Craving My Brother's Best Friend (Bailey and Kaleb) novel Chapter 26

**The Night We Borrowed Fire from a Broken Star by Selvin Arlo Crest**

**Chapter 26**

**Kaleb’s POV**

Rage coursed through me like a wildfire, igniting every nerve in my body. My fists trembled at my sides as I navigated the dimly lit street, each step heavy with the weight of my frustration. I was ensnared in a web of my own making, unable to escape the clutches of the gang until every last cent I owed was repaid.

As long as that debt loomed over me, I was nothing more than a marionette, dancing to the whims of Marco. That bastard relished in his control, pulling my strings with a sadistic glee that made my blood boil. Each time I caught a glimpse of his smug expression, the urge to smash his face in surged within me, but I knew all too well that such an act would seal my fate.

Marco held my freedom hostage, and I was forced to comply with his every demand.

Five years prior, I had been at the summer house with Bailey and our friends, basking in the carefree joys of youth, when Mr. Hart arrived with the devastating news. My father had been in a terrible accident.

Mr. Hart, my father’s closest confidant, spoke with a gravity that shattered my world. He explained how the police had discovered my father’s car submerged in the ocean, its wreckage lost to the depths. The windows were shattered, but the lifeless body was nowhere to be found.

Despite his efforts, hiring private investigators to scour the coastline, my father’s remains were never recovered.

That summer, I clung to the absurd hope that this was some cruel joke, that he would walk through the door at any moment, but days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, and he never returned.

A funeral never took place; I simply couldn’t accept that he was gone. Yet, after three agonizing months of searching and mourning, reality began to seep in.

It was during this dark time that Marco entered my life, shadowing me until he cornered me in an abandoned warehouse by the docks.

His towering figure exuded danger, and his smile felt like a mask hiding a void.

“Kaleb,” he said, his voice smooth as silk, lighting a cigarette as I stood there, bewildered and terrified.

“Do you know who I am?”

I swallowed hard, my throat dry. “No.”

He exhaled a plume of smoke, lazy and deliberate. “I’m Marco. I work for the Serpent gang. Your father owes us a significant amount of money. It’s unfortunate that he’s dead.”

I froze, disbelief washing over me like a cold wave. “He is not dead; that can’t be true. My dad…”

“It is true,” he interrupted, thrusting a document into my hands, signed and sealed by my father.

“Even if your father liquidated his entire company, it wouldn’t cover the debt. The Serpents don’t deal in small amounts, Kaleb, and they certainly don’t forgive.”

My fists clenched, fury bubbling to the surface.

“You’re lying,” I spat, each word dripping with defiance.

Marco’s eyes sparkled with amusement.

“I don’t lie about money. Someone has to pay the price. Since your father can’t, guess who that falls on?”

My stomach plummeted. “His debt has nothing to do with me,” I protested, but he merely continued to smoke, unbothered.

“What if I refuse?”

His smile widened, and he leaned in closer.

“Then the mafia will come for you. And for everyone you care about. You’ve been staying with Mr. Hart and his family, haven’t you?”

A chill ran down my spine.

“If you reject what I’m offering, you’ll witness their suffering, one by one.”

A part of me wanted to lash out, to fight back against him, but the thought of my only family facing the wrath of a deranged mafia syndicate paralyzed me. I couldn’t take that risk.

So, I capitulated.

Without a word of explanation or a proper farewell, I stepped into the role of their pawn. For five long years, I carried drugs and inflicted pain on others, all in a desperate attempt to repay the debt and obey Marco’s every command.

Every single day, I reminded myself that I was doing this to survive, to repay what I owed, and to protect Bailey.

Eventually, I managed to pay off a decent portion of the debt and grew stronger in the process. I finally broke free from the inner circle of the Serpents.

Yet, I still hadn’t cleared all my obligations. And so, here I was, five years later, still shackled to them, still their dog.

As I arrived home, I pushed the door open, the familiar creak echoing in the quiet.

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