Viper taps the counter with one fingernail. Click. Click.
“So,” she says. “What does a girl have to do to get a drink around here?”
Matt slides in smoothly and pours her one.
“House is packed,” Matt says evenly. “Keep it civil.”
Viper smiles without looking at him. She lifts the glass. “So,” she says casually. “You all healed up yet?”
My hand tightens around the glass I’m holding until it cracks. The lights above us flicker and Sisk sees it right away.
Matt blinks. “Healed what?”
Viper tilts her head toward me. “Oh,” she says. “He didn’t tell you?”
Lou’s shoulders go rigid.
Sisk’s eyes sharpen to points.
“Tell us what?” Matt asks.
Viper takes another slow sip, drawing it out. “He got a full ladder,” she says. “Six bars.”
“He got a what?” Murtaugh asks, looking like a confused puppy.
Lou turns to him, dead-eyed. “Not now.”
Viper’s gaze shifts to Sisk. “At my shop.”
The music pounds. People move. And the air around us goes fucking vacuum-tight.
Sisk’s eyes lock on mine. “You let your ex pierce your dick?”
A couple guys nearby choke on their beer.
Lou slams his glass down. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Straight men are so fucking dumb.”
Matt rubs his face. “This is why I drink.”
Some dipshit near the end of the bar squints at Viper’s neck tattoo and says, “That snake looks hungry.”
Lou turns slowly. “Shut the fuck up.”
“Sisk, it’s not—” I start.
She’s already stepping back, turning and walking toward the back door.
Viper shrugs like she didn’t just light a fuse and is enjoying the show. “What?” she calls lightly. “I told him six was excessive.”
Lou steps forward, eyes blazing. “Okay, you need to leave before I commit a felony.”
The crowd presses tighter, Ashbrew sloshes while someone shoves someone. I can’t deal with it now, I follow Sisk, pushing through the bodies and shoving the door open.
She’s already halfway down the sidewalk.
“Sisk—” I call out.
She spins around.
