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“Delilah!”
I caught her just in time and cradled her against me before she hit the ground.
I quickly tapped her cheeks as my chest tightened.
“Delilah! Delilah!” I shouted, but her eyes remained closed.
With my heart hammering in my chest, I carried her back to the sofa and placed a pillow under her head for support.
You went too far, Seb. Fuck!
I pulled a chair close, sat beside her and held her hand.
The next fifteen minutes passed in agonizing silence as I stared at her. Then, finally, her eyelids fluttered open, and I sighed with relief.
“Delilah, how do you feel?” I asked, my voice laced with worry.
“W-what happened?” she asked weakly as she struggled to sit up.
“Delilah, don’t sit up. You just fainted. You need to relax.”
“Please, I need to sit up,” she pleaded.
Not wanting to argue with her, I helped her into a sitting position and sat next to her.
“Better?”
She nodded slowly.
“Delilah,” I said softly, “Please tell me what happened at your apartment.”
She swallowed hard.
“Someone trashed my apartment.” Her voice shook as she spoke. “I didn’t know if they were still around, so I ran. And when I was running down the stairs to get to my car, the heel of my shoe broke. I tumbled down the stairs, hitting my head and my shoulder.”
Frustration and anger seeped through my voice as I spoke. “Do you know who could have done this?”
She nodded.
“Dean owes someone money,” she croaked out, her eyes filling with tears.
My breath hitched and my pulse quickened as I waited for her to explain.
“About ten months ago, Dean had a customer named Elliot, who was looking for rare luxury vehicles. Dean thought he hit the jackpot when another car dealership owner approached him, promising to help him acquire the cars. Dean took half of the payment from Elliot upfront, and together with some of his money, he paid the other guy for the cars.
"But when the cars arrived and Dean had them checked, he found out they had stolen parts and forged documents.” She paused, as a new wave of tears rolled down her cheeks. “Deanhad no choice but to refund Elliot, but he still owed him five million dollars. And he needed money fast.”
“Do you know who the other car dealership guy is? Or the lawyer who checked his documents?” My jaw tightened.
Delilah shook her head and sobbed while trying to get the words out. “But Elliot suggested that Dean work for him to pay off the debt by smuggling drugs inside his cars that he would be importing for his business.”
“And he did it, didn’t he?” I asked, not liking the direction the story was headed.
Delilah nodded.
Fuck!
“At first, Dean refused, but after about a month and no closer to getting Elliot his money, he decided to do it. From there, he evolved from smuggling to selling, and eventually, he began using it.”