Page 88 of Brick

“I’ll call you. Whether I find him or not.”

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Brick

The longer Brick took refuge inside his apartment, the more the dingy walls threatened to close in on him. A hundred times, he relived his exchange with Sucre, looking for a way he could have handled it better, but there’d been no way to stomach any intimacy with the girl his boss offered. Anything short of letting her suck his dick—well, the particulars might have changed, but the outcome would have remained the same.

Sucre would have still seen through him, and Olivia would still know his deepest shame.

He shuffled to the refrigerator and looked inside. The very idea of food made his stomach lurch, but a Budweiser longneck wasn’t out of the question. His hand was an inch away from the closest bottle when a knock sounded at the front door.

The temptation to ignore it overwhelmed him, but if Sucre stood outside, it would be a bad idea to make him wait. He had already met his lifetime quota on bad ideas.

He abandoned the promise of a little alcohol-induced oblivion as the banging grew faster and louder. An apology died on his lips when he caught sight of Kane at the threshold. “What the fuck are you doing here, man?”

“Fine way to greet a friend.” Kane shouldered his way into the room.

He kept the door open behind him. “How did you even find me?” He shook himself. “Doesn’t matter. You need to leave.”

Kane brushed at some imaginary lint on the sleeve of his leather jacket. “Some old bald guy at the gym pointed out the way. Apparently, he thinks I’m doing something to help you get laid.” He dropped the casual façade, his face turning to stone. “And I’m not leaving, so you can hang that shit up right now.”

The guy meant well, but Kane didn’t understand the kind of clusterfuck he was stepping into. Brick dropped his voice to a whisper. “I think my place is bugged, or there are cameras; I don’t know. It’s not safe.”

“Fine. Then take a ride with me. We need to talk. I’m not going without you.”

Growling, he followed Kane to his bike. “No way we’re both going to fit on there.”

Kane climbed on. “Just get behind me, asshole. I’m not trying to be your boyfriend. Let’s go.”

It was a tight squeeze, but he managed to balance on the seat. They drove several blocks to an empty playground with wooden benches. Playground wasn’t the right word. There were two swings and a single basketball hoop. A bent-up old baseball bat lay discarded in the grass.

He strode away from the bike and kicked over one of the heavy benches. “My whole life is fucked.” Bellowing into the open field, he channeled the hate, the shame, the hopelessness into a roar that sent the birds squawking into the cloudy sky.

Sitting on one of the benches still standing upright, Kane waited and watched.

He stomped the overturned bench again, then picked up the old bat and tore into the wood. All the while, he yelled at the top of his lungs. When he had no energy left, he slid to the ground. “He ruined the only good thing I’ve ever had.” It came out ragged. “No. I ruined it…before I ever even met her.”

Kane gave up the bench to sit next to him in the dirt. “I assume you’re talking about your girl. She says you’re not answering her calls.”

“She knows what I am now.” His stare drilled holes into the ground.

“She probably knows who you are better than you do, brother.” Kane sighed. “Tell me the whole story.”

“It was a test.” He laughed brokenly. “Sucre gave me a girl to make me prove I had no one special in my life. He was looking for a clue I had someone he could use against me.”

“And?”

“And I fucking failed. I couldn’t cheat on Olivia. I couldn’t.” He flexed his hands then shook them out. “I told him no, so he played his trump card. He showed her what I am.”

“I still don’t understand.”

“Sucre fucking owns me. He’s owned me for years,” he gritted. “He tells me to kill somebody, I kill them. He tells me to fuck somebody, I fuck ’em.”

“Not this time.”

“No. Not this time, but enough times he has an arsenal to use against me whenever he needs a weapon. I knew he had videos of me on the job. I figured he’d use them to threaten me with the cops if I ever stepped out of line. I figured the videos he took in bed were just another way to break me down.”

Had he really just slipped his worst shame? Did it even matter anymore? No. He laughed darkly. “He says it always pays to have insurance. I guess it paid off for him this time.”

Kane gripped his shoulder. “You have to talk to her.”

“How could she possibly look me in the eye?” He buried his face in his hands. “You don’t know what was on the video she saw.”

Kane squeezed, then let go. “I have a pretty good idea. But as for your girl, I can’t say how it will go once you see her. I do know she’s looking for you, and she’s scared. And for what it’s worth, it sounds to me like you didn’t have much of a choice. About any of it.”

“I don’t think she’s going to see it the same way.”

Kane climbed to his feet and held out his hand. “There’s only one way to find out, brother. Let’s get back on the bike.”

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