Colt cursed under his breath. “Wait—Diablo? That Diablo?”
“Yeah.”
“Shit.” He let out a low whistle. “What does he have to do with all this now?”
I could practically see Diablo’s smirking face in my mind, the cold, calculating way he had looked at me across my own restaurant. “He showed up a couple of months ago. Walked right into my place like we were old friends. Then he hit me with it—said I stillowed him. And since he was so generous to let the debt sit for a few years, he decided I should pay him back… times two.”
“Jesus Christ,” Colt muttered. “What a fucking psycho. I can’t believe he’s out. I only met him once, but even then, I knew he was a goddamn lunatic.”
I exhaled sharply. “Yeah, well, I wish I never got desperate enough to do business with him, because now I’m paying for it.”
“How much?”
“Thirty grand.”
Colt’s sharp intake of breath crackled over the line. “Damn, man. You serious?”
“Dead serious.” I flexed my fingers around the wheel. “And I’ve already paid half.”
Colt was quiet for a moment before he spoke again, his voice more measured. “You know I’ve got money, right? I don’t blow it on dumb shit like some of these guys. I invest. I build. If you need help, I got you.”
I sighed. “I appreciate it, but I already feel like a failure. I can’t let you bail me out.”
Colt scoffed. “Right. Because it’s better to have a goddamn cartel thug showing up at your restaurant whenever he wants?” His voice hardened. “This guy’s dangerous, Nick.”
“I know.” My fingers drummed against the steering wheel. “That’s why I came up with a solution. But now… I don’t know if it was the wisest decision.”
Colt groaned. “Oh, hell. What did you do now?”
I smirked despite myself. Colt had always been the disciplined one, the guy who played it smart. I was the reckless one—jumping fences as a kid, pushing limits just to see how far I could go before I got caught.
I ran a hand through my hair, inhaling deeply. “I… kinda asked Melanie to marry me. As a deal. For her to get health care and for me to get a few extra thousand a month to pay off my debt.”
Silence.
I cleared my throat. “Hello? Did I lose you?”
“You’re fucking kidding me,” Colt finally said, his voice flat.
“No.”
“Dude, what the fuck? You built your entire career in the military. You know this is fraud, right? If they find out, that’s jail time.”
“I know,” I muttered, lowering my voice like someone could hear me. Old habits. Even though I wasn’t on active duty anymore, part of me still wondered if the government was listening.
And now, if Diablo had his way… they wouldn’t be the only ones.
I exhaled sharply, gripping the steering wheel so tight my knuckles ached. “I know, but now Melanie might be pregnant, and I don’t know what the fuck to do. This is a goddamn mess.”
Colt let out a long breath. “Yeah… Abigail mentioned something about that. But she hasn’t taken the test yet, right? So there’s still a chance she’s not.”
I straightened in my seat, my pulse spiking. “Wait—Melanie told Abigail?”
“Yeah, man.”
“Is she okay? Where is she? Why the hell hasn’t she answered my calls?” My heart hammered in my chest.
“Whoa, whoa, relax, soldier boy,” Colt said, his tone calm but firm. “She’s fine. She’s at Josh’s. Said she’s taking the test in the morning.”
