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I take another drag of my cigarette, inhaling deeply, letting the smoke infect my lungs. I can almost feel the black tar as it encases them, shortening my life with every breath. But it won’t be what ends me. No, my death will come by the hands of another, and I’ll almost be grateful for it.
“You think she’s going to do it?” Zak asks, twisting the bar in his eyebrow. It’s his tell that he’s nervous. One only I and maybe one other person knows about.
“She doesn’t have a lot of fucking choice, Zak.” His hand drops from his piercing, and he looks right at me.
“No, she doesn’t, but this is Rox, man. We both know she won’t like being backed into a corner. She’ll come out fighting. Spitting venom with every hit, every word.”
“Don’t you think I know that, but what else do you want me to do, huh? Besides, she hates us anyway, so what harm is a little more going to do,” I say with a shrug.
“That what you tell yourself when you’re sticking your dick in all those bitches?”
“Fuck. You! Fucking hypocrite,” I snap back.
There’s a sharp rap of knuckles on the door before it opens and Ripley walks in.
“He’s here, boss.”
“Good fucking timing.” I discard the rest of my fag in the ashtray and follow Ripley downstairs.
It’s still early and only a few tables are occupied. Candi is entertaining a couple of old suits on the far stage, and Lila is serving a man who could be eating and drinking through a straw for next six months if he doesn’t have the answers I want.
Lila’s eyes flick to me, then quickly behind me to where Zak is before focusing back on the man in front of her. She doesn’t say anything, doesn’t give away that we are right behind him.
I slap my hand down on his back just as he takes a sip of his drink, causing him to spit it out all over the bar.
“Sammy, Sammy, Sammy,” I taunt, gripping the back of his neck. Lila places an Old Fashioned on the bar in front of me and a straight up shot of Macallan on the rocks for Zak. I give a nod of thanks before she walks back down the bar to serve someone else.
I pick up my drink, taking a mouthful and tightening my grip on Sammy’s neck when he tries to look my way.
I bend down close to his ear. “Where the fuck is your brother?”
A girly squeak escapes at the sound of my voice before he tries to stutter out a reply. “C-c-come on, Maddox, we’re friends, right.”
“We’re not fucking friends, Sammy,” I bite out, slamming his head into the bar. There’s a loud crack quickly punctuated by a gurgled cry of pain. When I yank his head back up, his nose is spread across his face and blood pours down his chin.
“I’ll ask you again, Sammy, where is your brother? And before you answer, think very carefully about how much you value the ability to eat and drink normally.”
“Okay, okay, man. Fuck!” His chest heaves and fear lights his eyes. “Look, I don’t know what he’s done, man, but I haven’t seen him in a couple of days.”
Releasing my hold on his hair, I spin his stool to face me and snatch hold of his face in a crushing grip.
“You and I are going to have a serious fucking problem if you’re lying to me,” I say, downing the rest of my drink and slamming the glass on the bar. “If you see your waste of fucking space brother before me, tell him to start running. Because once I get hold of him, the only running he’ll be able to do is in his fucking dreams. That clear?”
“Yeah, man. I got it,” he croaks, holding his hands out to the side in submission.
I shove him away from me, and he almost topples off the stool but catches himself on the edge of the bar.
“Now get the fuck out of here.” He gets to his feet, stumbling as he hurries away. “Fucking pussy,” I mutter as Lila places another Old Fashioned in front of me and leaves a damp towel on the bar for me to clean the blood off my hand.
“You think he was telling the truth?” Zak asks, taking a seat.
“Fuck, no! I don’t really give a shit. I’ll catch up with him soon enough.” I knock back my second drink of the night. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long fucking one. “Keep’em coming, Lila.”
And she does. I don’t miss the longing looks she throws my brother’s way every time she serves us another drink, or the way she scowls when Candi sidles up to Zak, scraping her claws down his exposed chest, and looking for a good time. I know he’s been screwing Lila on and off for the past year, and I know it means more to her than it does him. There were even times when we shared her at the start. We’ve shared plenty of women, but none of them areher.
Roxanne Whitmore.
I wish I could say what comes next will be pleasant, will be a thrill, will be the making of us all. But it won’t. What comes next has the power to not only destroy everything Roxy’s worked for, but everything we did to get her there in the first place.
