“I want you to leave,” Mark replied calmly. “I don’t care what it takes, but I’m not giving up on
Frankie. That won’t happen as long as you’re around, so I want to make that problem go away. I want
to makeyougo away.”
Snod scoffed, shaking his head as he drawled, “Not happening.”
“I will write you a check right now,” Mark replied, moving closer to the bar but refusing to touch it as
if it might be sticky. It probably was. “Name your price. Leave Frankie to someone who can properly
care for him. You don’t really believe that you’ll be able to keep him forever, do you?”
“Yes,” Snod growled, gritting his teeth together and resisting the urge to smash his glass in Mark’s
face, “because I know what forever means with Frankie, more than you ever will.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Mark sighed, clearly annoyed and reaching into his coat
pocket. “You just tell me a number, okay? And I will write it on this check.”
“You’d put a price on Frankie’s happiness?” Snod demanded in disgust.
“Everything has a price,” Mark coldly retorted.
“And what’s your price, handsome?” Athaliah piped up, appearing from behind the bar like a siren,
fluttering his eyes at Mark.
Mark flinched, replying stiffly, “More than you can afford.”
Athaliah stalked toward him, his hands running all over the front of his coat as he pouted, “Awww,
really? Huh. ‘Cause you look pretty damn cheap to me.”
Mark flinched again. “Please, this is a very personal matter.”
“Oh, it’s very personal to me, too,” Athaliah insisted. “See, it’s very important for my brother to be
happy. And he and Frankie are happy. Like, my God, fucking all night making sweet love kind of
happy. And then again this morning, whew, can that Frankie scream! Boy has got some impressive
pipes!”
Mark grimaced, his face noticeably darkening at Athaliah’s colorful description.
“The last thing they need is some pretty boy fuck like you screwing things up,” Athaliah went on,
flashing a wicked smile. “The best thing for you to do is turn around and go back to Losersville where
you came from. Population one. That’s you. You’re the one.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Mark said angrily. “Now, I’ve tried being nice—”
“Nice?” Rees’ voice shouted from the back, stomping out with a snarl. His face was bright red and he
was having a bad coughing fit, wheezing angrily, “Waltzing in here trying to buy off Frankie’s
