I don’t think Jerry is getting the point, I raise his neck up, slamming his face back down onto the counter, making him less squirmy.
“Now Jerry, how long did you think you could keep this up?” I ask him.
“Worthless piece of,” he starts to say before I slam his face onto the counter again. This time, a little blood spills from somewhere.
“Try again motherfucker,” I hissed.
Greer stalks to the other side of the counter, leaning against it, watching every movement he makes. He flicks out his knife, keeping it in Jerry’s line of sight.
“We were doing good business Jerry. You paid on time, we never raised prices even though we could. We were good to you. And how do you repay us?” The question rises with anger as my grip tightens, wanting to squeeze all the life out of him.
He stays silent, resisting everything within him to make the situation worse.
“I don’t think he wants to answer.” Memphis remarks behind me.
I tsk, “No, he doesn’t. Shame, he could have saved the business, escaping the inferno that he’s put himself in.”
Greer snickers. Jerry’s eyes widened. His breath rushed, but scattered. “Wait!”
“Oh he speaks,” Greer says.
I bring up his neck, but welcome the sight of my gun under his chin. “You get one chance to explain, Jerry. Then you’re gonna beg for us to save the business.” I demand. His chest heaving with anxiety.
“I was forced,” He sputters out.
“Not off to a good start,” I growl.
“I was,” he says again, almost pleading.
“And instead of coming to the club explaining the position you were in or at the very least a heads up, it never occurred to you,” I twist the gun further into his chin.
“And risk my own life. Fuck, no.”
“Keep. Talking.” I warned him.
He flicks his attention to the associate before returning back to my gaze. “They offered me something in return for using the business,” his voice is soft. My eyebrows raise.
He continues, “More shipment for free but they use the business as a front.”
More inventory at no expense. The man turned to greed without knowing all the cost nor the lives it would affect.
“You chose money. You weren’t forced. You saw the fucking opportunity and you took it. You chose to get involved without having to pay.” his body tightened. “You want to know something else, you did more damage. You my friend are more than a weasel, you are a fool, a damn idiot.”
“My conscience is clear,” he spits out.
“Think again,” Greer warns him, bringing his knife to the bottom of his stomach. One easy thrust would end everything. One less scum that would trade the lives of kids for money and look the other way.
We all have killed before, the blood on our hands would make the Mississippi turn red. When I say being a Grim Wolf made me a devil, it also twisted the oath I once took. But that devil sang louder telling me that there would be more ways to protect. A truer temptation.
A simple click of my trigger and a thrust of the knife and it would all end. Another body to add, another drop of blood to taint.
But you would be taking someone off the street.I tell myself.
“One fucking slip of a finger, and we can have your ass bleeding on the floor, and no one would give a flying fuck if a sneaky ass bastard laid here.” I hissed. My control slipping from my hands. “Tell me, what price were you willing to pay for the lives of others?”
“Business is business,” he says. My hand slipping around his throat, the anger seething in me, truly a demon taking over.
“I believe that is the wrong answer,” Greer laughs out.
