And not a vampire in sight.

Available (tentatively) on Labor Day Weekend at Smashwords and associated retailers.

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DANIEL NIGRI DIDN’T think of himself as an addict. Addicts were people who had allowed a thing to take over their lives to tragic effect. Their existences were ruled by the thing. The thing was their god. And like with most gods—as far as he knew, being that he didn’t believe in much of anything he couldn’t experience with his senses—some sort of sacrifice was always required to satisfy the addiction, whether it was the loss of one’s money or family or health. Daniel was in peak condition for a man of thirty-five. He didn’t smoke, rarely drank, and hadn’t suffered so much as a common cold for the better part of eight years now. There was no immediate family to speak of; his parents were long gone, snatched out of existence by a drunk driver seventeen years ago and leaving their only child to make his way in the world all on his own. But as for money… that’s where things got complicated, hence his insistence that his gambling hobby was just that. A hobby, and nothing more.

“A hobby, you say?” The old man seated at the desk across from Daniel studied him with dark, inquisitive eyes. His name was Juan Diego Basquez, and last week he had been kind enough to continue funding Daniel’s involvement in an exclusive and not entirely legal poker game after Daniel lost every cent of his own $5,000 entry fee. “As far as I know, most hobbies do not leave a person thousands of dollars in debt over a span of four hours.”

“Five hours,” Daniel corrected, as if doing so would somehow offset the rest of the man’s statement. He knew that he was better off not saying anything when there was a very real chance that he would not make it out of this meeting unharmed, but his mouth had always been one step ahead of his brain, and just as sharp. Besides, despite his current predicament he was proud of himself. At least two semi-professional poker players had been at that table, and he had held his own against them for far longer than anyone thought he would. Even Justin, Daniel’s full-time roommate and part-time bedmate, expressed disbelief when told of his achievement. He had been so close to winning it all—the five grand he had borrowed, his own contribution, and more. If only that goddamn Queen had come through on the river.

“Five hours,” Basquez repeated with a wry smile on his thin lips. “Some people do not make in one year what you managed to lose in those five hours, Mr. Nigri. But we are not here to discuss their misfortunes, or the pitfalls of your chosen ‘hobby.’ My concern is how you intend to pay off your debt in a timely manner.”

“I can make payments—”

“I am certain you can,” the man interrupted briskly, and it was only then that Daniel detected the barest hint of an accent. He leaned back in his chair, his black suit blending in with the plush black leather behind him, his appearance elderly but distinguished, frail yet formidable. “However, the interest alone is rather sizeable, and I have no desire to see this drag on longer than necessary. I am neither young nor patient.”

“Well…”

You should have thought of that before you loaned me the money was the first thing that sprang to Daniel’s mind, but common sense got the better of him. It wasn’t the old man’s fault that he had practically begged for the money when he knew damn well he didn’t have the means to pay it back right away. It wasn’t the dealer’s fault. It wasn’t the deck’s fault. And for as much as he had wanted to lash out at Justin for even telling him about the game in the first place, it wasn’t his fault, either. All of this was the result of a pastime gone awry, and while Daniel staunchly refused to consider the possibility that he might have a serious gambling problem, he was perfectly capable of accepting responsibility for his actions. The fault was his and his alone.

“I’m not much good to you if I’m busted up,” he offered instead.

“Do you think I invited you into my home to hurt you?”

“I hope not, but with all due respect, you do have a reputation.”

He certainly did. Word around town was that this elegant old man had spent the past half century building and maintaining a criminal empire. If it was an illegal operation, he either ran it or had a hand in it. While he was cordial enough on the surface, it was unwise to take him lightly.

Basquez nodded. “And knowing this reputation, you still came to one of my games and borrowed my money. Does that make you brave or foolish?”

“A brave fool,” Daniel chanced, steeling himself for a harsh reprimand. Having a smart mouth usually resulted in one, more often than not.

The room was quiet save for the ticking of the clock on the wall to his left. Daniel counted off the seconds in his head, each of them passing by with agonizing slowness. He started wondering how many body parts he would have to lose to pay what he owed. If it was a grand a finger, he might as well kiss his entire hand goodbye. Hopefully it would be his left hand so that he wouldn’t have to learn how to write and jerk off all over again.

All the while, the old man’s face was a stony mask, hard and unrelenting. But just as Daniel was resigning himself to the loss of his digits, a low chuckle broke the silence. Basquez was laughing at him. His fingers were safe for now.

“A brave fool indeed,” Basquez agreed, shaking his head. Wrinkled hands smoothed over white hair before coming together on top of the desk. He looked over Daniel’s head toward the door. “You amuse me, Mr. Nigri. Sadly, I think that my nephew is impervious to your wit.”

Daniel turned in his seat and found a young man standing in the doorway. It was the same young man who oversaw the game last week, the one who had finally relented and contacted Basquez to authorize a loan for Daniel after he lost all of his own money. He was also a Basquez, first name… Hector? No. Jesus? Not quite.

“What do you need, Javier?” Basquez asked.

