The Better Side of Me - Jerry Cole Page 0,72

had been as close to perfect as it ever was. And then, in one fell swoop, it all came crashing down.

He had been warned about Alexander Ivanov too. Carlo had told him that it should be a last resort kind of thing, and that even then it needed to be seriously considered.

“He’s a nutjob,” Carlo had stated emphatically when Lance had first asked all those weeks ago. “I only met him the once, but it was in the middle of his beating some dude half-to-death – at a fucking birthday party. Seriously, he’s up the creek without a canoe.”

Lance had figured it to be exaggeration. Surely, he couldn’t have been that bad? And then, when he’d made the deal and gotten the money, he was even more sure that all the stories were fabricated. Alexander had actually seemed like a decent guy. He’d handed the money over, claimed there were no strings attached, and that had been that. Honestly, for the smallest of moments, Lance was almost happy to not have to have deal with the bank. And then the call came through.

Lance had been in the middle of kissing the man he had just confessed his love to, when Alexander rang. He demanded in no uncertain terms that Lance come and meet him right away. Lance assumed it was just to check in on progress, so he didn’t hesitate. He very soon learned that this was the wrong thing to do.

“Where is first payment?” Alexander had asked the moment Lance sat down.

“First...?” Lance had blinked back his surprise. “It’s another two months away – the date the money is due back... it’s at least five weeks—”

“No talk about full payment,” Alexander had then waved down. His voice was stern, his expression hard. “I talk about installment. You must pay me small sum back, to show that money is on way.”

“I don’t...” Lance had felt himself begin to sweat. This wasn’t what was discussed at all.

“You never deal with loan shark before, do you?” Alexander chuckled. Lance had shaken his head an emphatic ‘no.’ “Oh well,” Alexander had then shrugged. “Let me show you what happens when you do not pay.”

The beating was quick at least, if not effective. Two men held Lance down, while a third worked his ribs and then finished him off with a quick one to the face. They then carried Lance back onto the street and tossed him in the gutter. It was all very casual, which made the whole thing even more terrifying.

As Lance lay on the street, struggling to breath, close to passing out, one of the men said plainly and clearly. “You have one more week to get money. Next time, it will be legs that are broke.”

Yes, Lance’s world had come crashing down around him. It was an effect that piqued as the night progressed... that fight with Kirk... that horrible, God awful fight. Lance truly was at his lowest.

And so, he stared at his phone... all day long. As he ate breakfast, he propped it up in front of him so that it was mere inches from his coffee mug. As he sat in a heap on the couch, he rested it in-between his legs so that even if he looked away, he’d be able to feel it vibrate when someone called. And the few times he visited the bathroom, he had it on the vanity, standing against the mirror so that he wouldn’t miss a thing.

Worse too was the constant checking of the phone. Even though he rarely took his eyes from it, he would still double check every few minutes that he hadn’t somehow missed something. He’d tap at the screen, his heart would stop dead... and then he’d see that it was still blank and his stomach would crash through the floor.

And yes, obviously there were many times throughout the day when Lance considered calling up Kirk himself. A few times he even had the phone in his hand, ready to dial... before suddenly changing his mind. He just couldn’t go through with it. When Kirk wasn’t calling him, there was always the chance that he would, that something was holding him up, that he was just testing Lance... or something silly like that.

But what if Lance tried to call, and then Kirk denied him that call? That would end all hope Lance was holding on to. That would be too much for Lance to recover from. So best not to test fate.

It was as the sun