“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” he answers coolly. His expression doesn’t change, though his dark eyes harden. “A deal is a deal, Silver. We shook on it. Are you telling me the Steel Kings don’t honor their word?”
“It ain’t about going back on our word,” I say. I’m doing my best to keep level-headed despite the hot spike of anger that’s growing inside me. I force it down and remind myself losing my temper won’t do anybody any good. “This is about negotiating a better deal for both parties. Things change, Manuel. What worked a year ago—even six months ago—might not work now.”
“What worked six months ago was the price you agreed to, cabrón. The price you shook on. And now you want to change the terms? I’m starting to think the rumors are true. The Steel Kings can’t be trusted.”
I bark out a laugh with no humor in it. “You’re not the only game in town, Peña. You’d do well to remember that.”
His lip curls in a sneer. “What, you’ll go crawling back to the Barreras? Oh wait, I forgot. You burned that bridge to ash. And the Madrigals? They’re all but extinct. Face it, Silver. You need us more than we need you.”
Any restraint I’ve got on my temper fades away at the disrespect. Old habits—the man I’ve fought long and hard to grow from—emerge as he challenges me.
I take a step forward, getting right up in his face. The twins immediately do what enforcers do and tense up behind him, their hands hovering over the bulges hidden by their suit jackets.
But I don’t blink. I don’t give a fuck when it’s time I make one thing and one thing only clear.
“Is that a threat, Manuel?” I ask, eyes narrowing. “’Cuz the Steel Kings don’t take kindly to threats.”
“Take it however you want, Silver,” he answers unflinchingly. His dark eyes glitter with malice and mocking. “But I promise you this—you go back on our deal, you may not like what happens next.”
For a moment, we’re at an impasse, staring at each other with neither side backing down. Eddie and Mace are backing me up the way the twins are right behind Manuel.
Everybody present knows how bad this could go and how quickly it can happen. We’ve become coiled springs ready to unleash hell at the slightest provocation.
But the bottom line is this isn’t the time or the place. Not for bullets to go flying or blood to be spilled.
So I take a step back, a crooked grin spreading slowly across my face. “I guess we’ll just have to see about that, won’t we? You have a good day, Manuel. Something tells me you’re gonna regret your mistake today.”
I turn on my heel and stalk back to the Hummer, Eddie and Mace falling into step behind me. The Peñas remain where they are, their heated glares burning holes between my shoulder blades. But I don’t look back. Not ’til we’re peeling out of the parking lot and I check the rearview to see they’re still watching us go.
“We never should’ve gotten into bed with those fucking snakes,” Big Eddie growls, his massive hand making the steering wheel look smaller. “They’re not the type to squash any beef they have. You remember the stories about them and the Madrigals. Mark my words. This is about to be a shitshow.”
Mace scoffs from the back, his voice dripping with bravado. “Fuck ’em. They ain’t gonna do shit. We’re one of their biggest buyers. They can’t afford to lose our business. And if they do try something? We’ll be ready—we always are.”
I’m barely listening, my mind already racing ahead to the next move. The club’s in financial trouble—big trouble—and it’s all on my shoulders to steer us through to calmer waters.
Thirty years ago, I was just a prospect, a young kid with more balls than brains, eager to prove myself. I never dreamed I’d be sitting at the head of the table one day, the fate of the whole damn club resting on me. Depending on the decisions I made.
But here I am, for better or worse. The acting prez of the club I’ve revered since I was a boy on training wheels.
I glance out the window as a rumble of thunder rolls across the sky, the clouds bruised and heavy with the promise of more rain. It feels like an omen, a warning of the storm that’s brewing on the horizon.
Trouble’s coming, that much I know for sure. I just hope like hell the club’s strong enough to weather it.
6
SOLANA
-$37.42
I stare at my laptop screen with slumped shoulders. Three overdraft fees hit at once. All for tiny purchases—a four dollar coffee, an Uber ride, some gum from the corner store. The bank’s basically robbing me at this point.
I need more money. I need a job.
Again.
My last job at the Wheaton student union was only a temp position. As soon as last semester ended, I was cut lose. It hasn’t exactly been easy trying to land another one, except for the occasional gig work I find.
I switch tabs to the babysitting site I’ve been haunting for weeks now, scrolling through the same stale listings. Ten dollars an hour to watch twin toddlers who “might be a handful” as the listing warns.
