4. Joaquin

Chapter 4

Joaquin

Joaquin always had a good sense for when it was time to make a fast exit. And that evening was no exception. As he watched the gruff asshole from the bar take down the dumb hockey supporters, Joaquin knew that it was time to make his move, and moments later he was slipping away into the darkness of a nearby alleyway.

‘All this money, and nowhere to spend it,' Joaquin snickered, thumbing his way through the folded dollar bills in his hand. ‘I need to keep moving. At least for now…'

With that, Joaquin walked down the alleyway and onto the main street.

Ridgeback Falls seemed just like many of the other small towns that Joaquin had found himself in. He'd always considered himself to be a city boy at heart, but there was something undeniably reassuring about the small town vibe – not that Joaquin would ever admit that out loud.

As he walked past the rows of shut for the night businesses, Joaquin felt a buzz in his pocket.

‘Hmmm, let's see who this might be…' Joaquin said, taking his cell phone out of his pocket. The reality of the situation was that Joaquin didn't really have many long term friends. He moved around way too often to settle down and make any long lasting connections, and more often than not he would find himself leaving under a cloud anyway.

But as soon as he opened the message, Joaquin was more than aware of who it was, and what they wanted too…

KATSEN: So you decided to run. Well that 25k just turned into 50k. And don't think for a fucking second that we won't find you, Joaquin. You can run, but you can't hide… not for long anyway. Pay us the money and this doesn't have to end badly. Keep us waiting, and the price goes higher and higher. Consider this your last warning.

Joaquin instinctively deleted the message and put his cell phone back inside his pocket. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all .

Rohan Katsen was a senior mob boss back in the city and it was his men who had held Joaquin captive and beaten and abused him. The fact that Joaquin had managed to escape was one thing, but he always knew that the ordeal was far from over.

I need a plan.

I need to work out a way to escape… for good this time.

And if I can make Katsen and his men pay the price, then even better.

Just as Joaquin was trying to calm himself down so that he could formulate some kind of plan, he felt a drop of rain land on his shoulder. And then another. And then another after that.

Suddenly, the heavens above Joaquin opened and the humidity of the night was replaced by something else altogether. Before Joaquin knew it, his entire body was drenched. But rather than moan or grumble about it, Joaquin felt a sudden sense of euphoria come over him.

‘Screw you, rain!' Joaquin shouted, jumping up and down and spinning around as the heavy rain continued to drench him. ‘Bring it on! Bring it on!'

Soon enough, Joaquin was laughing with delight as he let the rain wash over him. It felt almost like he was cleansing himself of not only the bullshit back at Smokers Tavern, but of his overhanging problem with Rohan Katsen and his goons too.

Of course, Joaquin knew that singing and dancing in the rain wasn't going to solve his problems in the long run. But in that moment it sure as hell did feel like it was going some distance to making everything right in the world again.

Joaquin had been through a lot in his life.

Ever since he was a kid, trouble had always seemed just around the corner. Whether it was his drunk of a father or his absent mother, Joaquin had never known a stable life. And when he became old enough to truly fend for himself, Joaquin found that all he knew how to do was survive by any means he could.

So the chance to simply break out of his reality and have some fun was something that Joaquin had become very adept at doing. And if that meant splashing and pirouetting in under the refreshing midnight rain, then so be it.

‘Fuck the world!' Joaquin shouted with glee as he spun around once more.

And with his ill-gotten money safely tucked away inside his metal wallet, Joaquin knew that once he got himself a room for the night back at the Smokers Tavern, he could have at least one night's sleep before he set about returning to reality and facing his problems.

In the meantime though, there was the chance to dance a little longer – and as he whipped his t-shirt off over his head, Joaquin was ready to truly let loose and dance his way to happiness once more.

After the rain stopped, a wet to the bone Joaquin made his way back to Smokers Tavern. All it took was a quick scout around the place to see that the disgruntled Dolphins fans hadn't returned, and as far as Joaquin was concerned that was more than enough of a security blanket for him to head back inside.

‘I'll take one room please Tiffany,' Joaquin said, flashing the pretty server a smile.

‘Sure, Steve ,' Tiffany replied. ‘But on one condition… you tell me your real name.'

Joaquin looked around to check that no one else was listening. It might have been the excitement of playing a risky game, but he decided that it was okay to tell Tiffany his real name. She seemed sweet and gave off good vibes. It might have been a chance he normally wouldn't have taken, but Joaquin was willing to let his guard down just this one time.

