Page 69 of Silent Damage

“W-with what?” I ask.

“Fisting.”

Holy fucking shit…

“What? No. I-I’m so confused…”

Tobias rises from his desk, and I almost bow. “You’re not one of Al’s boys, are you?”

“N-no, I…I don’t know who Al is.”

He whips out a gun that was concealed beneath his shirt and points it at me. “You have five seconds to say who you are and why you’re here.”

My hands shoot up. “Please don’t shoot me!”

Tobias cocks the gun. “5, 4…”

I shriek like I’m twelve and yell, “I’m Jason Mathers, and I came to ask for a job. Please don’t kill me!”

Tobias approached, eyes blazing with fury. “The only thing I need is a hot stud to fist. Would you like to fill out an application? KNEEL!”

I fall to my knees, and Tobias points the gun at my head. “Why. Are. You. Here?”

“Please! I want to join the HellCats.” Christ, I’m shaking like a leaf. So much for making a good first impression. The cool metal of the gun presses against my forehead, and I’m so afraid I’ll piss myself.

“Why would I hire a kid to be in the HellCats?” he asks.

“I’m 20.”

“I repeat. Why would I let a kid join my gang of highly dangerous and skilled criminals?”

My body turns cold. Humiliation washes over me. “Because I’ve got nothin’ to lose,” I reply.

Silence.

Well, aside from my frantic breathing.

Tobias says nothing, but he lowers his gun, so I take a chance and look at him.

His head is cocked to the side, almost like he’s studying me. He arches a brow and says, “Sit.” He clicks the safety on his gun and takes a seat behind his desk. “There.” He points to a chair, and I swear I’ve never moved faster. “Why?” he asks.

“Why, what?” I ask, still reeling from having a gun pointed at my freaking head.

He rolls his eyes. “Why do you want to join the HellCats?”

I walked all the way here to make my case, and now I’m speechless. My throat is dry, and my tongue is too big for my mouth. What did I think I was going to say? “Well, I have no skills, no brains, and can barely get through the day without fistfighting.”

Yeah, that’ll go over great.

So, I take a deep breath, muster every last ounce of courage I have, and word vomit. “I’m hungry to be something. Not just some drone who sits at a desk or a fuckin’ store all day, but somebody. I can fight, and I can follow orders, but I don’t want to join the military because my dad’s a military man, and he can go deep-throat a shotgun for all I care. I want to make something of myself, but on my terms. I want to work for you.”

Tobias sits there, motionless.

I’ve never met someone with scarier eyes in my life.

Then something happens. His mouth curls into a little smirk. “That was sexy.”

My jaw drops. “Uh…thank you…”