Emma flashes through my mind, and my stomach knots. “Other ways. You mean… the people I care about could be in danger?”
He gives a slight nod. “There are some rules in this world. Not many. But some.”
“Like what?”
Nik glances over, still steady on the treadmill. “Are you sure you want to know?”
I hesitate, then shake my head. “No. Not really. I just… I have people I care about. They saw my…Uh, friend, the other night. She was with me when we got to the house and found Marcus prowling around in the shadows.”
“And what did you do?”
“I told her to go inside and lock the door.”
Nik’s mouth tightens, his jaw flexing.
I swallow, uneasy. “Was that… not the right move?”
“He knows then that this is someone you care about. By sending her inside, you signaled that she matters to you. That alone makes her leverage—if they need it.”
A cold sweat prickles down my back. The idea of Emma being pulled into all this makes me want to be sick. I grip the rails of the treadmill, fighting back a wave of nausea.
“Is this… is it normal?”I ask, trying not to go too far down the panic rabbit hole. “Is it normal for a criminal organization to come after the family member of someone in debt? Even after that person is dead? Is it normal for these people to go after people you care about to get what they want?”
Nik powers up the treadmill, fingers tapping through his workout program. “Unfortunately, yes. If the Brownings had killed your father themselves, the debt would likely beconsidered settled—paid in blood. But since he took his own life, they see it as unfinished business. In their world, that’s a cheat. It means someone still has to pay.”
I frown, stepping onto the treadmill beside him.
He takes off at a blistering speed. I had no idea the guy could run that fast. It’s actually a pretty good distraction from the abject panic I’m feeling at the moment.
“Damn, man,” I mutter, forcing a jog as he keeps pace. “Did you run track in high school or something?”
Nik chuckles. He’s literally sprinting on this machine, and he can still chuckle, smile, and talk.
Holy crap.
My cardio regimen needs an overhaul as much as my finances do. I’m determined to keep up, but even my stubbornness has limits.
“How do I get out of this, man?” I ask after a few minutes. “I feel like I could give them three million today and they’d just find another excuse to bleed me dry. The debt just keeps growing. It’s never-ending.”
Nik shrugs, not missing a beat. “Maybe not. The Brownings aren’t known for fairness or honesty. They’re opportunists. Like bottom-feeders always looking for something else to latch onto.”
He glances over. “How did your dad rack up this much debt in the first place?”
I sigh, shaking my head. “I honestly don’t know. When I first started in the league, he was always short ten, twenty grand here and there—always asking for loans. It’s like he was payingjust enough to keep them off his back, but not enough to make a dent. You know, like a credit card where you only pay the minimum and the interest just piles up?”
Nik nods, thoughtful. “That sounds about right. They’ll milk that for as long as they can.”
“To my knowledge,” I go on, “my dad got into a high-stakes poker game. Big buy-in, big risk, but I guess he was on a hot streak for a while because he didn’t ask me for money for months. Then, he lost. Big time.”
Nik raises a brow. “He didn’t put the house up, did he?”
I shake my head. “No, thank fuck. But he didn’t have the cash to back up his bets, either. He was bluffing. Classic gambler move.”
For a while, all you can hear is the slap of our sneakers against the treadmill. Finally, Nik just mutters, “Fuck.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “What a fucking mess.”
He slows to a walk and glances over. “Look, Liam, I can offer you protection, but it won’t be free.”
