about ninety-five percent sure. There were, of course, more than a few Fredericks in any given city, he just had to be sure this was the one he wanted.
Frederick turned his back on Lazarus and walked over to the pool table the third of their group was already racking balls on. “The fuck you want? I said I’m not messing up your damn floor,” he said, getting nervous when Lazarus kept staring at him.
Lazarus stared at him for another few seconds just for good measure before turning to look at Brett, then going to put away the mop bucket and mop.
By the time he came back, Brett was already walking toward the pool table with two beer bottles held between the fingers of his left hand as he swigged from his own beer held in his right hand.
Lazarus stopped at the bar and looked over his shoulder at them again.
“Regulars,” Patch said. “Just some loudmouth wannabes that never did outgrow their teenage angst years.”
“Is every fucking body in this damn city stuck in fucking limbo?” Lazarus asked.
“Naw, just those that have a habit of day drinking,” Patch said. “And lucky for us, there are quite a few that do. It’s one reason I keep my hours loose. I come in at the same time and set up for the evening, but if somebody wanders in while I'm not quite ready, why not sell ‘em some booze? Every little bit helps, you know?” Patch asked.
“I suppose,” Lazarus said. “Going to wash my hands,” he said as he threw another look over his shoulder, then walked into the kitchen and over toward the sink. “Some worthless motherfuckers there,” he commented as he washed his hands from sweeping and mopping the barroom.
“There’s nothing wrong with them,” Candy said, as she cut up lemons and limes and tossed them into a big metal bowl.
“Seriously? Do you not see the waste of oxygen standing there?” he asked. “Even you know you can do better than that.”
“I can do whatever and whoever I want to. I’m a woman of the twenty-first century. Not you or anyone else can tell me who I can and can’t see,” she snapped.
“You know what? You are as fucking entitled as sweet little Oedipal Frederick out there. You might even deserve each other,” Lazarus commented.
“Yeah, we might. I bet he’d appreciate a woman like me. He might even be able to handle me. Unlike you, who’s afraid to even try.”
“More power to you, baby. It’s not handling you I’m afraid of. It’s what I’m afraid I might catch if I did,” Lazarus said.
“Fuck you! You’ll wish you were at my side!”
“Not hardly,” Lazarus said. Then he heard her slam her hands down on the counter top she worked on, yank her apron off before starting for the door.
“Candy, hold up.”
“Too late!” Candy answered as she sashayed through the door. “Which of you boys thinks you can beat me in a game of pool?” he heard her call out teasingly.
“Well, fuck,” Lazarus muttered under his breath, knowing she’d most likely keep playing to them as long as they stayed, and she was after all Patch’s niece. He stopped, his hands still held under the water as his mind realized what he’d just thought. She’d be playing to them. If he could find a way to manipulate her just right, or them even, they may happen to incriminate themselves and it would certainly make his life easier than having to follow their asses around.
Chapter 10
Roman lay on the sofa in his living room, flipping channels. He gravitated between the reality shows on the Discovery and the Learning Channels, and the cooking challenge shows. They were mostly for distraction anyway, he didn’t pay much attention to them regardless of what channel it was on. Darcie had finished her bath and was in her room, coloring. He’d tried to get their day finished early because the next day was going to be a busy one. He was taking Darcie with him to get registered for school, and then he was going to have to go school supply shopping.
He reached for his phone where it lay on the coffee table in front of him for the hundredth time and picked it up to check to be sure it was on and he hadn’t missed a call. He’d been home three days now and still there’d been no call from Talie. Riley assured him that something as simple as updating Talie’s records took time, and he knew