He flicks his hand in the direction of his car, and I look over. The same guy from the day he came to my workplace climbs out of the back, looking bigger than ever. Another follows from the other side of the vehicle.
What makes it worse is when the passenger door opens, and Clyde Lincoln, in the flesh, walks from the shadows. Tall like me, he stands at the bumper of their SUV and watches. He doesn’t take another step closer but it feels as though he’s right in front of me, and in a way, I guess he is.
My hands clam up, a cold sweat sweeping down my spine. My reaction has everything to do with not knowing what’s going to happen next. When it comes to these guys, anything is possible, especially with Clyde overseeing his son’s authority.
Both men come to stand by Finn. Their hard, unapologetic gazes burn into me, and then Finn juts his chin out. A silent command.
That same cold sweat that rolled down my back grasps my balls. His cronies step forward as Finn warns, “Don’t make this hard for them.”
I swallow the lump in my throat, fighting back when they take my arms and hold them to the sides. Their feet wedge against mine and it’s like I’m taped to the side of the Aviator, unable to move no matter how much I try to jostle free.
And I do try, my muscles working against theirs, fidgeting in their grasp.
“What the fuck is this, Finn?” I try my best to lift my shoulder, but these guys are heavier and bigger than me. One forces me back in place the second I peel an inch away.
“You tell me, Colson,” he bites out. “I’m over here waiting for my money and what are you doing? Living it up in Chatham Hills with your nose to the sky.” He steps closer. “So you tellme, what the fuck is this?” He bares his teeth, his face twisting in aggravation. “I want my goddamn money.”
“I’mworkingon it.”
His narrowed eyes are nearly black in the dead of night. Discomfort clings to me when I glance over to see that Clyde hasn’t moved an inch. “Do you work this hard to still bepiss-poorat the end of your shifts?”
I don’t answer.
“I didn’t think so. Hold him tight, boys.”
“What?”
Finn closes the distance between us, and though he’s a few inches shorter than me, his menacing attitude makes up for it. He covers my forehead with his palm, pushing it back against the car. My neck strains under his forceful hand.
“Finn.” It’s an attempt to warn him, but it comes out more like a plea and then I snap because you know what? This is bullshit. My brows knit together. My nostrils flare. “Fuck you.”
If he plans on fucking me up, then I’m going to say exactly what’s on my mind. “The day’s going to come when someone hasyouby the fucking balls, and I hope to fucking God that I’m there to see your face go white in fear. You act like you own Harrison Heights, but when all is said and done, it’s going to shit on you the same way you’re shitting on me right now. You’ll be nothing then. Fuckingnothing, you piece-of-shit prick.”
He brings his still-lit cigarette up to my face as he forces my head to the side. I wait for him to get closer before I jerk my head to the side and thenbam. My head flies forward, and I headbutthim. Pain rings through my head, but I don’t give a damn as long as he feels a fraction of what’s coming next for me.
“Growing a set, are we?” He runs a thumb along his nose and catches blood.
I don’t bother answering. What’s the point? He has my ass over a barrel. Whatever he’s about to do, I have no choice but to take it.
He shakes away the disorientation from my hit and reaches for my face again. He holds his cigarette—that miraculously didn’t fall during my assault—pinching it like a dart as he settles my head back against the car. Heat plumes from the end and spreads over my skin, warming the area at my neck. Finn has done a lot of fucked up stuff. Growing up in the same town and going to school with him, you hear things. Rumors spread, and even if they are only that, you learn to pick out what is true and what’s not.
I’ve never been on the receiving end of his visceral brutality until this moment. “Goddamn it, Finn, you’ll have your money soon.”
“Don’t like that answer, especially not after your little outburst.”
I sure as hell don’t like it either but what does he want me to do? Plant a money seed in my ass and wait for the bills to sprout?
The end of his cigarette nears, and I bite into my cheek. Any farther and it’ll sear my skin. My gut twists with anguish. These guys are too strong for their own good.
“I hear the message loud and clear,” I snarl back. “I’m not over here living it up while…” I clear my throat, trying to push through the burning pain spreading over my neck. “Fuck, I’m not living it up instead of working to pay you back.”
Quickly, and without reverence, he yanks my head forward by my hair and drives it back into the car door. A bigger throbsettles at the back of my head, splintering out like cracks in ice. “Listen carefully, Colson.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, but only for a second. I won’t let him think I’m a coward. I won’t curl into myself and let him get away with forcing me into complacency especially not when Clyde isn’t far. I stare straight ahead into the darkness of the night, the headlights from both cars the only light. It’s a dead zone out here by the battery plant. No one is driving down this road any time soon.
“I don’t give a flying fuck if you are living it up with this fancy car or you’re living large or you’re fucking the most pristine pussy in all the state. You either give me what’s mine or I’ll take something just as valuable. Understand, or do I need to spell it the fuck out for you?”
“Yes, damnit. Yes, I understand.”
