CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE: AUSTIN

As we drove through the dimly illuminated streets of town on our way to Hill Park, the sound of my nervous breathing filled the car. The current situation weighed heavily on me, but there was no turning back now. I had struck a bargain with the devil, and now it was time to pay the piper.

"Austin, are you certain about this? We can always turn back" Leo asked hesitantly, his gaze swept the area looking for any indication of trouble as we approached the abandoned motel

I gave him a comforting look to allay his fears. "We don't have a choice, Austin. We need to get rid of Dalton, and those guys are our only hope."

Leo nodded, his grip on the steering wheel tightening as we reached the abandoned motel on the outskirts of town, and my heart began to race. Ford had promised to stay out of our lives if we handed over Dalton to them but trusting criminals was a dangerous game.

Leo turned off the engine, and we were immersed in silence. The motel loomed ahead of us, its rusted doors squeaking in the breeze. I swallowed loudly, and I was certain Leo could tell I was scared since my hands couldn't stop trembling as I glanced at the motel.

"We can do this," I whispered, more to convince myself than him.

We stepped out of the car and began walking to the motel's back entrance, our footsteps echoing in the dark. We were able to navigate our way through despite the darkness. I suggested using torches, but Leo pointed out that the light from the torches could alert Dalton and allow him to escape so it wasn't a good idea.

At that moment, Ford's hulking figure and his partner Mist emerged from the shadows; Ford was beaming broadly which creeped me the hell out, while Mist's expression suggested that he would rather be somewhere else than here.

"Who is this, I thought you were coming alone?" Mist asked, his face flushed with displeasure as his gaze swept across Leo.

"My Friend, I'm here, so I've kept my end of the bargain."

"Hold on, kid, I haven't seen Dalton, so our deal isn't over yet."

"How is that my fault, have you gone in to look for him?"

"No, you boys have to go in first because it could be a trap." Ford shrugged is gaze fixed on Leo and I

"How do we know you're not going to stab us in the back when we walk in?" Leo inquired, his skeptical gaze sweeping across Ford and his companion. I don't blame him; we just met them, so it's not our fault we're hesitant to do what they say.

"We may be gangsters, but we keep our word; you boys haven't done anything to us, so why would you throw us under the bus?"

"I don't know, I've met a lot of guys like you who would do anything to save their own skin." Leo said

"I don't blame you, but you have our word that we won't stab you in the back."

"Leo, let's get this over with so we can leave. This place gives me the creeps," I said, and Leo nodded,

"That's the spirit. What's your name, kid?" Ford inquired, his voice tinged with curiosity as he peered at Leo

"Leo," Leo replied

"Austin, keep this kid close by. It's difficult to find guys like him who will follow you to the ends of the earth."

"Sure." I said this since I already knew Leo was that type of guy; otherwise, he wouldn't be here with me right now.

"So, are you guys ready to get this over with?" Ford asked.

I took a deep breath and nodded, mustering every ounce of courage I could summon. "We're ready. Just keep your end of the bargain."

Ford smirked, his eyes blazing with a mix of annoyance and amusement. "You're lucky I find you amusing, kid. Because if anyone else had questioned my honor twice, they would be dead."

"That sounds like a threat," Leo remarked, his tone defensive.

"Kid, if I was threatening you, you would know."

"This is why I hate working with kids, they ask too many damn questions," Mist said, a frustrated sigh fell from his lips. "Just go in and let us know through text if that bastard is in there or not,"

Leo and I nodded and went towards the dimly lighted motel, Ford and Mist trailing after us, the scent of moisture and rot pervading the air.

The sound of scuffling feet and muffled words became more audible as we approached the back of the motel. Panic grabbed me, and I exchanged a troubled look with Leo. Something wasn't quite right.

And then, chaos erupted.

The sound of sirens filled the air, followed by a thundering crash as the gate of the motel was kicked open. Flashing blue and red lights illuminated the scene in front of us, producing an eerie glow.

It was the police.

They swarmed the motel with guns drawn, shouting and demanding for Dalton to surrender. "Dalton, you're being held for attempted murder of Mrs Kendall and drug possession; come out with your hands over your head!"

"Who the fuck called the cops?" Mist asked, pulling out his gun.

"That Mother fucker knew we were coming, so he called the cops first," Ford said, pulling out his revolver.

Leo grabbed my arm, his eyes wide with concern. "We need to get out of here, Austin!"

My heart was hammering in my chest as I nodded. We ran back to join Ford and Mist behind the bushes, they were both searching for ways to escape.

"Follow me, boys," he yelled over the commotion.

Our adrenaline-fueled feet propelled us through the mayhem as we followed Ford. Then, as we came closer to the exit, bullets started flying, splintering wood and breaking glass, but we managed to get away from the motel.

Then Leo turned to see whether I was okay, and I did the same to him while the sirens wailed in the distance, fainter now that we were further away from the motel.

Ford leaned against a nearby wall, his chest heaving with weariness. "You boys are lucky I had an escape plan," he said, wiping sweat from his brow.

I nodded, my appreciation mixed with trepidation. "Thank you, Ford. We owe you our freedom."

Ford shrugged, a smirk flashing on his lips. "Think of it as a favor for giving Dalton up,"  "What about Dalton?" I asked

Ford's expression hardened. "They probably got him, kid,  It looks like he will no longer be causing problems for you, your mother, and us."

"Isn't that bad for you guys? Won't he give you up to save his ass?"

