a raid. He’s bringing people, Jonathan. Violent people.""And why are you telling me this now?"
THE THIRTY-DAY GAMBLE 36
"What the fuck are you doing, Benji?"Nathaniel leaned against the doorframe of my dorm. He held a half-empty bottle of cheap bourbon. His eyes were bloodshot. He looked like the mess I was supposed to be."I'm inviting you in." I stepped back. I didn't smile. My face was a fresh sheet of ice. I’d spent twenty minutes in front of the bathroom mirror with a straight razor. The soft stubble was gone. The boy who looked like he’d been crying over a dead father was gone. My jaw looked like it was carved from a headstone. "The door is open, Nate. Are you coming or not?""You're acting weird." He stepped inside. He tripped over the threshold. The bottle sloshed. "Where's the waterworks? Where’s the 'please don't hurt my sister' speech?""The sister is fine." I walked to the window. I didn't close the curtains. I pulled them wide. All the way. The glass was a cold barrier between me and the night. Across the quad, the penthouse was a dark, jagged tooth against the sky. I knew he was there. I
THE THIRTY-DAY GAMBLE 35
"How much did he pay you, Natalie?"The small, black disc in her hand caught the moonlight. She froze. Her knees were pressed against the floorboards next to my bed, her fingers still hovering over the gap where the listening device was supposed to go. She didn't look up. Her shoulders hiked toward her ears, shaking."Benji. I—I can explain.""Explain the wire? Or the fact that you’ve been in my room for twenty minutes while I was at practice?" I stepped into the room, the door clicking shut behind me. I didn't turn on the light. The shadows were enough to see the sweat glistening on her forehead. "Is it the money? The tuition? What's the price for selling out the only friend you have?""It’s not like that." She finally looked at me. Snot ran down her lip. She wiped it with the back of her hand, leaving a dark smear. "He said he wanted to keep you safe. He said Northwood was dangerous.""Safe?" I walked toward her. My heart slammed against my ribs. "Jonathan Hayes doesn't keep people
THE THIRTY-DAY GAMBLE CHAPTER 9
"You coming or what, Parker? We’re grabbing burgers."Benjamin didn't look up from his locker. He just shoved his mud-caked cleats into a plastic bag, the smell of wet earth and stale sweat thick in the cramped Northwood locker room. "Nah. I’m good, Miller. Just gonna head home.""Suit yourself. Yo
Last Updated : 2026-03-18THE THIRTY-DAY GAMBLE CHAPTER 7
"Get the hell off my field!"Coach Miller’s voice tore through the heavy, humid air of Northwood High. He didn't look like the pampered coaches at St. Jude’s. He looked like he’d been carved out of a granite block and left in the rain.Benjamin didn't stop. He didn't even flinch. His cleats hammere
Last Updated : 2026-03-17THE THIRTY-DAY GAMBLE CHAPTER 16
"You’re late. The bus leaves in ten."Nathaniel didn't look up from the black duffel bag sitting on the locker room bench. He zipped it shut with a sharp, metallic bite. The air in the room was stagnant, smelling of old wintergreen rub and the copper tang of blood from a morning scrimmage.Benjamin
Last Updated : 2026-03-22THE THIRTY-DAY GAMBLE CHAPTER 15
"You’re actually going in there? Ben, look at the line. It’s a literal meat market."Benjamin didn't stop. He didn't even turn his head toward the voice. He just kept his eyes on the neon-streaked glass doors of The Vault. The bass from inside thumped through the pavement, vibrating in the soles of
Last Updated : 2026-03-21
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