Rowe lifted an eyebrow at Seth, and even Liam had to stare at the rage bubbling out of the shorter man who stood with his arms folded across his chest as he glared at this boss.
“The other option…is to pay the money.” Rowe shrugged. “Gerald borrowed the money. It’s only fair to pay it back.”
Liam nodded. “I agree. One hundred and fifty thousand is a lot, but not impossible to raise. I can take a loan against my retirement savings and maybe sell some more things.” His voice drifted off as he watched Rowe wince and shake his head. “What?”
“Did Gerald invest one hundred and fifty thousand in the business, or was it less?”
“One fifty. We both did.”
“Then Gerald owes more. A lot more,” Seth said, his voice sounding haunted. He shook his head. “What do you think the vig is?”
“Vig? What are you talking about?” Liam snapped.
“The vig is essentially the interest on the loan. Four points at three months is pretty common. That’s a loan with a four percent interest rate.”
“Four percent isn’t bad,” Liam quickly said. “He gave me the money only a few months ago. That’s probably just another six thousand.”
“No. That’s a rate of four percent compounded per day since Gerald took possession of the money,” Rowe said slowly. “I figure we’re looking at around a half a mill, at least.”
Liam’s legs gave out. He didn’t have half a million dollars. He didn’t technically have one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. How the hell was he going to raise that kind of money? His business wasn’t even close to being worth that.
Strong arms wrapped around him, steadying him as he leaned against the shelf behind the counter.
“I-I don’t have that kind of money. I couldn’t raise it if I sold everything I own.”
“You can,” Rowe said firmly. “Between myself and Andrei, I think we can pull it together pretty easily.”
“What? I can’t!” Liam practically shrieked, but Rowe was holding up his hand, stopping further denials.
“Yeah, I figured you’d say that, but I wanted to throw it out there as one option. The other is your brother and his new husband. Not to be crude, but Geoffrey Ralse ain’t exactly hurting for money, and you are family.”
Liam pressed a shaking hand to his face. “That’s not exactly the kind of thing you want to ask your brand-new brother-in-law.”
“Maybe, but I know Geoffrey,” Rowe continued. “He’s a good kid. I know he’d jump to help you in a heartbeat, no questions asked. Me and Andrei are the same. You’ve got options.”
There was no argument from Liam on that front. He’d gotten to know Geoffrey some over the past few years, and there was no doubt in Liam’s mind that he had a heart of gold. He loved Sven completely and that included Sven’s family.
But the idea that Rowe and Andrei would offer to help him. They hardly fucking knew him. It was just so overwhelming that he couldn’t speak around the lump in his throat.
Seth placed a hand on Liam’s cheek and Liam met his worried eyes. “None of this is your fault. You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. We all just want to help you. Keep you safe.”
“I just feel like I should have somehow seen this coming.”
“I understand, but I wouldn’t dwell on it. You need to make a decision soon. If you’re not going to the cops, then you need to either get in contact with Geoffrey or me,” Rowe instructed. “I wouldn’t wait more than twenty-four hours. Weiland is going to make another move against you soon.”
And that put not only himself in danger, but Seth as well.
Liam nodded. “Okay. I want to think some more. Talk this over with Sven.”
Rowe gathered up the pictures, stuffing them into the folder. “Okay, but you’ll hear from me at seven a.m. tomorrow if I don’t hear from you first. Understand?”
“I do. Thank you.”
Rowe stepped around the counter and patted Seth on the shoulder as he walked into the back room and left the shop.
As soon as the delivery door clanged shut, Seth pulled him tight into his arms. Liam just clung to him. They had the answers he’d been looking for, but this was all so much bigger, so much worse than he was expecting. Closing his eyes, Liam rested his head against Seth, never wanting this warmth, this feeling of safety to end.
But they were running out of time.Chapter TenThe knock on the front door of Liam’s apartment seemed too loud in the quiet rooms. Liam flinched and looked over at Seth standing opposite him at the breakfast bar to see if the bodyguard noticed. It was obvious he did, judging by the sympathetic smile on his lips.
“Guess it’s too late to start drinking, huh?” Liam said with a smirk.
“Yeah, but I can go ahead and get the whiskey out. Or I can get the door,” Seth offered.