Page 108 of Joey

I remove the gun from his temple and take a step back, bouncing on the balls of my feet while we wait.

Five seconds pass. “Where the fuck is he?” I snap.

“He’s coming from upstairs. He’ll be here in just a minute,” Michael assures me, his face as white as the walls of his house.

A moment later, Toby comes to the door, all smiles and wet hair. He opens his mouth to speak, but I don’t let him utter a single word. Grabbing his hair, I force him to his knees.

His father lurches forward, and under different circumstances, I’d admire his instinct to protect his child.

“Don’t!” Dante snaps. Michael freezes, rooted to the spot.

“Dad? Maximo?” Toby pleads. “What is this? W-what?”

I press the cold steel barrel between his eyes.

“Dante? Please?” Michael begs.

“If the kid’s done nothing wrong and he tells us what we need to know, he has nothing to fear.” Dante stands, watching me impassively.

“W-what?” Toby asks again.

“Who did you tell about me and Joey?”

“Y-you and Joey?”

I shove the gun against his forehead, pushing his head back. “Don’t stall on me, you little fuck. Answer the question or I’ll blow a hole in your head. Those are your only options.”

“I don’t know what you mean, Maximo. I haven’t told anyone anything.”

“That night I came here to pick her up, did you tell anyone about that?”

“N-no.”

“You sure about that?”

He squeezes his eyes shut.

“Toby?” I demand.

“I’m thinking,” he cries. “It’s kind of hard to do with a gun in my face.”

Dante chuckles. “Now, you see I woulda thought that would help matters, wouldn’t you, Max?”

“Sure would.”

A bead of sweat rolls down Toby’s temple.

“You either did or you didn’t, Toby. It’s not fucking rocket science. Now, I’ll give you ten more seconds to come up with an answer, or your dad here will be wearing your entrails on his suit.”

The boy nods, his eyes still screwed tight and his mouth clamped shut.

I start counting to ten in my head. When I get to four, he speaks. “Monique,” he spits the name, and I drop my arm, glaring at him.

“What did you say to her? Did you tell her Joey and I were together?”

“No!” He fervently shakes his head. “I didn’t know you were. I told her what happened, that’s all. That you picked her up on your bike.”

Dante clears his throat. “Monique called Joey in the car while we were driving home from the cabin. Said she was on her way to our house, but Joey told her she wasn’t home. She knew Joey left with you and didn’t come home.”