‘Joaquin,' he said, handing Tiffany the money for the room, plus a tip. ‘And if you could maybe rustle up a snack too, that would be great.'

‘ Pffft , you'll be lucky,' Tiffany replied, shaking her head. ‘The cook finished up about an hour ago. The best I can do is a jerky.'

‘I'm good, but thanks,' Joaquin replied, suddenly conscious that his tummy was rumbling.

But before he could change his mind and take whatever bar snack he could get his hands on, Joaquin felt a presence tower over him from behind.

‘Oh… it's you,' Joaquin said, his heart thumping in his chest as he turned and saw the well-built stranger who had saved him earlier.

‘Yup, it sure is. The name's Cole,' Cole replied. ‘And I think we need to have a conversation. And I'm not asking. I'm fucking telling .'

Joaquin's mind sparked up into action. He could run. He could bolt for the door and sprint down the alley and back into the town. He would be long gone before the big, lumbering man in front of him could do a damn thing about it.

But try as he might, Joaquin couldn't make the move.

There was something about Cole that was making Joaquin nervous. It was more than the fact that Cole was twice the size of him and had the kind of serious, stern look on his face that made him come over as a cross between a high school principal, action movie star, and roadhouse doorman.

Cole was putting Joaquin on edge in a way that Joaquin had never experienced before. He felt scared, intimidated, and a little bit… excited .

Joaquin wasn't able to put his finger on what the hell was going on when it came to his response to Cole. But a far more pressing problem was Cole's insistence that the two of them were about to have a little chat. As far as Joaquin was concerned, his business was nothing to do with Cole. Cole on the other hand, quite evidently didn't see things the same way.

‘We can do this the easy way, or the hard way,' Cole said, his voice taking on a sterner tone. ‘Now get up, follow me over to the booth, and we'll talk.'

Joaquin's heart was racing even harder. As he looked Cole up and down, he found his eyes drawn to the solid, sturdy physique that was probably underneath Cole's worn grey t-shirt and blue denim jeans. There was something intoxicating about Cole, but there was something about him that was making Joaquin react badly too.

Urgh. What's this guy's problem?

What does he want, a medal for intervening in my business?

I'll listen to him for two minutes, nod my head, and then I'm out.

‘Fine,' Joaquin muttered, standing up from the bar stool and following Cole over toward the booth in the corner of the bar. ‘But just so you know, I'm not into-'

However before Joaquin could finish speaking, he felt Cole's arm pushing him down onto the seat.

‘You could have got yourself killed,' Cole said, his voice gruff and almost sounding angry. ‘And the fact you stole their money… fuck. If I'd known that beforehand….'

‘Yeah, well, no one asked you to help,' Joaquin said, pouting. ‘You don't think I can handle myself?'

‘No, I'm pretty sure you can,' Cole replied, leaning back into his seat and sliding a beer and pack of roasted nuts over toward Joaquin. ‘But six or seven drunken Dolphins supporters versus one kid. At those odds, I'm not backing you.'

‘Whatever,' Joaquin replied, dipping his hand into the bowl of nuts and rapidly crunching his way through a handful in double-quick time.

‘You won't have a problem with those guys again,' Cole said. ‘But something tells me you've got bigger problems. I'm right, aren't I?'

Joaquin looked into Cole's aquatic green eyes and it felt to him like Cole was staring into his soul. There was no way that Joaquin was going to spill the beans on exactly what was going on with Rohan Katsen, or what he had escaped from back in the city. That would have been several steps too far. But there was something inside Joaquin that was making him want to cave and let Cole inside…

‘I… um… I'm good,' Joaquin said, sounding not even remotely convincing. ‘I mean… I'm not on the run, if that's what you're thinking.'

‘Which is precisely what someone who was on the run would say, right?' Cole chuckled, a wry smile on his face. ‘I don't need details. But I do want to help. No strings.'

‘ Nah , I'm good,' Joaquin replied, his words coming out snarky and dismissive. ‘Thanks for the beer and the nuts. But I'll take it from here.'

With that, Joaquin got himself out of the booth almost as quickly as he sat down and began walking toward the stairs that led to the tavern's bedrooms.

‘Ridgeback Falls is a small town,' Cole replied. ‘But it's not so small that you won't get found here, boy. Trust me on that.'

Cole's words stung Joaquin and he doubled his pace and ended up almost running up the stairs towards his room for the night. The sooner he was out of the place, the better.

I'll stay the night, but that's it.

Come morning, I'm gone.

Gone from here, gone from Cole, and far, far away from Katsen and his men too…