Sitting in their living room on the couch, Eric stared at his companion, contemplating if the guy had lost his mind. “So, you still want to go to Miami and try to get this Felipe guy after what his cousin did?”
“Yes,” Mike quietly replied.
Eric raised his eyebrows. “Really? I’m surprised. Have you forgotten how his cousin tried to kill us, and why? It was because we agreed to help Maria. You’ve got to be out of your mind if you still want to get involved.”
“I know. But you do have to admit that our stay at the hospital was a nice break,” Mike said, ignoring his friend’s comment while simultaneously glancing at his abdomen where he had gotten shot. “Not to mention, before I was discharged, we even got to share a room together.”
“That’s true. But look at price did we paid for that bit of luxury. Felipe’s cousin could have easily killed us both. Have you forgotten that one of his bullets hit so close to my heart it wasn’t funny? Another millimeter more and I’d be six feet under.”
Mike momentarily glanced upward. After all, he couldn’t disagree. Eric was absolutely correct. They both could have been killed. Fortunately, luck was with them. While they did suffer some internal injuries, they both survived.
“So – just because a lunatic tried to do us in, we’re not going to help Maria?”
Eric shook his head. “No. I’m afraid not this time, my friend. I’d rather not get involved. Chad can work out his own problems. After all, he’s not a kid, anymore.”
“I disagree,” Mike fired back before getting up and heading toward their refrigerator. “The youngster’s only eighteen. How smart were you at that age? Did you always make the right decisions?”
Eric broke into laughter. “Far from it,” he replied as he leaned back on their brown leather couch.
“That’s my point,” Mike replied. “It’s why we need to take care of this so-called Felipe guy. Chad’s probably already in Miami with him being abused, whether he knows it or not.”
Eric stared into his friend’s eyes. “You really think so? Or you just saying that so I’ll head to Florida with you. I know how much you loved Miami and this would make a great reason to go.”
“I think it’s possible that both of them are there,” Mike answered. “And in regards to Chad, I heard numerous stories about people who endure abuse just to maintain the relationship.”
Eric frowned and looked at his partner. “And what do we do with him after we get Felipe?”
Mike raised his shoulders, indicating he didn’t know.
“That’s what I thought. If the guy’s in the country legally, there’s not a whole lot we can do except tell him to stay away from Chad.” Eric said, before pouring himself a Coke. He then took a drink. “The way I see it, if we go to Miami, the only thing we will definitely accomplish is to get Chad pissed off at us by telling his boyfriend to permanently stay away. Not to mention, if Felipe’s as crazy as his cousin, he may try to kill us for trying to separate them.”
“This is idiotic, Mike. Chad doesn’t want this and Felipe certainly won’t. And even if we did break those two apart, there’s no guarantee they’ll stay that way. Then we would have accomplished nothing but waste time and money, AND get two people pissed off at us for sticking our nose where technically it doesn’t belong.”
Mike chuckled. “I know. But at least we would be able to tell Maria we tried. Doesn’t that count for something?”