most don’t, and then you turn around and come crawling back to your old life? Come on, Thames, you know that shit is bound to get messy.”
Thames didn’t budge. His face remained clean, but he said very calmly, “If you’re threatening to hurt the people close to me, Holden, then I really will find a way to kill you.”
Holden acted as if he hadn’t heard him. He went on, without wavering. “You hid your friend in prison, too. The big guy. I knew about him, you know. I actually protected him once upon a time too, but…well, things change in prison. You kinda can’t be fucked looking after cunts who don’t appreciate it. Well, anyway, as you know, we still got people in there. People who can really put that guy down, if you catch my drift.”
Holden was doing a lot of talking to get his point across. Thames was getting bored fast. He felt pissed, sure, but this wasn’t unexpected. He figured this fuck would come back. Maybe part of him knew this would happen. Through the grapevine, he might have learned Thames was going to leave the house. Which meant they wanted him alone.
“What do you want, Holden?” Thames asked, shrugging now because this was just getting ridiculous. “So, you asked a small town about me and got answers. That’s cute. Good job, buddy. You also learned I’m close to my girlfriend and I got a kid. Again, that’s cool, but it doesn’t take much digging, so I’m not really all that impressed. If you want to give me a fucking job to do because clearly that’s where you’re getting at, then cut the bullshit and just do it. I’d like to go back to enjoying my night as soon as fucking possible.”
“Weren’t you just threatening me a minute ago?”
“I was threatening you because you were threatening me first, fuckface. You kept talking in circles about my fucking family, trying to be ominous about it, and frankly, if you touched them, I would have no problem feeding you your eyeballs. Prison taught me that, too, remember?” Thames flared his nose, dropping his voice a few decibels as he added, “I learned to kill people quickly and silently, and I think you’re scared of that. You wonder how I did it, and you’re worried it’ll happen to you. And the only reason I know that you’re worried it’ll happen to you is because you’ve been fisting that blade in your hand this whole time and didn’t think I noticed.”
Holden’s arms had been in a position that seemed awkward for sitting at a bar. One arm was out, his hand gripping the beer, and the other was crossed, his fist buried in his armpit. It was sort of ridiculous to feel threatened by Thames in public. But Thames couldn’t help feeling smug Holden was worried he’d do something totally unpredictable.
A look of defeat spread across Holden’s expression. He knew how pathetic it all was. He removed his fist from his pit and slammed the blade down on the bar. Looking almost dejected, he spun it around, his eyes buried in thought.
“Holden,” Thames pressed, watching him. “What do you want?”
“I did what you wanted me to do. I got Number One. He’s in the corner of the bar with a couple of the guys. He’s in the suit.”
Thames glanced around the bar, catching three men seated at a table, staring back at him. He recognized two from the house party. The man in the middle, middle-aged and suited, appeared refined. He stared back at Thames with ease.
So, Holden had done it then.
He’d brought Number One over.
“Why isn’t he here talking to me?” he demanded, looking back at Holden.
“He wants to talk, but someplace quiet first.”
“I was right. You followed me here, didn’t you?” Anger replaced his wariness now. “You were going to come to my house.”
Holden didn’t respond straightaway. He chugged his beer some more. As he drank, Thames flicked a glance in Jem’s direction. Jem, too, was paying attention. Thames glanced at the empty chair next to Jem, searching for Charlotte. Jem shook his head at him, tilting his head to the entrance. She’d left, thank fuck. That was one less thing to worry about.
They continued to stare at one another across the room for a moment longer. They’d talked about this in the garage while they’d worked on the car. Leafed through scenarios if the crew showed up suddenly. One of those scenarios involved the bar. They were thinking