"I... I don't know. He works at a computer store. I heard he's a hacker, so I... took it to him."
"Where's the store?"
"Downtown."
"Name and address."
"I don't know exactly... "
"Do not fuck with me kid," Pearface threatened, cocking the gun.
The sound made Tristan's stomach twist. Grasping for something believable, he lied through his teeth, "It's on 20thor maybe 21stStreet? I can't remember. The name is... something like 'The Tech Store' or 'The Tech Shop.' It just opened up," he thought to add at the last minute, hoping that might explain why an internet search for the place would turn up empty.
Pearface decocked his gun and stood without any other words. When he left the garage, the air whooshed out of Tristan's lungs. He bought some time to escape or for someone to find him.
But he wasn't stupid; his time was just about up, because when they discovered his lie, he was dead.
It was quiet for a time, and Tristan tried to rest his eyes, to save up some energy to try to escape. Neck twinging from hanging his head at an awkward angle, and shoulders aching from having his arms tied tightlybehind him, he had never wanted to lie down so badly in his life and would have been happy to curl up on this concrete floor if he could only rest his head.
It must be the middle of the night, he guessed, maybe closer to morning, because he was getting hungry despite the lingering nausea.
Though he couldn't see the two men or hear them talk, their heavy footsteps meant they weren't asleep, so he couldn't implement his plan.
Tristan perked up when he heard the second voice call out, "We've got a problem. Several, in fact."
"Jesus, what?" Pearface asked.
"There's chatter saying the Gem Collector put out a contract on you."
"Fuck. He was bidding on the rough ruby, upping his offer as soon as a rival bid came in. He must have really wanted it."
Tristan swallowed hard. They were talking about Natalie.
"I don't get it. Why can't he just find another ruby? It's not like he lost any money."
"I don't know. Word is he's fucking bat-shit crazy, eccentric and unpredictable and shit. Who knows how his mind works?"
Closing his eyes, Tristan sent up a prayer of thanks that this monster didn't actually get his hands on his sister. Hopefully, she had been in that house, and Cade had taken her to safety. He had to believe that.
"Okay, what else?"
"Well, messages are streaming in from clients who contracted for gems we don't have anymore. Since they can't get delivery of the product they purchased,they want their money back now. Some are threatening hits on you if they don't get it."
"Tell them to fucking get in line. What kind of refunds are we talking?"
"Here. These are just the ones we know about so far."
Several beats passed without any sound, then Pearface cursed, "Son of a bitch. We don't have that kind of money in the accounts I have access to. I need that fucking laptop."
Heart hammering, pulse thundering in his ears, Tristan felt dread rising, drowning him. When they found out he lied about the laptop, they would surely kill him.
"What do we do?"
"I dunno. Let me think."
Tristan waited anxiously for more discussion from the house, but as time ticked by with no voices, he got more and more agitated. He spent time trying to come up with any alternative to his current plan, but short of the impossibility of disabling his captors, no ideas came to him.
Finally, he heard Pearface tell the other man, "We're leaving the country. I'll arrange a plane. I've got access to enough money to tide us over until we can get set up somewhere else."
