"You could fucking try,” I snarl. “But a lot’s changed since you last knew me. Even if you got me, you’d die right here in the dirt with me, and the Eagles would salt and burn everything you’ve ever touched. If I were you, I’d think long and hard about what you want us to remember when this is all over. It’s not a fight you’re gonna win."
“I’ll think about it.” There’s a tremor in his hand when he takes a drag from his bottle. “But tell Eagle-eye to keep in mind that not all of us can afford to piss Kozlov off while we wait to see what happens.”
“I know you’re stuck in a shitty position, so I’ll give you this: keep your head down and say what you have to to survive, but be on the right side of the line when it matters.”
"Hey, who’s that?" Zero asks, pointing down to a fenced in cage fight setup.
There’s nobody locked inside the fence yet, but a few people are waiting for something to start. I immediately know who Zero means. It’s the asshole who was pushing Sandra around at the rescue the other day. The one looking for Junkyard.
“Who?” Roscoe asks.
I point. “The guy with the shitty stache.”
“Hmm, that’s Zeke. Works for a gang called Bloodmoney. They might give you trouble if it comes down to it with Kozlov, but Zeke’s small time, mostly breeds dogs I think.”
“For what?”
“Guard dogs, fighting dogs, bait, whatever. Why? You looking to buy?”
“No.” I file away the information for later. Zeke just moved up my list of personal business to take care of. I drain the last of my bottle. “You hosting animal fights these days?”
Roscoe shrugs. “Not if I can help it. It’s too fucking messy for my tastes. Most of the guys who get into the ring here aren’t exactly geniuses, you know? But at least they don’t piss and shit on the ground.” He thinks about that for a second. “Mostly.”
“Good.” I put the empty on the table and push myself to my feet. “Well this was fun. Let’s do it again never, hopefully.”
"Sounds perfect," he scoffs.
"Just see that pass on the message, Roscoe."
He spits over the edge again and crosses his arms over his chest, looking anywhere but at us, but he nods. I keep an eye out for Zeke as we make our way back out, but lucky for him he’s nowhere to be seen.
“Ready to go?” Beast asks.
We don’t sit around talking about our feelings and everything we’ve seen, but the three of us have lived and stood shoulder to shoulder for years. It’s impossible to do that without learning some of what makes each other tick. If I wanted to stay I knowthey’d hang around for however long it took, and if I wanted to blow the whole place to dust, they’d hand me the match.
“Yeah, let’s get out of this shithole.”
14
SANDRA
Natalie cornersme in the kitchen. "Are you in trouble?" she asks simply.
Is this a setup? It’s feeling that way. Badass and Animal have taken Clark out somewhere, and Quickshot seems to be conveniently out of the way. It figures that her guys would kill for her, but they know better than to get between us when Natalie is in a mood. They're tough, but they're not crazy.
"No, why would you think that? I'm fine."
"Are you? You didn't think I'd hear about you going out? Gossip travels faster than the speed of light in the club. Everyone wanted to hear about how my sister clobbered someone over the head with a bat in a brawl, and you came home wearing someone else’s shirt the other night."
I roll my eyes. "It was a glass and I wasfine,Nat. Zero, Beast and Piston were with me the whole time. It was hardly even a brawl, just a glorified scuffle."
Her eye twitches.
“A spirited misunderstanding?” It’s hard to keep a straight face but I manage.
She breaks first, but her laugh sounds forced. “What happened to staying clean and working on your degree? I know you needed a break and I’ve been trying so hard not to push you about your plans, but I’m worried, Sandra. I’m starting to think that you coming back here wasn’t a good idea.”
There’s so much to unpack there. “You want me to leave?”
