AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The cold air was sharp, stinging my bare skin like needles, but I barely felt it. My pounding heart kept me warm enough as I flew through the city, weaving between cars and driving recklessly through piles of dirty snow that could have any number of dangers hidden underneath.
Sliding to a stop in front of that awful blue house in Colomb, I put the kickstand down and ripped my helmet off with frozen hands. A group of guys climbed out of their tricked-out white Navigator, approaching me as a pack, and I knew right then and there what was happening.
“Where is he?” I snapped, scanning the faces. “Where’s your fucking boss?”
“Inside,” Omar said, stopping directly in front of me.
I spread my arms and he patted me down before his entourage let me through to my own damn house. Well, my family’s house.
Darting up the stairs, I burst through the front door. Bri and Ezra were still sitting on the couch, as white as fucking ghosts. Alonzo, the King of Colomb himself, sat in the chair kitty corner from them, a gun laying in his lap that just so happened to be pointed in their direction.
“Upstairs,” I said, my gaze locked on Alonzo. “Now.”
Bri and Ezra scurried up the stairs in a flash. As soon as their footsteps crested the top, a door slammed. I hoped they barricaded it too.
“You’ve got some fucking nerve coming here,” I said, taking a step toward Alonzo. “Scaring my siblings? They’re fucking kids!”
“Couldn’t help but notice Axel’s not around anymore.” He made a show of looking over both shoulders. “Where is he?”
“Out,” I snapped. “What the fuck do you want?”
“I want Axel.”
“Tough shit. I guess you’re dealing with me now.”
He got to his feet, the pistol back in his hand. “Is that so?”
“Yeah.” Maybe I should have been more concerned with the fact he had a gun but I really wasn’t. Dead men couldn’t pay or whatever the fuck it was that he wanted, so whatever was about to happen might hurt like hell but I knew I’d at least live through it.
Alonzo had barely come to a stop in front of me when he backhanded me with his gun-wielding hand. The sting of his knuckles against my cheek made my eyes water but years of living with Crystal meant I could stand there and take it with a minimal grimace.
“You better watch your fucking mouth, boy,” Alonzo said, holding up a scolding finger, an inch away from my nose. “Show some respect.”
Squaring off against him, I tipped my chin up. “Either tell me what the fuck you want with my brother or get out. I’ve got better things to do than stand around here all fucking day.”
He snorted and took a step back so he could give me a once-over, like he couldn’t believe Marek Sommers was all grown up and not taking his shit anymore. “Your brother owes me twenty-five Gs. You got that kind of money?”
I scoffed. “Why the hell would he need that much money from you?”
“Oh, it wasn’t money. It’s for the product he lost. Got rolled by a couple crankers and poof, it’s all gone.”
“Axel doesn’t deal.”
Alonzo threw his head back and laughed. “Looks like you don’t know shit about what goes on around here anymore, boy. He started up right when school started, trying to hook a new crowd for me. Tried to be like his big brothers and came up short. Instead of taking after you, sounds like he turned out like Levi. Well, almost. Lucky for me. Means I still get my money. I don’t care which one of you makes it right but you better and it better be fucking quick. He’s already kept me waiting too long as it is.”
By the time he walked to the front door, I was fucking shaking. I didn’t have anything else to say because I was sure if I opened my mouth, I’d vomit on the spot. Everything I’d done for this fucking family had been for nothing. Levi was dead. Axel was on the same path. And now Bri and Ezra were fucking traumatized for life.Swell job, Marek.
“You got one week to get me my money.” Alonzo stopped and turned in the threshold. “Sure hate for something to happen to one of those kids.”
“You motherfucking—” I lunged at him but someone drilled the barrel of a pistol into my forehead and I drew up short in the doorway.
Omar appeared from the side of the door, his mouth twisted and his finger already on the trigger, silently daring me.
Even though I was fucking seething, I put my hands up and took a step back into the house while Alonzo walked down the stairs at a leisurely pace.
Once his boss was on the walkway, Omar backed up, keeping his gun pointed at me until I kicked the door shut.
I slumped against it and sank to the ground, holding my head in my hands, torn between hurling for real or breaking down into a sniveling mess.
