Chapter 70: Friends 5
Eric and Joseph approached him directly. Like supplicants before a lord, they stood before the sofa. Adam joined them in standing. He surveyed the area. Men were standing on either side of the couch, their faces hard and unreadable, their arms crossed. He could tell they were skilled and tough fighters.
The wolves were them. And he was the lamb they had all been anticipating. However, they were unaware of this lamb’s ability to bite. And he was going to retaliate.
The atmosphere in the club was thick with unspoken tension. Adam stood before the man on the sofa flanked by his two friends. He was ready for anything. He was ready for a fight. But he was not ready for what came next.
Eric and Joseph spoke in unison their voices a practiced duet. "Look we did what you asked. Now give us the money you promised."
The man on the sofa smiled a slow predatory smile. Adam stared at his friends his mind struggling to process their words. "Are you two idiots?" he asked his voice a low incredulous whisper. "You really trust a man like this? You’re here to collect on a bet a gamble? What will your parents think when they find out about this?"
But then something unexpected happened. Something that shattered Adam’s world into a million tiny pieces. Eric and Joseph turned to look at him. And they were smiling. Not the nervous guilty smiles of before. These were genuine happy smiles.
"No Adam" Eric said his voice cheerful. "You’ve misunderstood. We didn’t gamble. We didn’t make any bets. We just did what this man asked us to do. He promised us a million dollars each if we delivered you to him."
Eric’s smile widened. "It’s a good deal isn’t it Adam? You’re our friend. You can do this one small thing for us."
Adam stared at them his face a mask of numb disbelief. He felt like he had been kicked in the stomach. The air was knocked from his lungs. He looked at Eric at Joseph at the two people he had considered his only connection to a normal life.
He thought of all the times they had laughed together all the stupid jokes they had shared all the small moments of friendship that had made his cursed life bearable. And he realized it was all a lie.