“I’m sorry to interrupt.” Javier glared at Daniel for a moment before looking at his uncle. “Mr. Santos is waiting for you.”

“Is it that time already?” Basquez looked at his watch. “Ah, so it is. Very well, then.” He rose to his feet and rounded the desk, stopping just in front of Daniel. “I must leave you now, Mr. Nigri, but Javier will remain and discuss with you the conditions of your repayment. You will be relieved to know that it involves no violence. Just a little bit of your time.”

“My time?” Daniel asked. “What does that mean?”

“Goodbye.”

Basquez walked over to the door and paused to whisper to his nephew. Three years of learning German in high school were no help at all to Daniel as he listened to the fragments of Spanish that passed between the two of them. When their conversation came to an end, Javier frowned at Daniel before muttering “Okay” to the old man. Daniel had no idea what it meant, but as long as his appendages were safe, he didn’t care.

After Basquez left, Javier approached the desk. Instead of sitting down behind it, he leaned on the edge, directly in front of Daniel. His cologne was earthy with an undertone of musk, and far from cheap. It smelled just as good now as it did that night, when it was a welcome distraction from the cigar and cigarette smoke that had permeated the hotel room where the illicit poker game took place. Javier himself had also been a welcome distraction with his dark brown eyes, thick and wavy brown hair, and slight but well-toned body. Although Daniel had been focused to the point of obsession on every rush-inducing hand of Texas Hold’em, he was also well aware of the attractive man who had paced endlessly while ensuring everything ran smoothly. He had initially doubted that Javier would be much of a physical match for most of the men seated at the table, but the handgun tucked into the back of his pants was incentive enough for everyone to be on their best behavior.

Since Javier seemed content to stand there and glower, Daniel decided to get the ball rolling. “Hello again.”

More silence and scowling. Pointing out the cuteness of the scowl probably wasn’t the best way to go, so Daniel opted for another tactic, one that usually worked well as an icebreaker between Erie residents.

“How about those Steelers?” Crickets. “Or are you a Browns or Bills fan? If you are… well, nobody’s perfect. ”

Javier’s eyes narrowed, but Daniel also detected a faint twitch of the lips. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

“Do you really think it’s a good idea for someone in your situation to be a smartass?”

“What exactly is my situation?” Daniel asked. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to know that I’ll be walking out of here in one piece. But what did Mr. Basquez mean when he said he needed my time? What will I be doing?” An unsettling thought occurred to him just then, something he hadn’t considered until now. “Is it sexual?”

This time Javier did crack a bitter smile, complete with a dimple on his left cheek. “My uncle is into a lot of things. Pimping isn’t one of them.”

The smile was gone as quickly as it came, like a glimpse of sunlight blotted out by grey clouds at the onset of a storm. Javier referred to a calendar on the desk, giving Daniel a pleasant view of his back. Not so pleasant was the gun protruding from the waistband of his pants. It didn’t seem like the safest place to store a weapon, but Daniel didn’t think that Javier would appreciate being asked if he had ever shot himself in the ass.

“We will leave for Tampa on Monday,” Javier said, turning back around. “You will do the driving. Whether you choose to rent a car or use your own is up to you. The trip can be made in one day, but we will take two as a precaution.”

“Whoa, wait a minute.”

Javier had no intention of waiting. “We’ll stay for two nights, take two for the return trip, and be back in Erie by Friday evening. Five days of your time and your debt will be cleared.”

“What about my job?” Daniel asked.

“I suggest you get sick or have a family emergency. I don’t care how you get the time off. Just get it.” Javier folded his arms, his biceps straining against the sleeves of his tight black shirt. “My uncle is being very generous to you. I hope you appreciate that. If it were up to me, I’d be making this trip by myself like I usually do.”

Daniel had a bad feeling. It was too easy, what he was being asked to do. “Is this trip… legal?”

“As far as I know, road trips are perfectly legal,” Javier responded, his cool gaze betraying no secrets. “All you need to do is drive the speed limit and enjoy the scenery.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.” Javier pushed off the desk and headed for the door. When he got there, he stopped and looked over his shoulder. “It would be unwise of you to try to get out of this. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Good. I’ll see you Monday morning.”

Javier exited the office. The brutish-looking manservant who had brought Daniel to the office came to the door, waiting to escort him out. Daniel stood slowly, his mind racing. Was driving to Florida and back really worth five grand? Basquez thought so, apparently.

Too easy, he thought again. Something else was going on, something shady as hell. As much as Daniel wanted to know what it was, he understood that he was probably better off in the dark. Safer.

On his way to the door, he contemplated Javier’s directives: drive the speed limit and enjoy the scenery. Cruise control would take care of the former. Daniel had gotten so many speeding tickets over the years that he now relied heavily on the option when traveling on the highway. As for the latter, it would be the one bright spot in an otherwise questionable adventure. Javier did make for some lovely scenery, stink eye, dimple, and all. And Daniel would be spending almost an entire week with him.

Suddenly a road trip, even a potentially dangerous one, didn’t sound like such a bad idea at all.

TBC…