Page 17 of Volatile Obsessions

Everything with him was a damn problem these days.

I sighed in frustration and typed out a quick response.

Me: Which would be???

Vic: Word on the street is there’s a new guy sniffing around. He wants in apparently.

Me: And you heard this where?

Vic: Ramos.

Me: One minute. Answer.

“I’ve gotta take this,” I said to Stryker after sending my last reply. “Come with me outside.”

“You smokin?” he asked as he set his machine down and ripped off his gloves.

“I’ll pass this time. I just need someone to keep me from going nuclear on Vic.”

Stryker laughed despite my unappeased expression, shaking his head sardonically. He knew about Vic all too well. Didn’t care for him too much either. “C’mon, let’s go out the side. Quieter than out front,” he suggested, showing me out into the dimly lit narrow corridor.

We trailed it’s short length in silence, pushing out through the emergency exit to the humid alley way on the other side. Even tucked away back here, the vim and vigor from Ocean Drive carried over, a hint of Bad Bunny’s latest track, too, and the pungent scent of ocean water.

Stryker immediately pulled out a pack and sparked up a smoke as I tapped on Vic’s name in my recents and laid my back to coral stucco of the building. Not a full ring later, our call was connected.

“Boss lady...” he answered candidly.

I rolled my eyes. Now was not the time for his games. “Cut the shit, Kane. Who is this asshole?”

“Ramos doesn’t know all the details. He overheard his boys discussing it a few days ago. All they know is he’s from New York and he wants a cut of the territory.”

“Well, that’s obviously not happening. You sure that’s all Hector knows?” I pressed, tamping down the spike in my temper.

“Why don’t you listen for yourself? One sec, lemme put you on speaker.”

The softest shuffling scraped through the line, followed by what sounded like some electrical current and Hector’s pained growls.

“Go on, tell her what you told me,” Vic gritted out above the ruckus.

Hector’s cries only grew louder, as did the voltage, prickling almost every hair on my body at attention. I ground my teeth together. The static was like nails on a chalkboard, licking up my body in burning waves.

I said kill him, not play with him.

“Enough!” I barked, snapping Stryker’s head to where as I stood as he blew out a cloud of smoke.

Everything on the other side of the phone went silent, too.

“Tell her!” Vic demanded.

Thud.

Then a whimper.

That whimper said it all; he’d pistol whipped him, I could tell. Knew the sound. Would never forget that damn sound. I clenched my eyes together and tightened my grip on the phone as Vic bashed him a second time.

“No se nada!” Ramos screamed in distress. “I don’t know anything!”

He wasn’t lying. The agony in his voice was beyond genuine, an exhausted cry for help. Those who had something hide always put up a fight. Weakness shows your true colors.

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