is serendipitous, buddy.” When Thames didn’t answer, Holden turned to look at him, a cheeky look in his expression. “This is the only decent bar in town. You gotta cut me some slack for being here. Where else am I supposed to go for some night life?”
“You’re a liar.”
“Bumping into you is not a lie, my friend. But just so you know, you coming here is good timing. I got some business to take care of, and in the meantime, I’ve been checking out the town. Asking around about you, too. You were always a mystery to me.”
Thames didn’t buy for one second that this guy was here to check out the night life. That made little sense. He’d followed him, and frankly, he didn’t think this fucker had it in him to be so open about hanging around him after last time.
He was trying to send Thames a message.
Thames looked around, checking for any others he might not have noticed.
“It’s been me all week combing through town,” Holden said, knowingly. “I was a one-man army. I didn’t need to be coddled by men, Thames. I thought prison showed you that.”
Thames redirected his glare at him, hissing quietly, “What I saw in prison was a scared little guy who forced his own men to do his bidding because he was too much of a fucking pussy to do it himself.”
Holden chuckled, but he seemed edgy now. Thames had gotten to him. “You really…you really don’t give a fuck who you’re talking to, do you? You think flinging a few insults my way will change this dynamic between us?” Holden’s eyes brightened as he leaned into Thames, growling, “I’m the one that has the power over you, buddy. I’m the one that’s been leafing through your life, and the trail was practically laid out for me. See, you’re easy to figure out. People are so happy to talk. The town bully, the big man that walked the streets, starting trouble. You were quite the bad boy, huh? And then…then you did something unusual.” His voice dropped even lower. “You fell in love.”
Thames didn’t blink, watching him carefully as he studied him. He bit back the urge to smash his fucking head in with the bottle he was guzzling. He wasn’t going to do that. It wouldn’t solve shit. He just sat there, accepting Holden’s words because that was all he could do. Because he could hear Dominic’s voice in his head, telling him to be smart. And honestly, it surprised Thames how easy it was to contain himself, especially around this cunt.
“You murdered someone very close to your woman,” Holden carried on. “Something he did to her triggered you. Word on the street is you flattened his head so much, his brain was leaking out of his eye sockets. I didn’t get that reference about flattening my head in the driveway until now.”
Holden paused right then, watching Thames intently. Maybe he waited for a response, or a break in his expression, but Thames gave nothing away.
Sitting upright now, Holden took another swig, watching the screen, continuing. “You disrespected me when I came to your door. You tossed me out like I was trash, and all I was trying to do was help you. I welcomed you with open arms, Thames, and you stared at me like I was nothing but the dirt under your shoe. Then you threatened me. And it got me thinking…you have very little power. Your threats are empty. You know nothing about me out here. But me? I see you with your girlfriend and kid, and your mom, and your bar friend, and your sister and your niece and, Jesus, you got a lot of people close to you, and now I wonder if you remember prison. Do you remember how important it was to have no close ties to anyone in there? Loyalties often shifted. The people you were close to could be wiped out in some fight or a stabbing in some dark corner of the laundry quarters. You just never knew which one wouldn’t make it out.
“Well, guess what, Thames, it’s kind of like that in this world too. That’s why most of us don’t have anyone. The second our number is stamped on our wrist, we make sure we don’t meddle with love and kids. The whole point of losing everything after we’ve been destroyed is never getting close again. I thought you would have accepted that. You lost your soul, endured what