She shrugs like it’s that simple, and maybe it is. I understand how strong family ties can be.
“You did it for your brother?”
“He got an apprenticeship at a car repair shop, but I was too naive to realize who owned it.”
“The Street Kings?”
She nods. “It was fine for a while; he was learning his trade. But then they asked him to drive cars across town, cars with packages in them, or sometimes the cars themselves were stolen.”
She shifts on the couch. This is hard for her, but I need to hear it. I need to know what we’re dealing with.
“When I realized what was going on, it was too late. They said he knew too much to leave. Then there was trouble with one of the runs. A package went missing, and they said he owed them money. The only way to get him out was to pay them off and get him a one-way ticket out of town.”
I wipe my hands off and come to sit next to her. She’s tense, and her hands bunch into fists on her knees.
“I should’ve seen it coming.” She huffs out a frustrated breath.
Clearly, she blames herself for what happened to her brother. “It’s not your fault,” I say gently.
She hits her fists on the top of her knees. “I should have looked out for him.”
“Hey.” When I take her fists in my hands, she lifts her eyes to mine, and I can see the guilt and regret in her eyes. “He made his own choices.”
She laughs, but it’s brittle and bitter, not the carefree laugh I’ve heard the last few days. This is painful for her, and I long to takeher in my arms and smooth away the hurt. But I have to know the rest of the story.
“And you tried to help?” I prompt.
She keeps her hands in mine, but the fists unclench.
“By that time, they were controlling his money and not paying him enough. There was no way he could pay that debt off without doing riskier and riskier jobs.”
“That’s how they get you.” It’s a mean tactic. Enticing young men into petty crime and then exploiting them.
“I said I’d do a few runs for them to pay off his debt. It was the only way. Tyler told me that they start off generous. The first runs he did he got paid good money. So, we made a plan. I’d do three runs, pay off his debt, and he’d use the remaining money to skip town.”
“Weren’t you worried they’d come after you?”
Her gaze meets mine. “It was a risk I was willing to take for my brother.”
The words hit hard. She’s either extremely brave or extremely stupid. But I’d do the same for Paige. Now I understand. She is a good person, forced to make a bad decision for the right reasons.
“And what happened?”
“On the last run, I got stopped. A random police check, and they found the stolen goods.” She shrugs. “And here I am.”
“But you managed to get Tyler away.”
She smiles, and some of the worry leaves her eyes.
“I did. They paid me half the money upfront, and I’d already transferred it to him and told him to get out of town. He left before I was caught, and I haven’t seen him since.”
“Why didn’t you tell the police?”
She gives me a look as if I’m the naive one. “I tried. But there was no proof and no one willing to dig too deeply into it. The Kings must have people on the inside, because they didn’t want to listen. I was advised to take the plea deal for a reduced sentence and leave it alone. I got the message. You don’t mess with the Street Kings.”
I sit back with my mind racing. Willow did all this for her brother. She risked herself, and she’s got a record for it. She risked jail time, and now she’s here hiding from people who would do her harm.
“I’d do it all again,” she says quietly. “Tyler got away. That’s all that matters.”
