Sehun whipped around, grabbed Baekhyun by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall. ‘Tell me again that you didn’t steal an antique chalice from the Wus!’

Baekhyun didn’t look pissed off anymore. His face was pale, his pupils wide. ‘I didn’t know they’d do anything like this. If I’d thought it would somehow come back to your family…’

But it had come back to Sehun’s family. Baekhyun had brought the vampires right into Sehun’s home. What would have happened if his parents or his Aunt or Luna had been here? The thought made his body go hot, then cold.

‘So you took it. Just admit it,’ Sehun ordered.

Baekhyun twisted away from him. ‘I had no choice.’

‘Bull.’

‘You’re right.’ Baekhyun strode into the living room and began picking up books and shoving them back on the bookshelf. ‘I had a choice. I could have let Russ kill me. You saw the bruises – that was just a taster.’

Sehun followed Baekhyun, catching sight of the kitchen through the open door. The canisters of sugar, flour, and coffee had been dumped. The floor looked like some kind of toxic beach.

‘Who’s Russ?’ he asked, joining Baekhyun in gathering up the books. He almost didn’t want to know the answer.

‘My dealer.’

‘And? Come on, do I have to yank the whole story out of you word by word?’

‘I stole from him, all right? I needed some Ritalin. I got addicted to the stuff. I didn’t have the cash. Russ wouldn’t front me, so I took it. A lot of it,’ Baekhyun confessed. ‘Like five thousand dollars worth.’

‘Christ.’ Sehun let out a long breath.

‘On a tricycle with a monkey on his back,’ Baekhyun added, without a trace of humor in his voice.

‘That call I answered? That was-?’

‘That was Russ. He’s my new best friend. Calls all the time,’ Baekhyun said. ‘Thanks for telling him where I was, by the way.’ He jammed a book onto a shelf hard enough to make the case shake.

‘I’m not used to my friends being chased by people who want them dead,’ Sehun countered. He moved toward another book and heard a sharp crack. He pulled his foot back. ‘Great! You now owe my mother a Celine Dion’s Greatest Hits CD.’ He glanced around the room. ‘Among other things,’ he added under his breath.

‘Look, Russ gave me forty-eight hours to get him cash for what I stole,’ Baekhyun said. ‘And I wasn’t kidding about him sending somebody out here to kill me. Or at least seriously mess me up. I figured the Wus have insurance up the wazoo. I thought they’d just submit a claim. No harm. No foul.’

Baekhyun lifted his arms, then let them fall to his sides. ‘How was I supposed to know they’d do something like this? You saw their house. They have more crap than they could use in five lives. Why would they care so much?’

‘You picked the wrong thing to steal,’ Sehun told him. ‘That chalice has been in their family for generations. That’s why they care so much.’ A thought struck him like a knife in the chest. ‘Was it even here when they trashed the place?’

Baekhyun shook his head. ‘I sold it at a pawn shop.’

‘Then this isn’t over. They aren’t going to stop until they get it back. And, obviously’ – Sehun kicked the overturned ottoman – ‘they know you’re the one who took the thing. We’ve got to go get it.’

‘With what? I wired the money to Michigan already. I have…’ Baekhyun pulled out his wallet out of his back pocket and checked the contents, ‘fifty-four dollars total.’

‘We’ll figure that out later. We’ve got to get to the pawn shop before they sell it,’ Sehun said. ‘Because somebody else might be looking to mess you up if we don’t.’ He hesitated. ‘It’ll only show us down if I call Dad now and try to tell him some version of what happened. So let’s hit it,’ he told Baekhyun. His mind was racing. If only Baekhyun had told him the whole story before, maybe he could have done something… Maybe he could get him out of the mess now, lend him the money somehow?

‘I’m surprised you actually managed to find a pawn shop in Malibu,’ Sehun said as Baekhyun pushed the buzzer next to the door.

‘Rich people probably need quick cash for their dealers every once in a while,’ Baekhyun said. ‘You can spend as much money as you have on drugs. More.’

Another buzz sounded. Baekhyun grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open. Sehun followed him inside. One wall held TVs, DVD players, CD players, and computers. A selection of cameras hung from the ceiling. Glass counters held an assortment of jewelry, including a variety of diamond engagement rings. It was pretty pathetic.

‘Back already?’ the middle-aged guy behind the counter asked Baekhyun. ‘Got some more good stuff for me?’ He gave his short, graying ponytail a tug.

‘We need the gold chalice he sold you back,’ Sehun said.

‘Not possible,’ Ponytail Man answered. ‘That thing flew out of here. I only had it in the case for a couple of hours.’

‘Who bought it?’ Sehun demanded.

‘This is the kind of place where people like their privacy,’ Ponytail Man replied flatly.

‘It’s important,’ Baekhyun put in. ‘I’m kind of in a bad position.’

The man shrugged. ‘It’s also the kind of place where people are in bad positions a lot. I stay out of that.’

‘We only want to find the buyer so we can buy back the chalice. We’ll pay more than they paid. A lot more.’ Sehun had no idea where he or Baekhyun would come up with the money. A loan from Aunt Boa, maybe? It didn’t matter. For now, all he cared about was finding the chalice.

‘Doesn’t interest me,’ Ponytail Man said. ‘I don’t give out buyer information.’

Sehun shoved his fingers through his hair. ‘How about this?’ How about if you contact the buyer for us? Tell them that we’ll give them a profit if they’ll sell us the chalice back.’

The man pulled out a rag out of his back pocket and started to polish the closet counter. ‘Of course, you’d get a percentage if the buyer agrees to sell,’ Sehun added quickly.

‘Give me your phone number.’ Ponytail Man slid a business card across the counter to Sehun.

Sehun carefully printed his cell number on the card and slid it back to the man. ‘We really appreciate this.’

Ponytail Man grinned. ‘I’ll call you if they’re interested.’

Sehun waited. But it was clear the guy wasn’t going to make the call while they were standing there, so he turned and led the way out of the place.

‘Thanks for doing that,’ Baekhyun told him as they walked down the sidewalk toward the car. ‘I shouldn’t have come here. I shouldn’t have brought my crap into your life. Your parents have always been so great to me, and-‘

‘Enough, already,’ Sehun interrupted. ‘You completely pissed me off. You lied to me. You got my house trashed. I may have to bust my college fund to save your . But you’re my oldest friend. Who else were you supposed to come to?’

‘There was no one else,’ Baekhyun admitted.

‘What do you think-?’ Sehun began.

An SUV with tinted windows pulled up alongside them and stopped. The side door slid open, fast and soundless. Immediately, two men leaped out, and Sehun saw a flash of metal in the sunlight as a piece of pipe came down on Baekhyun’s head.

Sehun launched himself at the closest assailant. Another man moved in from the left and blocked him. Before Sehun could make another attempt to reach Baekhyun, the men had him in the van and the door was sliding shut.

A second later the guy who blocked Sehun was behind the wheel. Sehun heard the van pull away. He stared after it. No license plate.

It sped around the corner and was gone. With Baekhyun inside.

*Note- Hey subbies~ wow, so, so sorry for such a long time since updating. Life got in the way despite being uni holidays~ I’ve been catching with old friends and super busy getting stuff done that I wanted to get done in life, haha. Hopefully updating again soon this week for you all before I get x4 teeth out… I’m going to die hahaha :P