Page 18 of My Brother's Bad Best Friend

Jonas

Ifollow Big John down the short, dark hallway toward my office. The huge man stops and motions with his thick neck toward the door.

“It was open,” he grunts.

I frown a little bit, looking from him to the door and back. I never fucking leave my door open, not since we opened the Half Pipe and decided to leave a huge safe full of goddamn cash in there. I guard that place like it’s a holy relic or something, and Big John must’ve noticed.

“Thanks, big man,” I say to him.

He nods and heads off without another word. Weird dude, that Big John, but I don’t give him enough credit. He’s obviously smarter and more observant than I realized. It’s so easy to judge him based on his trunk-like neck and his beady little eyes, but that man is no idiot. I need to keep that in mind going forward. I’ve only known him for as long as Half Pipe’s been open, which isn’t long enough to feel like that guy’s completely loyal to me.

I turn back to my office and step inside. Nothing looks out of place, not a single paper astray, but I can feel that something’s wrong. It’s a weird feeling, like someone came into your home and nudged something just slightly off-center, just enough to make the quiet, lizard part of your brain go haywire. I can’t put my finger on what the issue is, but the lingering ghost of something is driving me insane.

I shut the door behind me as I go over to the safe. It’s the only thing I really care about in here. The papers, the shit in the drawers, nothing really matters. That cash, though, that fucking matters big time.

I spin the dial and unlock the combination, pulling the door open. I get a whiff of money, crisp paper and ink, the most beautiful smell in the world. Well, aside from dripping wet pussy, of course.

I notice it right away. I keep my cash in neat little stacks, each one facing the same way, but the top stack on the right is turned the opposite way and slightly askew. It looks like someone tried to put it back correctly, but was in too much of a hurry to do it right.

I start counting and it doesn’t take me long before I’m ready to lose my shit. There’s five grand missing, which is no small fucking thing. What’s weird is that it’s not all gone. If someone broke in here and stole my money, why stop at only five thousand?

I close the safe, sit down at my desk, and sigh. It’s like a perfect storm right now. Lizzie shows up, sending me down this fucking rabbit hole of whether or not I should take what I really want from her and finally taste her little body, despite knowing how messed up that might be. She’s hurting right now and in need of some support. The girl got kicked out of her house after her abusive fucking stepfather punched her in the face. I need to stop thinking with my dick for a second and help her get back on her feet.

And of course, the second problem is her dumbass brother, Ezra. Ever since we opened this place and started making serious money, he’s been slowly getting worse and worse. I hoped it would be a temporary thing, that he’d party himself out fast, maybe get a case of crabs or the clap and decide fucking club sluts and getting fucked up every night isn’t the best idea. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened, or maybe he just didn’t mind his cock burning like lava when he pisses.

I tap my foot on the floor, bridging my fingers under my chin as I stare at my phone. I know I should call Ezra and make him explain this fucking shit, but I need to be careful. He’s clearly going through something and if I push him too hard, I’m afraid he’ll snap and make shit very hard for me. We’re business partners in Half Pipe and we split everything fifty-fifty, which means he has the power to burn this whole motherfucker to the ground.

Then again, he’ll probably burn it down sooner or later if he keeps acting like a fucking fool.

I dial his cell and let it ring on speakerphone. I’m about to hang up when he answers.

“Yo, Jonas,” he says, sounding like he’s out of breath a little bit. “What’s up, man?”

“Not much. Checking to see where you’re at.”

“Oh, you know.” I can hear something in the background, something that sounds like a freeway or something. It’s almost like he was walking along the side of the road, but that makes no sense. “Just hanging out.”

“Cool, I hear you. Listen, I just checked the safe and we’re missing five grand. I think I need to call the cops.”

He hesitates a second and I know it was fucking him. That dumb piece of shit.

“Don’t do that,” he says finally.

“Why not? I didn’t take the money, and you didn’t let me know that you were taking any, so I’m pretty sure we got robbed.”

Another pause. He’s sweating this hard. Dumbass probably thought I wouldn’t notice.

“I took it,” he says finally.

“You did?” I arch an eyebrow.

“Yeah, you now, I needed some petty cash, you know, for this investment I got going on.”

I don’t say anything. I can still hear the sound in the background, droning on like a noise machine. I clench my jaw, trying to keep the anger pushed down inside of me. I can’t make this situation worse.

“It’s just, you know, it’s a big deal,” he babbles on. “Gotta get in on it while I can, you know?”

“You’re supposed to ask me before taking money,” I say. “And I’m supposed to ask you. That’s how it works.”

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