I tug the skirt of my summer dress down, wishing I’d worn something a little less flattering. “That makes two of us.”
Tommy’s gaze snags on my hand at the hem of my dress. He smirks. “Still shy I see.”
I swallow down the urge to barf and try to think of a decent reason for turning up out of the blue. “So, the thing is, I’ve been, uh, seeing a therapist lately and she got me thinking about why we broke up. I think maybe part of it was that you were always so stressed trying to get into that fraternity thing. The Kings Society?”
And the improv award of the year goes to…
“Oh yeah?” Tommy puts out his spliff on the table, grinding the ash into the rusted metal.
“Yeah. So, uh, I was wondering, did you ever get in?”
He turns towards me, crowding me against the wooden fence. “Why do you want to know?”
I try to shrug but my jacket snags on the rough panels. “Just wondering.”
“No. I didn’t.” He jerks his chin at me. “No thanks to you.”
“What?”
Tommy runs his tongue over his teeth. “You ruined any chance I ever had of becoming a King.” He takes a step closer to me, the hazy glint in his eye a little too threatening.
I try to duck away, but he cuts me off, bracing his hand against the fence.
“Now where do you think you’re going?”
I rear back, his breath reeking of weed.
“Let me go, Tommy,” I hiss but he just laughs.
“No, I don’t think I will.” Tommy leers down at me and I realize how stupid it was to come out here alone. He hooks a finger under the collar of my dress and for one brief moment it occurs to me how pissed Flynn is going to be and then Tommy drops.
He crashes to the ground with a cry, his right knee buckling.
Behind him, Wright stands like an avenging angel, baton in hand. “She’s going wherever the hell she likes. Which hopefully, is far away from you, dickweed.”
Tommy tries to spin around but Wright locks her baton across his neck, keeping him on his knees. “Nuh uh, you’re going to stay right there and answer Hazel’s questions.”
Tommy spits at me. “Like fuck I will, stupid bitch.”
Wright clucks her tongue, grabbing hold of Tommy’s straggly blond hair. I take the baton on auto pilot when she hands it to me then watch with bugged eyes as she reaches into her back pocket for her knife. She just winks at me.
“Maybe I need to be a little clearer,” she says, yanking Tommy’s head back. “You’re going to answer Hazel’s questions or…” She trails the tip of the knife down his chest until it rests against his groin. “I’m going to cut off your tiny little dick and whiz it up in my blender until it looks like a strawberry milkshake.”
Tommy goes green and honestly, I don’t blame him.
So let me get this straight, Ms. Halloway, you’re not only dating a killer, you’re also best friends with a woman who threatens grievous bodily harm like she’s exchanging pleasantries.The FBI agent in my head raises a brow of disbelief.
“Jesus, fuck. Okay,” Tommy blubbers. “Just tell me what you want to know.”
I point the baton at him because honestly, I have no idea what to do with the thing. “Tell me about the Kings Society.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he mumbles.
I press the tip of the baton into his chest. “Don’t be an idiot, Tommy, you wouldn’t shut up about them in college. What’s so special about the society? Why did you want in so bad?”
Wright twists the knife against his groin, and a wet patch darkens his gray pants. My adrenaline is racing but having Tommy on his knees in front of me is a power kick I didn’t know I needed. It’s hard to be scared of a guy when he pisses his pants in front of you.
“Okay, okay, Jesus. It’s just connections. If you become a King, then you’re sorted for life. Money, power, women, whatever the fuck you want they’ll get it for you.”
