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I nod because I believe he’ll tell me now.
“I lied when I said I would let you go. No, that’s not right. I don’t think it was a lie then. But it’s become one.”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t see?”
I wait, my mouth dry.
“I can’t let you go, Cristina.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you.”25DamianI drive over an hour to fucking Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, to find my brother drinking himself into a stupor in the seedy room of a strip club. One woman kneels between his legs sucking his dick, while two others tongue each other for his viewing pleasure.
I don’t want to think about what I’m touching as I step into the private room.
“They don’t have strip clubs in the city?” I ask.
“Brother,” he says, lifting his bottle of tequila in greeting. “Thought you might drop by.”
The room is the size of my walk-in closet. Mirrors make up each wall and the lighting is Red Light District red. A whore’s red.
“Grab one,” he says, gesturing to the girls who have their tongues in each other’s mouths. “I’d offer you this one, but her cock sucking skills are superior. He glances down to the naked girl who’s currently swallowing his dick. He winks at her and she closes her eyes to get back to work.
Women like this, I never get the draw. I don’t think I could even get it up if this is all that’s on offer. I wouldn’t want to.
“Out,” I tell the girls.
Tobias signals for two soldiers who enter and take the girls sucking face by the arms and haul them to their feet.
“Hey!” one says, stumbling over someone’s foot.
“Hold on. They did good work,” Lucas calls out as he swallows more tequila. “Here, girls.” He hands them each some money from the pile of hundreds on the small table beside him before they’re removed.
“Get her out, too,” I tell Lucas.
He looks down at her. “Come on, sweetheart. You can finish me off after my brother’s given me a talking-to.”
She places her hands on his thighs, gives him one final suck, then slowly stands, waving her ass at me as she bends forward to kiss my brother deeply.
He reaches for several hundred-dollar bills and hands them to her. “Don’t go far. I’m going to need to fuck something when he’s done. I’d like for it to be your face,” he says with a slap to her ass.
“You always had a way with the ladies,” I tell him as the girl leaves.
“She’s no lady.”
“Got that right.”
“I think she’d fuck me if I didn’t have a face left at all. I like girls like that. Easier than the ones who run away screaming.” Any joking vanishes from his expression.
Tobias leaves. I know he’ll stand just outside while I talk to Lucas.
“Drink?” he asks, gesturing to the bottle as he puts his dick away.
Taking it, I drink a swallow. Quality is okay, not great. Probably the best this place stocks. But I know when he’s drinking tequila, it’s bad. He used to do it when we were younger too. Tequila hits him harder. I guess he needs the oblivion.
I think about what I told Cristina. About everything I told her. I’ve never spoken a word of that to a soul. Not once. No one knows about how we grew up.
Taking a seat, I rest my head against the back of the tall bench.
“How did we get here?” I ask.
“We were always going to get here,” he says, sounding remarkably sober. Maybe there isn’t enough tequila in the world to send him into oblivion at this point. “Heard what you did to the Clementi brothers.”
I went old school but kept my word to their father. They’re alive. Each only had one kneecap blown out. And they got to choose which one.
“You here to do the same to me?” Lucas asks, turning to me. “Or worse?”
I’m surprised. I guess I expected him to deny his involvement. And when I look at him, in his eyes I see what I used to see when we were younger. Especially at the beginning when he finally took over beating me while our father watched with pride in his eyes.
Pain. And fear. But more pain.
I reach for the papers that I’ve folded into three and tucked into my jacket pocket. I set them on the table beside the money.
“You supplied the drugs.”
“That’s not accurate.”
“You put up the money to do it.”
He swallows three gulps of tequila. Again, no denial. I get the feeling he’s tired.
“Does Father know?”
“Does it matter?”
“Matters to me.”
“No.”
“What did you tell the Clementi brothers to get them to agree?”
“Told them the truth. You’re not interested in moving drugs, but I am, and there’s money in drugs. Considering my position, I needed a trustworthy player.”
“You mean a gullible one.”
“Most people are gullible.” He pauses, never taking his eyes off me. “They hate you, Damian. They think you take more than your fair share.”
