But I still had questions…
Jeremiah’s eyes turned a shade darker as he continued his story. I found myself internally bracing myself for what came next, hoping it wasn’t where my mind had fallen into a dark pit of possibilities.
I gave him a reassuring nod, prompting him to continue.
“I knew I had to get us out of there. I had to rack my brain for something. Anything. To not only get us out of there, but also get us out of there alive.”
“So, what did you do?” I asked.
“I had to go forward acting as if we were going to go through with the errand Markus had for us. He wanted us to rob a local convenience store of an owner who had done him wrong in some shady business deal. It was his attempt at revenge without it falling back to him, and we were his pawns. He said it was our initiation.”
“Initiation? Into what?”
“His street gang.” Jeremiah’s lips pressed together tightly.
My eyes widened.
He blew out a breath. “I know.”
“And Anderson didn’t tell you anything about why you were there in the first place?”
Jeremiah shook his head adamantly. “Not the full details. Just that it was an opportunity to make some quick cash, which we desperately needed. I had no idea it involved a back alley and the leader of a street gang backed by his goons. Or that he wanted to be a part of their gang. I knew he was desperate. We both were. I just didn’t knowhowdesperate he was.”
I shook my head in disbelief. To think I had just reveled in the flirtation that man had bestowed on me down in the lobby. The man who would lead his best friend down such a dangerous path. I felt ashamed for falling for his act. He was too slick to be any good.
“What happened next?” I murmured, scared to know.
“Markus wanted us to meet the following night to go over details at one of his empty warehouses along the Hudson. I suppose the dark alley was just a test before he let us in on where his operations went down. I had no intention of going. I wanted to leave, toss the gun, and never speak of it again. But Anderson agreed, and I went along with it because there was no way Markus was going to let us walk away unscathed if we refused. We were already in too deep.” Jeremiah shook his head as he looked out the window, a distant look in his eyes as he recanted the night in this very city.
“The next thing I knew, red and blue lights flickered at the end of the alley. For a moment, my heart sped up, foolishly thinkingwe might be saved from Markus by the cops. But no. Anderson panicked. He shoved the gun into the back pocket of my jeans, searching for a place to hide. Markus was already on his bike, putting his helmet on, as the other members in his gang revved their engines. The sounds of their motorcycles and the blare of the siren that then sounded was deafening. I couldn’t catch my bearings through the rain, the lights, the sounds.”
I ran my hands through my hair, feeling the stress run off Jeremiah, as if he were back in that alley. I couldn’t imagine how he felt, having no way out. The walls closing in.
Jeremiah sighed at the ceiling. “The next thing I knew, I was running behind Anderson through the thick of the rain, our sneakers slipping on the wet concrete. I was running for my life. I knew we weren’t going to be saved by the cops. We were at the wrong place at the wrong time, and there was no way we would be able to talk our way out of it.”
“What about Markus?” I asked, hoping he would say this scary man had been taken off the streets.
Jeremiah looked back to me and shook his head. “He took off. His bike narrowly missing the cop car. The rest of his gang followed, peeling out of the alley. They split off in two separate directions. The cop car took off in one direction. As soon as Anderson and I emerged from the alley, we were tackled to the ground by two police on foot. As if they had been waiting.”
“They must have been tailing Markus then.”
“Yeah, and we were the two idiots that got caught while they escaped.” Jeremiah scoffed.
“But the gun…”
“Yeah. They found it on me.”
“But you were innocent!” I said frustratedly. “Anderson was the one…”
“I know, but it was inmypocket. They hauled us both off to jail for fleeing from the police, but I was the one charged with illegal possession of a firearm.”
“He didn’t take the fall for you?”
“Nope.” Jeremiah shook his head, clicking his tongue. “I lost everything because of it too. Not only did I lose my best friend, but my family wouldn’t see me after they heard the news. They were my one and only phone call from jail, but they didn’t come to bail me out. My mother was too ashamed, and my father now had another reason to despise me aside from just existing.”
Jeremiah’s voice softened slightly. “He died five years later. I wasn’t even invited to the funeral.” I couldn’t resist the urge to reach for his hand, running my thumb across his palm.
“It’s not like I liked the guy, but hewasmy father. And my mom…she was now alone. I tried to help her afterward. I sent her a check to pay off her mortgage shortly after his death. Myway of making it up to her, but she never cashed it. Never called. Nothing.” He shook his head in sad frustration. “She always had too much pride.”
