will continue to happen unless we get what we want.” The man shoves me to the side and orders me to my knees while the others change the tire.
They work in unison like a fucking pit crew at the Daytona five hundred. Fast and efficient. Within a few minutes my shipment, my investment, and my reputation is being driven away into the fucking dark.
The three remaining men back up slowly to get back into a white van, firing a few warning shots at our feet.
“Go fuck yourselves,” Badger shouts, giving them a double middle finger goodbye. His left leg is gushing blood. Another shot rings out as the van speeds off.
“Fuck me,” Badger groans, jumping on one leg and pressing a hand over the blood gushing from the newest bullet hole in his thigh. He falls to his ass, lifting his knees to his chest. “Got myself a two for one, boys,” he says, gritting his teeth. “And not the good kind like when beer’s on sale at the Stop-N-Go.”
“Why didn’t they just kill us?” Nine asks, dumfounded as he stares off into the dark after the van. “Why keep us alive at all if they’re going through all of that trouble? It doesn’t make any fucking sense.”
“I don’t fucking know.” I shake my head and clench my fists as rage like I’ve never felt before thunders through my body like a hurricane waiting to make landfall. “But what I do know is that when I catch up to them, I’m going to make them fucking wish they did kill us.”
Chapter Three
Pike
There are regular storms, and then there are shit storms. Right now, Nine and I are in a tsunami of a shit storm the likes of which I’ve never known before.
And it’s about to get a whole lot fucking worse because we’re about to meet with King. There’s a reason why he runs this town. He takes no bullshit.
“Are you going to tell him?” Nine asks. In addition to being bruised and banged up, his face is lined with worry. He’ll never admit it, but I know he’s nervous.
I shrug. “He already knows, and he’s already pissed. There isn’t much else to tell. You don’t have to be here, brother. This is my mess. I should be the one to take the brunt of King’s wrath, not you.”
“You’ve never skipped out on me. I’m here, and if you try to kick me out, I don’t give a shit. I’m staying anyway.”
I appreciate Nine more than he’ll ever know. He’s the very definition of ride-or-die. “Thanks, man.”
We’re waiting for King in the unfinished framed-out addition of his house. Sawdust coats the floors and the smell of fresh cut wood drowns out the pungent scent of saltwater permeating from the bay only a stone's throw away in the backyard.
I’m mindlessly spinning my handcuff bracelets around on my wrists as King steps inside like a beast exiting his cave. His jaw is tight, and his posture is even tighter.
He looks us both over, eyeing the cut on my eye and the bruise under Nine’s.
Nine is on his phone but looks up when he hears King approach and shoves it back into his pocket.
Nine turns over a construction bucket and takes a seat, ready to get down to business.
“Tell me everything,” King demands. “What the fuck have you found out?” He lights a smoke, and I think it’s to keep his hands busy from tearing down the fucking walls. I can’t blame him. I’m not exactly the picture of calm and collected either. Owing King money makes me more determined to find those responsible for trying to make me look like a fuck up. We took every precaution, yet I still can’t figure out how they knew we were coming or why they were stupid enough to hit something King was attached to. I know I’m not that fucking dumb. Whoever it was, they’ve got some fucking balls.
Nine sighs. He’s got a busted lip and a red mark on his cheek. “We’re on it, but not much luck yet.”
King takes a step toward him, and I can see the vein throbbing in his forehead with each step. The cords in his neck tighten. He leans down and points his cigarette at Nine. “Nobody fucks with us in this town. That’s rule number one, and whoever is behind this is going to learn that the very fucking hard way.”
Nine doesn’t shy away from King. He seems to embrace it. Gain confidence from it. As