“I…I…” Someone more eloquent could have made a case for their life in that situation. But all I managed to do was stand around and mumble a few words that amounted to ‘Please help meee…’.

Luke seemed to consider me with a piercing gaze “Pete, you seem like an okay guy and Rob vouched for you. But that alone is not enough for me to risk my life and business interests to protect you. You see these guys around you, they’re more than just friends for me. They’re family. They’re completely devoted to me and I’d do anything for them. But you, I don’t know if you’re worth it Pete”.

“Please Luke, you’re the only one who can help me. I swear I’ll never forget if you help me out. I can be a friend to you. Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it. Please help me, I have nowhere else to turn” I told him with an expression that I was sure would have looked rather pathetic. But I was beyond caring about stuff like that at this point.

Luke seemed to consider my words for a moment before turning to Rob “What do you think Rob?”

“I’ve only known Pete for a few weeks, but I think he’s a good guy. My gut tells me you won’t regret helping him out” Rob said.

I shot a thankful look towards Rob. I was really lucky to have met someone like him. He was sticking his neck out for my sake.

“I’ll trust your instincts Rob. They’ve never led me wrong before” said Luke nodding towards Rob.

Luke took a step towards me, I had to crane my neck to look up at him as he loomed over me. I felt his intimidating presence crash down on me.

“Alright Pete, I’ll help you sort out this mess. But, you have to do exactly what I say. Fail to follow my instructions and I’ll chuck you out right where I found you. Got it?”

I nodded and mumbled yes before Luke took a step away from me.

“First we’ll get you a new place to stay. You need to lie low for a while. You need to quit your job and avoid contacting anyone you know. Ditch your phone as well, Rob will get you a new one. I’ll try and get this resolved quickly, but it might take some time. Meanwhile you can work here, help out around the office and the floor when you’re needed. That should cover your rent and other expenses that’ll cost me”.

I almost offered to pay him for his troubles, but then I remembered Rob’s warning and kept my mouth shut. The new place I was staying was apparently right here in the shop. One of the doors that lead out of the office led to a stairway and then a hallway. The shop had two rooms upstairs. One of them was occupied by Luke while the other guys helped me move into the next room.

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I didn’t realise how exhausted I was till I hit the bed. I fell asleep almost instantly in blissful relief. It looked like my life wasn’t in any immediate danger. I was woken up the next morning by Sam banging on my door. He told me to get ready and meet him downstairs in the office. I had donuts and coffee with Sam while he explained what I’d be doing in the office. Sam’s cheerfulness was a bit infectious, helping to take some edge off from the fact that I’d be starting a new job.

Jay also joined us a bit later, but he wasn’t as talkative as Sam. He filled in on certain details when he thought Sam hadn’t explained them to me properly. Luke joined us a while later. He didn’t stay for breakfast and headed out to run some errands. With the help of Sam and Jay, I started my work. We ordered lunch while the guys helped me clear up some of the doubts I had regarding the job. Luke returned in the afternoon and went up to his room. From their interactions and the way the guys talked about Luke, I got the distinct impression that Luke was the man who decided things in their circle.

While Sam, Jay and Rob were equals, Luke seemed a step above in the social standing. Luke didn’t talk all that much and when he did, it was mostly giving orders to others. The shop closed down around 7 PM and we had our dinner together. After dinner, Luke and the guys went out for a bit while I was told to stay in my room. I woke up early the next day and was in the office when Sam came in the next day. Today, we were joined by both Jay and Rob. Rob had managed to get me a new burner phone. The phone had Luke, Sam, Jay and Rob’s number already programmed into it.

Luke joined us in a bit, but didn’t join us for breakfast. He and Rob left soon afterwards while the 3 of us got started on our work. The pattern pretty much repeated itself in the next 4 days as I got myself more familiarised with the workings of the shop. It was a bit weird, but I felt like we weren't handling nearly as much volume of cars as we should have been able to. Luke wasn’t around for a lot of the time and Sam and Jay occasionally disappeared as well. Then again, I guess that made sense considering the guys Luke was connected to. Anway, it wasn’t my place to ask questions about it. I just hoped that whatever he was doing, Luke would be able to resolve my problems quickly.

It was on saturday that I met a new person since I came here. Her name was Layla. It seemed that she was also part of Luke’s close circle of friends. She was a pretty brunette girl about the same height as me. She looked at me about the same way as most pretty girls did for most of my life. But it seemed that she was particularly pissed off about something as she talked to me like trash or talked over me like I didn’t exist.

She left soon afterwards with Luke. I asked Sam if I’d done something to offend her and he assured me it wasn’t something I did. Apparently Layla sometimes would decide to be nasty to people she didn’t like at first glance. I inquired about her relationship with Luke. I was told that they were close, but he also warned me not to refer to her as Luke’s girlfriend in front of Luke.

I was left wondering exactly what kind of relationship they had. I didn’t have to wonder for long as I found out exactly what their relationship was later that night.