Page 37 of Smoke

“Good. As for Kane, we flush him out. I should’ve taken care of him a long time ago.” Cherry was young when she started running around with him. She did it to piss me off, but she also loved the attention he gave her.

Her daddy and I both knew Kane was bad news, but you couldn’t tell Cherry anything. She was impossible to control. If you tried, she’d just double down and do something even crazier. Stupider. Like when she took a bunch of pills, washed them down with a bottle of gin, and then let Kane convince her it was a good idea to steal my car.

I’m sure they both had a good fucking laugh too. Up until she wrapped them around a tree. She’s lucky to be alive. They both are. But Kane’s luck is about to run out.

Scarrow greets Junior and Nuds when they pull up and puts them into position. They’ll take turns doing twelve hour shifts with the other three who are inside cleaning.

He jogs back over, holding up his phone. “I just got a text from Om, they’re on their way. I filled him in so he can prepare her a little bit.”

I blow out a deep breath and head inside. It looks like Kane took a fucking crow bar to everything. I’ll be taking one to his kneecaps soon.

Most of her liquor inventory is in puddles of glass on the floor. Hopefully she’s got more stock in the back behind that thick steel door. It was the only one that wasn’t breached. Most likely due to the three padlocks she put on it.

The knots in my stomach tighten like screws when I see what he’s done to her vintage pinball machines. Fucking ruined, smashed in and toppled over. I can’t believe that one person did this. Except that I can when I remember watching my own camera footage of him vandalizing our trucks and throwing bricks through our windows.

“Fucking hell. This dude is unhinged.” Scarrow’s eyes widen as he takes it all in. “I’m sorry, bro. If I had known he was capable of this, I wouldn’t have provoked him.”

I kick a piece of glass out of my way as we walk toward the stairs. “It’s not your fault, Scar. I’ve known Kane his whole life and I didn’t even know he’s gotten this bad. The dude’s a fucking menace. He needs to be put down like a rabid fucking animal.”

Scarrow heads up the stairs in front of me, his gun raised. “He’d be stupid to still be lurking, but you never know.”

I know he’s not here, but I let Scarrow do his thing. He’s thorough and doesn’t take any chances. Plus, he’s beating himself up for the blowjob video. “I got your back, Scar. If he’s still here, he’s gonna wish he wasn’t.”

Cherry’s apartment door is hanging open by one hinge. “Fucking bastard.” I’m dizzy, sick to my fucking stomach. This is her sacred space. And he’s violated it. I lean against the doorway, too fucking disgusted to go any farther. All of her furniture is destroyed.

Scarrow does a quick check of all the rooms before putting his gun away. “All clear. You don’t wanna see what he did to her bedroom, by the way.”

I clench my fists. “Forget the warehouse. Put everyone on finding him. Now.”

Scarrow nods. He puts a hand on my back. “We’ll get her through this.”

As if he manifested the very devil herself, shouts ring out downstairs. I take a deep breath and count to ten. “Let’s get down there before she kills our crew for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

I brace myself as we head down. Omen’s hot on her heels as she stalks around the bar, yelling and cursing. My guys have stopped cleaning and are backing themselves toward the door. These are hardened criminals covered in bullet scars and prison tats, but right now they are terrified of her.

She rips a broom out from one of their hands. “Is this some kind of joke?” Her eyes are wild, blazing with fury. “Oh, looks like he missed a spot.” She swings the broom at the lone bottle of whiskey still sitting upright on the bar, smashing it to smithereens.

“Om,” I warn.

“I’m on it. Fuck.” Omen tackles her from behind and wrenches the broom out of her hands. “Simmer down, mama. I know you’re pissed, but this ain’t helping.”

“Pissed?” She screams. “You think I’m pissed? I’m fucking furious!” She turns toward me and hisses. “This is all your fault. Kane hates you. He’s so fucking jealous he can’t stand it. How haven’t you found him yet? I thought you were this big bad scary gangster.”

Scarrow sighs. “She’s just upset. I know she doesn’t really blame you.”

“You’re right,” I yell back, ignoring him. I charge toward her and wrestle her away from Omen. I grab her by the arm and pinch it hard. “I should’ve bent you over and fucked your tight little ass that first night you brought him home to meet daddy. I should’ve branded you like a fucking whore. At least then, Kane would’ve known better than to even look at you.”

She narrows her eyes and shoves me back. “You didn’t have the balls. You still fucking don’t.”

I grab her other arm and drag her over to the bar. Years of suppressing this ache has finally pushed me over the edge. And that smug look on her face, acting as if she’s so much better than me because she expresses every vile thought that enters her head. Fuck this. I’m no one’s pushover.

“You wanna see my balls, Cherry. Let me show them to you.” I flip her around and shove her over the bar stool. “Open your fucking legs.”

“Fuck you,” she spits. She tries to stand up but I shove her back down hard.

With one hand, I undo my belt and slide it out. I use it to tie her wrists to one of the barstool legs. “How’s that for balls? Hmm? Now spread your fucking thighs.”

Omen and Scarrow exchange a look but don’t say a fucking word. They know better. Omen starts to head over to the other three guys in our crew when I hold my hand up.