"Please. Just... please."The words didn't leave my mouth. They died in my throat, strangled by the same terror that made my knees knock together. I was backed against the kitchen counter, the laminate edge digging into the small of my back.Crash.My mother’s favorite ceramic vase—the only thing I had left of her—shattered against the floor. A dozen blue shards skidded across the linoleum, coming to rest near the heavy, mud-caked boots of the man standing in my living room."Your brother’s a ghost, kid," the big one snarled. His name was Miller, and he smelled like stale cigarettes and cheap adrenaline. He kicked a kitchen chair aside. It hit the wall with a sickening crack. "And since Leo isn’t here to pay, you’re the collateral."I shook my head, my hands trembling as I lifted them to sign. I don’t know where he is. Please, I don’t have any money.Miller laughed, a dry, rasping sound. "I don’t speak hand-jive. Use your mouth or use your wallet. Oh, wait. You can’t do either, can yo
Last Updated : 2026-01-19 Read more