“You’ll regret this.”
“No, I think you will, Alec. You’re the co-conspirator in a potential murder case. I have proof that you drove me to the country club on Friday night. We’re in this together or not at all.”
I angle my phone for him to watch the video. As the footage rolls, he blanches, his pallor turning so white he’s almost gray.His extreme reaction is like something from anSNLskit.
It makes me wonder if this is how the Veronians cultivate loyalty…
My guilt is his and his guilt is mine.
“You don’t understand.” Sweat visibly drips down his temples, confirming how bad this is. “Derek’s father is important to the brothers.” He glances at Shay, his jaw tensing. “I’ve said too much.”
“Derek’s father will shortly accept that his son is a liability and all liabilities get cut off. Did you see what he flashed in the diner?”
Alec frowns. “No, what?”
I tsk. “I haven’t been branded yet—” Shay stiffens at my statement. “—but even I recognized what Dyers showed anyone who bothered looking…”
Alec’s eyes grow round with horror. “Fuck. You’re right.”
“You got landed with me on Friday night, dropping me off at a crime scene, while Dyers had cozy conversations with brothers high up in the organization with Wynter on his arm. Does that seem fair to you?”
As I contemplate what Wynter might have overheard, his jaw works. “It’s the nature of the game. I’m a first generation Veronian. He isn’t.”
“And you think it’s fair that his incompetence is rewarded?”
“What do you mean?”
“He rapes someone and doesn’t have to leave the school, never mind get expelled or deal with a criminal record. Anyone with a brain can see the discord on your team and I don’t watch the sport. I just had to witness that byplay in the diner. You’re the one having to manage him.”
“All while he’s sniffing coke at parties?—”
“That’s just rumor,” Alec disregards, but I can tell he knows Shay’s right.
“He attacked Wynter on Friday and got a knee to the balls for his pains, then brings Addison into the diner, acting like he’s king of the hill, and parades her on his arm when she was visibly scared of him. To compound matters, he puts himself in a position where people could see his branding…”
Alec flinches.
I stack that away for another time. Another place.
“He’s getting sloppy, Alec. Maybe he always was. Maybe his arrogance knows no bounds after he got away with raping some poor woman on campus, but mark my words, he’ll only get worse with everyone enabling him.”
I can see my warning hits home because Alec’s gaze trips off mine and to the ground then back again.
“It doesn’t matter what I think. His father?—”
“His father will cut a liability loose,” I repeat. “We both know I’m heading into the Veronians. We both know who my ties are. I might be first gen too, but my backing speaks louder than anything Dyers could ever shout. You don’t want to get on my bad side, Alec. People who do tend to lose their appendages.”
Alec backs up a step. Only this time, he slams into the wall. “What?!”
“You think the mob plays friendly?” I grin at him, well aware I look like a shark. But I scented blood and I’m going in for the kill. “We don’t. The Veronians want access to the perks of the mafia, especially after that nonsense with the Albanian Mob didn’t work out—” His blank stare tells me he has no idea that the Albanians were the Veronians’ first attempt at having their own foot soldiers. An attempt that went disastrously for them. “—and they’ll get it through me, but there are repercussions too. You play nice with me or you lose an ear, maybe your hands…
“Hard to play hockey without your hands, wouldn’t you say, Shay?”
“Definitely. Though, I’m sure there are ways. Prosthetics have come on in leaps and bounds. Didn’t I hear that you wanted to head to France? Play in a league there?”
“Our uncle has a team in the NHL. Maybe you could apprentice there for him?”
Hope might gleam in his eyes, but Alec’s Adam’s apple dances. “What do you need from me?”
