“And she’s gonna be my wife, and I need you to trust me and keep your mouth shut.”
“You should listen to dear brother-in-law to be, Huck,” Cyrus said. “If you ever want your pretty young fiancé to see her wedding day, you’d better put that gun down and get on your knees where you belong.”
“Oh, I know that look,” Cyrus cooed. “You’re looking for that three inches, aren’t you? You’re wondering, with all this adrenaline pumping through your veins, can you find that fabled three inches that everybody loves to talk about? Can you make that game winning shot? You’re thinking to yourself, can I shoot him without hitting her? Well, ladies and gentlemen,” he said with an announcer’s tone, “Can the great Huck the Puck find his three inches?”
“You’re wrong. I only need nine millimeters, asshole,” Huck said, squeezing the trigger, hitting him in his carotid artery, the force of the bullet throwing him back against the wall, blood spurting from his wound.
His gun hit the floor and Daisy kicked it well out of reach before running to Huck.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Huck demanded as Cyrus writhed on the floor.
“I’m okay,” she said.
“Cash, get her out of here,” he growled.
I wrapped an arm around my sister and guided her outside.
She burst into tears. “I’m covered in pee.”
“Okay, sissy, it’s okay. We’ll get you back to the hotel and you can take a shower.”
She turned into me and buried her face into my chest as she cried. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“Don’t be embarrassed, Ducky. You did nothing wrong.” I gave her a gentle squeeze. “Come on, let’s get you in the truck and I’ll check on your man.”
She nodded and I settled her gently in the cab, wrapping her in a blanket and making sure Razor was with her, before heading back into the building. It looked like Cyrus was dead, Huck was covered in blood, and the room looked like a war zone.
“Jesus,” I hissed. “You okay?”
“Daisy,” Huck rasped. “I need to see Daisy.”
“Hey, hey, hey.” I shook him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good. I need to make sure Daisy’s—”
“She’s okay. Razor’s with her and she’s in the car with a blanket getting warmed up.”
“I killed him,” Huck said.
“I know,” I said. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Alright, let’s get you out of here,” I said.
Razor walked up to us and frowned.
“Look, Daisy doesn’t want to go back to your parents’ place.”
“What the hell?” Huck growled.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” I said. “We’ll get her back to the hotel and take care of Cyrus’s body. You go grab her some clothes, toiletries, and shit like that, and burn your clothes. Hear me on this, Ruin, you burn everything you’re wearing, except your cut. Got it?”
Huck nodded. Having his prospect patch meant he was ‘Ruin’ now, but I was still getting used to calling him that.
“You got any ideas on where to get rid of this guy?” I asked Razor. “Do we have any friendlies out here in Toad Fuck Holler?”
Razor scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, yeah. You remember Pops?”
