“She’s out cold with all those painkillers, and I don’t think she’d mind either way. Francie left about an hour ago.” Owen watches him closely. “You look exhausted. Can I make you something to eat before you get some sleep?”
“That would be nice.”
“You can leave your things here.”
Will drops his bag, and Owen holds his hand, leading him into the kitchen.
“You’re tense,” Owen says. “Did you speak with Nate?”
Will sits by the small table next to the window in the kitchen. Even his bones are tired, making him debate whether he should leave this conversation fortomorrow. But Owen watches him with concern as he stands with his arms crossed. Will won’t ever forget entering that house and finding him spasming on the floor. Then his heart stopped. For a moment there, Will had lost another man he loved, only this time, there was no relief and no sense of closure; there was only grief and sorrow. Using what he learned about CPR for Julie, he managed to bring Owen back to life and keep him breathing until the ambulance came.
He can’t live through that pain again, so he’s going to take down Ray Walker.
There’s no force on earth that can make him change his mind.
“I spoke with Nate and the sheriff,” Will says.
“Do you know why Joe and Carlos decided to kidnap me?”
“Because Nate told the mayor you were doing undercover work for the police.”
Owen, who is leaning against the counter, asks, “Why would the mayor care about that?”
Will lets out a long breath. “It seems that the mayor is a big part of the drug pandemic we have around the county. He and his business partners have been managing the show for years, and Nate has been their secret informer. Nate claims he only spoke with the mayor about you to break us up, but Ray had other plans.”
Owen rubs his face. “That’s so messed up. I’m sorry that your uncle is behind this. I know you two barelyspeak, but still.”
Will shakes his head, knowing that this is where he bares his soul and hopes for the best. “There’s not an ounce of love between me and that man. He hated my mother because his parents adopted her, and he hated me for bringing him bad press. I was fine with having no contact with him, but then Julie got sick, and I wanted to get her the best treatment. She and I used all our savings, but they ran out in less than a year. I went to speak with Ray about our situation, even though he never offered us financial help. I was ready to beg him for a loan, but he had another idea.”
“What idea?” Owen asks quietly, though it sounds like he’s beginning to connect the dots.
“He offered me money if I agreed to come to his house every once in a while and serve his guests.” Before Owen can ask, he says, “I mean that in a sexual way. For about four years, I’ve been going over there to be used however they want. Ray likes to keep his partners happy and loyal, and he added me as part of the package.” He dares to meet Owen’s eyes. “I’m not sorry or ashamed about that deal. It gave my sister more than I could have ever given her on my own.”
Owen’s face can’t possibly be paler, his skin a strong contrast to his long, dark hair. He seems ill, like he doesn’t know if he should sit or stand or leave. The first words to leave his mouth are not what Will expected to hear. “I need to get you out of this town. I don’t wantyou living here anymore.”
It warms his heart more than Owen could ever know. “In due time, sweetheart.”
Owen grabs a chair. He sits and holds Will’s hand. “I did similar things for money when I was at my lowest, but my motives were much less noble.” He kisses Will on the lips. “You know I’m not going to judge you, right?”
He didn’t know that, but he had hoped, and now he’s so relieved that he can finally breathe normally. “Thank you.”
“Is the sheriff going to arrest the mayor now?”
“Not yet. We need more to bring him and his partners down. Those are powerful people, and there’s no point going after them unless there’s enough rock-solid evidence.”
“Well, Nate can testify, right? How else are the police going to get more evidence?”
Will hesitates before answering, but Owen catches on. “Does the sheriff want you to help with that? How?”
“By doing what I’ve been doing for years—going over there and spending time with the mayor’s guests. We need to iron out the details, but I’ll need to hide recording equipment so that the police can listen. Getting those people on record talking about their illegal activities is our strongest case against them.”
Owen lets go of Will’s hand and leans back in his chair. “You might get caught. Please don’t do that.”
“The police will be waiting outside in case of trouble. And those are not low-level drug dealers that will try to kill me. I won’t pretend I’m not afraid—I am—but I need to bring those people down, Owen.”
“But Julie—”
“Will be fine. Ray trusted my cooperation, so he already paid the hospice for the next year in advance.”
