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Never mind that. How does a psychologist without a job make?
Nothing.
I shake my head, leaning forward again and studying the pages that my father carefully wrote in every night after work. What do I have to lose by staying here just a little bit longer and figuring this place out? I’m sure my mother would be pissed to high hell if she knew how involved I was getting in my father’s business, but I don’t have to tell her yet. I don’t have to say a goddamn thing.
I close the book and slide it forward on the desk, standing up and walking toward the door. I glance over my shoulder at the picture of me on the bookshelf. Angus cared enough to keep that picture, even after he got divorced.
Is it wrong for me to care too?
Usually, I’m slow to make decisions, preferring to think things through until the end so that I don’t miss some tragic detail that will derail everything and obliterate my efforts. However, as I walk out the door and return to the front of the bar, my mind is already made up. I’m going to reopen Smoke, Steel, & Whiskey, despite my only experience in the industry being when I waited tables until 3 AM at the diner down the road from my college campus.
And maybe in the process, I’ll find out who Angus Dredd really was.
5
Savva
Ishake the last drop of piss off the tip of my cock and tuck it back into my pants just as there’s a knock on the front door. It must be Pasha. That motherfucker always seems to come when I’m in the bathroom.
There’s another knock after only a second, and I grit my teeth so hard they squeak as I charge toward the door.
Another knock.
“I’m coming, you stupid fuck,” I growl, throwing open the door and staring down Pasha as he pulls back his hand to knock again. “What the fuck do you want?”
He takes a step back, seeming to be startled by my anger even though the reason should be obvious. “Um, I came to deliver the cash, and I have some other news for you.”
I turn around and walk back into the house. “Come in and take off your shoes. I just have the rugs cleaned.”
Pasha follows me in, shutting the door and unzipping his dusty leather boots. While he’s taking them off, I fish around in my back pocket for a cigarette from the squished pack.
“Hot day today, but the money is coming in strong,” Pasha says, placing his shoes neatly on the mat in front of the door. He stands up straight as I light my cigarette. “I thought you said something about quitting those.”
I glare at him. “I would if you didn’t piss me off so often.”
He chuckles, shrugging off his leather jacket and hanging it on one of the hooks on the wall. “You do that all by yourself.”
“Maybe so,” I grumble, leading him down the hall to the living room.
I might be a grump, but I know better than to give Pasha too hard of a time. He’s always been diligent about bringing me payments from the businesses we finance, and never once has he shown up empty handed. He does what needs to be done to collect, even if bones get broken in the process.
“Coffee?”
He shakes his head, swinging a black shoulder bag from his back to his front. He unzips it. “I don’t think either of us have time for that tonight.” He pulls out stacks of ruffled bills bound in thick tan rubber bands, and begins piling them on the glass table next to me.
“What do you mean by that?” I ask, narrowing my eyes. “You said you had news.”
He finishes the pile and nods, looking up at me with his lips pursed. “Angus is back. A couple of the guys said they passed Smoke, Steel, & Whiskey a few hours ago, and it was open.”
I frown. I had thought for sure that Angus made a run for it. I tried calling him just yesterday, and his phone was still disconnected. If he’s back open again, why hasn’t he reached out to continue his payments? From what I understand, business is good for him.
“We need to head down there,” I say, rubbing the stubble on my chin. “He’s got some questions to answer.”
“And money to pay,” Pasha adds. “I assume you want to get going now.”
“Yes,” I answer definitively. “I’ll go get my stuff. My bike is already gassed up and ready. I assume you have enough to get there and back.”
He nods. “I stopped by the station before coming here. I figured you’d want to pay him a visit when you heard the news.”
