Page 4 of Thug

Tiny, who outweighed Price by no less than a hundred pounds, swallowed heavily. He took a cautious step away from Price, and then another.

“I’ll cut to the chase,” Price said, looking at each of the Rebels briefly. He paused when his gaze reached Tiny. “You’re done. You and your miscreant bunch are out of business. After today, if one of the ‘Eights sees any of you in our territory,” he glanced around the bar. “this bar included, you’ll be stripped of your colors and beaten within an inch of your life.”

Tiny nervously scratched at his scruffy beard. His lips parted, but common sense must have prevented him from speaking.

Shamefully, his gaze lowered to the floor.

“To be crystal clear,” Price warned. “If you sell one more flake of that fentanyl-laced shit in our territory, I’ll personally bury all six of your sorry asses in the desert. Pay Lacky the taxes you owe for this week’s income and find somewhere else to call home.”

Apparently, I was wrong about the Rebels. Reading between the lines of Price’s carefully composed complaint, it was obvious that the Hard Eights gave the Rebels authority to sell drugs, as long as they sold a quality product and paid their taxes.

In and around Marana, there had been half a dozen deaths in the past two weeks from overdoses. The coroner declared that all the deaths were caused by fentanyl-laced methamphetamines. Apparently, the drugs came from the Rebels.

Tiny lifted his gaze from the floor. He glanced at Brisco, who was standing a few feet away from Price with his massive arms crossed. He then looked at Price. “Can I speak?”

“Probably be in your best interest to nod your head apologetically, waddle your fat ass out to your raggedy-assed sled, and beat feet,” Price responded. “Anything more than that, and you’re likely to piss me off.”

In complete contrast to my preconceived notions about him, Price had maintained an even temper throughout the one-sided verbal exchange. Even so, his commanding voice and undeniable presence were intimidating as hell. I wondered what he was like when he was angry. My guess was that Tiny and his men didn’t want to find out.

As instructed, Tiny gave a nod and turned around. His men, seeming relieved that their lives were spared, followed suit without muttering a single word.

As the sound of their motorcycles faded into the distance, I exhaled.

It was over. There was no blood to mop up, no chair legs to reattach, and no broken tables.

Only a bar without patrons.

While I sank into a mild state of depression about losing my steady source of income, Price looked at the row of beer taps, and then at me.

“Got any issues with putting Budweiser on tap?” he asked.

I prayed he was thinking what I was thinking. I leaned onto the edge of the bar. “I suppose not.”

“What about changing dollar draft night to Thursdays?” he asked.

“I don’t see any problems with that,” I replied, struggling not to smile.

He glanced at Brisco and gestured to the door. Without speaking, Brisco gave me a half-assed nod of appreciation and then sauntered toward the exit.

Price reached into his pocket. He pulled out a handful of bills. “This is for tonight’s lost business.” He tossed them onto the table. “Change from the hundred I gave you is your tip.” He took a few steps toward the door, and then glanced over his shoulder. “Might want to change your sign.”

My posture straightened. “To my real name?”

“The other sign,” he replied. “On the marquee. Dollar beer night. From Wednesdays to Thursdays.”

“Oh. Yeah.” I walked around the edge of the bar I’d been hiding behind, and then hesitated. “I’ll do that.”

He turned to face me. “By the way. What’s your name?”

I had a love it or hate it name. So far, I had no real reason to like it. Somewhat embarrassed, I sighed. “It’s Gray.”

He undressed me with his eyes, taking all the time in the world to do so. He made no effort to hide the satisfaction his imagination conjured. “Hope you’re ready.”

“For what?” I asked.

The eye-fucking continued for a moment. Upon satisfying himself, he smirked. Then, without responding to my question, he turned and walked away.

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