Page 92 of Final Approach

Andrew pushed inside the room. Corey backed up, his sleepy, bleary gaze on Andrew’s face. Andrew let his anger bubble to the surface. “Where were you three hours ago?”

“Right here. Asleep. Why?”

Could it be true? He let his gaze roam the room. King bed, desk, chair with a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt hanging on the back, closet. He walked to the closet and opened it.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

No clothes. None.

He walked to the dresser and opened the drawers. No clothes.

So, unless he ditched the ski mask, it wasn’t Corey who’d broken into his parents’ store. He turned. “I might owe you an apology, but I’m not sure yet.”

“Huh? Okay. What?” Corey blinked and ran a hand down his face. “Wanna tell me what this is all about?”

“Someone broke into Mom and Dad’s store and robbed it.”

His cousin’s eyes widened. “And you think it was me?” He snorted and sighed, then dropped to sit on the bed. “Of course you do.”

Andrew gestured to the closet and dresser. “You ran with the clothes on your back.”

“Yep. I had a visit from my bookie’s hurt men—”

“Who?”

“Sorry. My name for them. You know, like hit men, but hurt men. The guys who come to beat you up because they think that’s going to make you pay back the money you owe faster.”

“Enforcers.”

“Right. Enforcers. Hurt men.”

Yeah. That had never made sense to him either. “Corey...”

“They demanded money. I don’t have it. I gambled it all away instead of spending it on drugs.”

“Because that’s better?”

“No. I’m clean, though, Andrew. I had a good job. Was doing really good. And then I got laid off. I tried finding more work, but no one wants to hire an ex-con. So, I was down to my last two hundred bucks with no sight of any more coming in. I was going to work my last day and then come here, but I ran out of time.” He shrugged. “I mean, if I hadn’t gambled it, I would have snorted it. And I didn’t want to go back there. I’ve done a lot of lousy things in my life, but I didn’t break into the store. I’d never do that.”

Andrew pulled on every ounce of patience he could muster. “If it wasn’t you, then it was probably the guys after you, and you led them straight to my parents!” He jabbed a finger in Corey’s chest.

His cousin winced and jumped off the bed. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know what else to do or where to go!” He paced to the window.

Thankfully, he’d had the sense to close the curtains, but Andrew said, “You might want to stay away from the window.”

Corey moved to the corner of the room. Then he raked a hand over his head. “They didn’t follow me to the bookstore. I was careful. Paranoid. Looking over my shoulder every minute. No, it wasn’t me.”

“So, it’s just a coincidence?”

“It has to be.”

Andrew scoffed and shook his head, then stomped to the door and grabbed the handle. “Stay away from my parents until you get this mess cleaned up.”

“How?” Corey asked. “How do I clean it up when I can’t pay them off?”

His cousin sounded so lost and so miserable that Andrew stopped and dropped his chin to his chest.Don’t do it,don’t do it. Don’t you dare.

“Who do you owe money to?”