Chapter Fifteen
“You gonna beat Lust tomorrow night?” Sangre asked.
Steel looked up from the invoice Sangre had brought in from the ink shop. “No. I’m gonna be at Cuervos.”
“Again? Are you down some people, or does that blonde waitress got you by the balls?” Steel scowled and pinned Sangre with a hard look. “I’m just fuckin’ around. You gotta admit you’ve gone over there more in the past few weeks than you have all year.”
“Jorge needs help manning the bar. His relief is a fuckup.” He glanced back down to the invoice.
“Maybe Goldie, Muerto, Crow, and I will come by later to have a few beers and see what other chicks are out there. It gets kinda boring having the same club girls and hang-arounds week after week.”
“Sure, come on by. I’ll buy you guys a beer.” He swiveled his chair to face his computer screen. All the brothers knew that was his way of telling them the conversation was over, so Sangre walked out of the room. Steel stared at the screen, thinking he should call Breanna. He blew out a breath and leaned far back in his office chair. He’d acted like a jerk when he left her house the previous morning. He’d spent one of the best nights with a woman, and he had to act like an asshole. And the worst part was that he didn’t have a clue why he’d behaved that way.
Steel rose to his feet and went over to the window, pulling up the blinds to stare out at the San Juan Mountains. Breanna stirred up emotions in him that he didn’t want to acknowledge. He’d been hard with lust for her for a while, and he figured he’d screw her a few times to get her out of his system, then move on. When they were at the Mexican restaurant, he’d enjoyed spending time with her, conversing with her, being with her, so much so that it’d surprised the hell out of him. The women he hooked up with were there for some sexual fun and nothing more, but Breanna was different. When she’d invited him into her home for a beer, he’d figured he was going to get lucky, and he would have if she hadn’t been so upset about her brother. But what blew his mind was that he willingly spent the night just holding her. When he felt her kiss him early that morning, his dick responded right away.
He scrubbed his face. The sex between them was incredible, but the connection he’d felt with her was what blew his mind. He’d never felt connected to a woman beyond sex in the way he did with Breanna. Even his time with Mika was more about raging hormones than anything else.What the fuck am I gonna do?He really couldn’t take on Breanna. He wasn’t ready to give his life to a woman, let alone his heart. He’d have to keep his distance.Then why the fuck am I going to Cuervos tomorrow night?
She’d surprised him by not calling or pretending to bump into him at the rehab center. So many women played that game with him to try and get him to go out with them again. It never worked, but he knew if Breanna had done it, it would’ve. She had a pull on him.
“You busy?” a deep voice said behind him.
Steel turned around and jerked his chin at Diablo. “No, just thinking ’bout shit. What’s up?”
“I got everything arranged for tonight with Jigger and the dealer. Things are gonna go down at nine o’clock.”
“Yeah, that’s what Jigger told me and Paco. When we find out who the source for the drugs is, I’m gonna kill the sonofabitch.”
Diablo’s chuckle was low and deep. “Let’s see what the dude knows. Lots of times the ones peddling on the streets are just pawns and don’t get shit from the big ones on the top. My little brother was doing that shit in Salt Lake City. He was so desperate to keep his habit going, he’d do anything. The big guys knew it and they used the fuck out of him until he got so lost in his addiction, they left him to rot on the streets.” His face darkened and his fists clenched.
“I didn’t know, dude. Sorry for your loss. That fucking sucks.” Steel suppressed his surprise at Diablo’s sudden revelation. He was glad for it, since it meant that he was becoming more comfortable with the brotherhood. Diablo was a man of few words, and Steel didn’t even know he had any family members.
Diablo nodded. “I just came in here to let you know we’ll be ready to go.”
“Appreciate it.” Steel walked back to his desk and sat down. He watched Diablo leave, shutting the door behind him.
Pulling out a ledger, Steel took out a stack of bills. He had a shitload of paperwork to do before they headed over to the drug buy that night. He’d wasted enough time staring out the window and thinking aboutherlike a damn pussy. He fired up his computer and began going through the invoices as the time ticked slowly by.
***
The faint eveningglow dwindled as darkness consumed the town. A dim light oozed from a malfunctioning streetlight into the alley. In the half light, Jigger appeared smaller than he was as he leaned against a graffitied brick wall smoking a cigarette. Steel, Diablo, Crow, Goldie, and Muerto distanced themselves in the shadows of the alley. The pungent smell of trash wafted on a light breeze as the din of metal garbage lids echoed down the alley while raccoons and possums foraged for food.
Steel heard the crunch of footsteps approaching. From the way Jigger tossed down his cigarette and stubbed it with his boot, he knew he’d heard it as well. Jigger shoved his hand in his oversized jeans pockets and walked toward the footsteps. A tall shadow appeared and Jigger stopped. From his position, Steel could see the man hold out his hand and clench it when Jigger placed the money in it. He moved over to the sputtering streetlight and counted it. Out from the shadows, Steel was surprised to see how young the dealer was; he looked to be about Chenoa’s age. A sick feeling soured his stomach; he didn’t like torturing teens to get the information he needed. He would, of course, but it didn’t mean he’d like it.
“Uh… you’re short,” the young dealer said as he looked around nervously.
“You told me forty bucks. I gave it to you. What kind of shit are you trying to pull?” Jigger asked as he took a step forward.
Easy, brother. Go with it. Don’t blow this.Steel’s body stiffened as he listened to the exchange between the dealer and his brother.
“It’s not me, dude. The price has gone up by ten dollars. You got it?”
“That’s fucked. I don’t have it.”
The dealer shoved the forty dollars he had in his hands into his pants. “You got a food stamp card?”
Steel’s ears pricked up.Food stamp card? What the fuck?
“I don’t have food stamps,” Jigger said tightly.
