Wilson Jacks's heart thundered painfully in his chest. He could hear voices
rumbling above him, but he couldn't quite make out the words. His trouble
breathing only grew worse when he heard a door close then footsteps walking
across the floor.
He knew hiding out here was a really bad idea, but the house had been vacant
when he found it, dilapidated and rundown as if no one had lived there in
ages. He'd thought it would be the perfect place to hide.
Then Hector moved in.
Will knew who Hector was. He'd heard the man's name mentioned enough times by
those who came by the place to realize the man who'd bought the house was the
same one who'd been shot the day Will had been shot.
He also knew the man had been roommates with Terry Iverson, the man Will had
been forced to humiliate by accusing him of sexual misconduct. Will had hated
to do it, but it had been his only option.
Will was terrified of what Hector would do once he discovered his uninvited
houseguest. Hector had been shot because of him. His friend had gone through
so much misery because of him. Dan Wilson had been forced to arrest his own
father because of him.
So many horrible things had happened and they all led back to Will.
Will sniffled then wiped at his nose with the sleeve of his shirt. He wished
he could just run away, run as far as he could go until he found someplace
where no one knew him or knew about what he'd done.
Unfortunately, he had no way to run. He'd lost his job as a paramedic. When he
lost his job, he could no longer afford his apartment. He'd sold most
everything he owned, keeping just a few personal items. He didn't even have
his car anymore.
He felt guilty about taking Hector's sandwich, but with no way into town—not
that he'd actually consider going into Cade Creek after what he'd done—he had
no way to buy groceries. Since he sold almost everything he owned, he had no
way to cook food even if he had it.
It wasn't like he planned to spend the rest of his life in Hector's basement.
He just needed enough time to figure out what he was going to do, which was
proving to be harder than he thought it would be.
Will's breath caught in his throat when the door at the top of the basement
opened. He scooted back away from the light shining down the stairs as far as
he could go.
"You can come out now. The sheriff is gone."
Oh god, he was gonna die.
Will just knew it.
Hector was going to figure out it was him hiding in the basement and the man
would kill him. Will was no dummy. He'd seen the size of the man's muscles.
Hector could squash him with a snap of his fingers.
"Come on out," Hector said. "This passage is too narrow for me to come down
there without squeezing myself into a pretzel."
Will believed it.
Hector's voice was a lot lower and more menacing when he spoke again. "Don't
make me come down there. I won't be happy."
Will grabbed his bag in case he needed to make a run for it, and pushed
himself to his feet. He kept a tight grip on the handle of his bag as he
slowly stepped into the light. He swallowed tightly then glanced up to the top
of the stairs. The second his eyes met Hector's eyes, Will dropped his gaze.
Hector's massive chest heaved when he sighed. "Come on up, Will."
It took every ounce of Will's control to force himself to take that first
step. One by one, he climbed up the stairs, his eyes never leaving the pulse
beating in Hector throat.
When he reached the top of the stairs, he wasn't sure what to expect. He was
almost positive that Hector was going to grab him, force him down the hallway,
then toss him out the front door. He never expected the man to simply step
back and allow him out of the basement.
Will clutched his bag tightly to his chest and quickly stepped through the
doorway and out into the hallway. He took a couple of steps back, making sure
there was plenty of room between him and Hector. He wanted a head start if he
needed to run.
Hector shut the door then walked right on past him. "You want some water or
something?"
"No, thank you," Will murmured.
Hector's dark eyebrows were raised when he glanced over his shoulder. "Are you
sure?"
Will shrugged. To be honest, his throat was so parched, it hurt, but he wasn't
going to admit that.
Hector grunted before continuing toward the kitchen. Will waited for a moment
before following after the man. He paused in the archway and watched as Hector
grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. He licked his dry lips when
Hector unscrewed the top and took a long swallow.
Hector stared at him for a moment after lowering his bottle of water then
turned and reached into the fridge for another bottle. When he held it out,
Will threw caution to the wind and grabbed for the bottle.
He quickly scooted back to the doorframe before opening the bottle and
swallowing down almost the entire thing. He tried to save some of it for
later, but it was so hard. He hadn't had anything to drink since the previous
day.
Hector crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter. His eyebrows were
pulled tight together in a pensive expression, almost as if he was trying to
figure something out but didn't have all the pieces together yet.
Will clutched at his bottle of water, tensing his muscles in case he had to
make a mad dash for the door. The air was thick with unease. Will was pretty
sure most of it came from him.
"Were you in my house before or after I bought it?" Hector finally asked.
Will gulped. "Before," he whispered.
"Did you do the work on the baseboards and crown molding?"
"Yes."
Hector cocked his head. "Why?"
Will dropped his eyes to his hands as he shrugged his shoulders. "I ate your
food. I wanted to pay you back."
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