"Kid, Dalton just signed his death warrant; if he goes to prison, he will die eventually because our boss has a lot of men on the inside, so that solves both our problems," Leo said.

As Ford spoke, relief washed over Leo, but the weight of what we had been through lingered in my mind. Was it truly over? Was Dalton truly gone?

"I guess this is it, I can't lie and say it was a pleasure meeting you guys because it wasn't," I said as I extended my palms to shake Ford's hand; he accepted my handshake with a small smile on his lips.

"Right back at you, kid," Ford replied as he backed away, while Mist simply nodded in acknowledgement of my handshake.

"Thank you for helping us get out of there, you didn't have to but you did anyway, maybe you guys aren't bad for gangsters," Leo added, making Ford laugh.

"I like you kids; if you ever need help, give me a call and I'll see what I can do," Ford said as he and Mist turned to walk away when Ford paused to say something else, "Oh, take care of yourself and your mother's bills have already been taken off by the boss, all she has to do is get well,"

"I don't know what to say," I said, taken aback by what he had just said.

"No thanks needed, it was our fault anyway," Mist remarked before disappearing into the darkness, leaving Leo and I stunned on the road.

"Let's get out of here before the cops start searching the area," Leo said as we both hurried towards the car. Once inside, Leo started the car and we drove away, back the way we came.

We arrived at the hospital a few minutes later, and Leo and I were going to enter when someone grabbed him and yanked him backwards. I turned to find Dalton putting a gun to Leo's head, and the blood drained from my face.

"You fucking snitched on me, you bitch" Dalton yelled, his hold on Leo tightening by the minute,

"I didn't fucking smitch on you motherfucker let my friend go!" I yelled as a crowd gathered around us and someone said, "call the cops!"

"So how did the cops find me?"

"How the fuck do I know?"

"That stupid bitch must have told them about my safehouse; I thought she was going to die when I saw the bullet hit her, if not I would've killed her myself."

"You fucking bastard, my mother was innocent, and you got her shot"

"Collateral damage"

"Are you kidding me? My mother is in a coma, so she didn't tell the cops anything."

"I don't believe you; I'd like to see her for myself."

"I'm not letting you near her, so let my friend fuck off."

"The cops are on their way; do you really want to be here when they arrive?" Leo asked, and Dalton pushed the gun against his temple.

"Shut up! I'm not talking to you!"

"Well, I'm just giving you advice because if they get here, you'll either die or be dragged to jail, either of which is good for us."

"Shut up! Then I'll just kill you both."

"You still get shot or killed either way," Leo continued, and I was wondering what the fuck he was doing, because he had a gun to his head and was provoking the person who was aiming at him.

Then I remembered I had my army knife with me, so I got it out to see if I could get a decent hit on Dalton's hand, but it was too close to Leo's face, so I was afraid the knife would hit him.

"Dalton, let him go, or your hand will be useless in a few seconds."

"I have a gun. You can't hurt me with that small knife."

"Wanna bet, I never miss," I asked, noticing the hesitancy in his eyes. When Leo's gaze met mine, he muttered, "Do it."

Fuck! I didn't want to hurt him, but because his life was in danger every second that gun was pointed at him, I had to throw the knife aiming for Dalston's shoulder, then Leo headbutted him out of his grip, and the knife hit him exactly in the shoulders, causing Dalton to release the gun and scream.

Leo picked up the gun and disarmed it before pushing a screaming Dalton to the ground, but because Dalton was a huge person, I had to go over to help Leo keep him down while he used his belt to bind Dalton's hand.

"You know you fucking crazy Leo, I could have hit you."

"I knew you wouldn't hit me, you never miss, and I already had a plan," he said.

"It's insane that you trusted me so much."

"If I don't trust you with my life, who will I trust then?" He said and I felt some sort of relief from my guilt.

"What are we going to do about this mother-fucker?" As we sat on the semiconscious Dalton, Leo asked.

"Wait for the cops, I guess," I said, and a squadron of cop cars appeared in front of the hospital a few minutes later.

Then a man and a woman dressed in suits emerged from one of the expensive-looking Suvs and approached the three of us.

"I'm Detective Sloan, and this is Detective Adams," the male detective said

Is he dead?" Detective Adams asked

"No, but he's lost a lot of blood," Leo replied.

"You stabbed him?" Detective Adams asked

"He had a gun pointed at my friend, it was self defense," I replied, my annoyance visible in my tone,

"If he had a gun pointed at your friend, how did you stab him?" Detective Sloan asked his tone filled with curiosity

"I threw it"

"I don't understand, you threw it, it could have hit your friend, so why take the risk? You should have waited for us to arrive" Detective Sloan added

"Yeah, that wasn't going to happen, I took the risk because he had a gun pointed at my friend, and you guys took your sweet time coming here"

"It's surprising you let him do that," Detective Adams said to Leo, causing a scowl to form on his face.

"You do anything for your friends Ma, and Austin did what he had to do to get me out of danger, and trust me, I knew he wasn't going to hit me."

"Why do you say that?" Detective Sloan inquired.

"You do trust your partner, right?" Leo asked.

"Yes, what does that have to do with my question?"

"Your trust in your partner is the same trust I have in Austin; I knew the knife wouldn't hit me because he never misses his intended target," Leo explained as he stood to his feet, assisting me to get to my feet after he got up.

"That's your suspect, are you done questioning us because we need to get back to the hospital?" Leo asked.

"That's all for tonight, if we need more information, we know where to find you." Detective Sloan said However, Leo and I had started to walk away.