Blood trickles from Damien’s nose as he wipes it on the back of his hand. “What the fuck, Nico? You fucking psycho.”
I charge forward, ready to strike again, as multiple hands yank me back. “Fuck you, Damien. We’re done. You’re fucking fired.”
“You can’t fire me.” He grins at me like a madman. Like he’s got me by the balls or something. Little does he know, he’s got nothing on me.
I match his maniacal grin. “You should really read your contracts, you stupid fuck.”
“What?”
“You think I wouldn’t put stipulations in before I signed?”
His eyes widen in shock, then fear. The gears spin in his head, wondering why I’m not shaken by his hollow threat.
Fucking prick doesn’t even realize our contract is riddled with contingency clauses that I added myself. I’m not as stupid as I look. But he sure as fuck is.
“You’ll regret this,” he seethes.
“The only thing I regret is carrying your ass for this long. Now… Fuck. Off.” Security surrounds Damien and Kyle, ushering them out of the VIP room.
“Hey, D?” I call out.
He turns around, and his eyes burn with hate. It’s both laughable and painful to see his true feelings appear. How did I not see it before?
“Tell your mom I said hi.” I flip him the bird as security grips his elbows and tugs him out of the club.
It’s the final nail in the coffin of our friendship. Damien’s mother loves me like a second son, and she’s going to be pissed when my mom calls and informs her about what he did.
Cam wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me back to the present. “I love when I’m not the one on the other end of that fist.”
A bark of laughter erupts from my chest. I shove him off me. “I bet you are, asshole.”
Blake flicks his chin towards the two scumbags being escorted out of the club. “I know he was your friend, but that guy is a gigantic bag of dicks.”
The group of guys behind me all laugh at his honest assessment.
“You’re better off without him.” Heath says what I already know to be true. Still sucks.
“I know.” I rub at the hollow ache in my chest.
Fuck. Two decades of friendship down the drain. It’s ironic now, but Talia has never liked the guy. Now I know why.
The guys and I fall back into the booth, our mood sunk by what just went down.
“What the fuck, guys? This is a bachelor party. Fuck those guys. I’m not letting them get us down.” Reed grabs a bottle of bourbon from the table and fills our glasses. “Here’s to Cam finding his girl. Bro, I’ve known you since we started. You’re my boy till the end, and I couldn’t be happier for you. Just don’t fuck it up. We can’t win if Nico kills you and ends up in jail.”
With a serious look on his face, Cam looks my way. “Never. There’s nothing above her.”
I fight the swell of emotion expanding in my chest at his statement. It’s a weird, slightly uncomfortable feeling, but I know he loves my sister more than life itself.
I raise my glass higher. “To Cam and Talia.”
“To Cam and Talia!”
Cam grins back at me. “And to tossing out the trash.”
“Hell yeah.” Blake pulls out his wad of ones and throws it in the air. “Let’s fucking go.”
Just like that, the dark clouds disappear, chased away by whoops and hollers, and way too many rounds of alcohol.
