It was a little disappointing to realize that if I were ever in a shark movie, I’d be eaten first. The credits would list me asFirst Snack.
“Don’t play stupid with me, you little fucker. You knew exactly what would happen when you came to me for those pills.”
To be fair, I didn’t know exactly. I wasn’t clairvoyant.
In hindsight, was going to the biggest drug lord in the neighborhood for a few ache-away nuggets a good idea? Absolutely not.
But it’s easy to be wise after you do something stupid. However, when your brain is foggy and critical thinking takes a back seat to pain, things that should be an epically terrible idea suddenly seem like the only option.
And that’s how I’d gotten here. Sold my soul to the devil for a few—well, I don’t even know what he gave me. Whatever they were did the job, though. I got several hours of blissful sleep, and my body felt more like it belonged to someone in their twenties versus their eighties when I woke up.
Correction: when Kieran beat on my door and woke me up.
The drugs had been so good that I’d slept through Haz’s apartment being completely ransacked and him almost being murdered. I’d probably feel bad about that forever. If I hadn’t taken those pills, I might have heard. I might have been able to help him.
And I might be dead.
The gun jammed against my chest so hard I could feel the cold metal through my shirt. “Are you listening to me?” Tommy snarled. “I didn’t give you that shit out of the goodness of my heart. You owe me, and I’m here to collect.”
I swallowed. “What do you want? I don’t have any money.”
He snorted. “Clearly.”
A hot wave of anger rolled through me, and I threw mybody into his, shoving him back. He stumbled and almost fell before catching himself.
“If you got something to say, fucking say it already,” I snapped, hands balling into fists at my sides.
How dare he break into my house and then insult me? Was I broke? Obviously. But I was better off than I used to be, and I worked hard to keep this place and the minimal things inside it. Could I do better? Maybe. But it was hard to do better when you felt like this was all you deserved.
Still, this was my place, and I wasn’t going to listen to him insult it even if he had a gun.
Besides, he obviously wouldn’t shoot me until he got what he wanted. Dead men couldn’t fulfill the favors they moronically agreed to.
Tommy’s shoulders rolled beneath his white T-shirt, and he made a show of cracking his neck. He was taller and wider than me—something most people were—and he was clearly trying to use it to scare me.
I was afraid of him. I’d heard the rumors and seen enough with my own eyes to know Tommy didn’t make empty threats. But right now, I was tired and annoyed. The urge to curl under a blanket and sulk about Hiro seemed more overpowering than this large man with a gun right now.
“There’s a job,” he snapped.
“What?” I echoed, a little surprised we were still talking and not squaring up.
“My usual delivery guy is out of commission, and I need a replacement.”
“What happened to him?” I wondered. Why I decided tolead with that question was anyone’s guess.
Tommy’s dark eyes thinned into slits sharp enough to cut. “I caught him stealing from me. You know what happens to men who steal from me?”
Gee. I wonder.“You kill them?” I guessed.
“Well, look at that. You aren’t stupid after all.”
“W-what did you do to him?” Again, I have no idea why I needed to know this. Knowing wouldn’t be good for my mental health.
He stared long and hard, his face a mask of nothing. He was silent so long that the urge to fidget came over me, but I forced myself to stay in place.
Show no weakness.
“I cut off his fingers and fed them to him. Now he’s fish food in Lake Erie.”
