Marcus handed the phone back to Sarah with a steady hand.
He pointed toward the open double doors of his private office down the hall.
Marcus: Walk inside and sit down.
Sarah followed him into the spacious room lined with dark wood bookshelves.
A massive mahogany desk sat in the center near high glass windows.
Marcus sat behind the desk and motioned for Sarah to take the leather chair opposite him.
Marcus: Tell me everything about your brother from the beginning.
Sarah tucked her hair behind her ears, still trying to calm her rapid breathing.
Sarah: Leo fell in with a bad crowd after our parents died in a car accident.
Marcus: What kind of crowd?
Sarah: A local street gang run by a man who calls himself Victor.
Marcus narrowed his eyes slightly at the mention of that name.
Sarah: Leo borrowed two thousand dollars to cover our rent last year when I was sick.
Sarah: I worked extra shifts and paid back every cent three months ago.
Marcus: But now they want ten thousand?
Sarah: Yes, they claimed it is extra fee interest that keeps growing daily.
Marcus picked up a gold pen and tapped it slowly on his glass desk blotter.
Marcus: Where is Leo right now?
Sarah: He is at his high school, but classes end in thirty minutes.
Marcus pulled his personal phone from his pocket and pressed a fast speed-dial contact.
Marcus: Sam, get two cars ready and meet me at the front driveway in five minutes.
He hung up and stood up from his tall leather chair with swift purpose.
Sarah: Where are you going?
Marcus: We are going to collect your brother before Victor's men find him.
Sarah stood up quickly, her heart pounding with a mixture of fear and hope.
Sarah: I cannot let you get dragged into our personal mess!
Marcus: Nobody threatens people who work under my roof.