Page 7 of Pin-up Girl

“Thanks, man. This was cool of you.” Fuckface extended a hand, waiting for me to shake it. I didn’t.

He looked from me to Jules, a tremor starting in the offered hand. Just because we’re assholes, Jules and I closed in on him from different sides. It took effort to school my features, but this was Jules’ natural state.

“Okay, I don’t know what’s going on, but I see this wasn’t a friendly gesture.” He tried to sidestep us, but we went with him. The light was shit, but even in the dim glow, a small bead of sweat was visible on his forehead.

On cue, Milo walked around the corner of the building. This building was one of several on this strip. In the daytime, it wasn’t so bad, but it looked sketch at night. Distant sounds of traffic bled into the alley, covering up the sound of Milo’s footsteps.

Fuckface only cared about watching Milo at this point. I should be offended.

Milo stopped a few feet away, shoving his hands in his pockets and smiling at Fuckface like they were best friends. Honestly, now that Fuckface knew something was up, it was creepy as hell.

“Zack, I would say thank you for joining us, but I’m sure you’ve figured out this was a set up.” Milo feigned understanding and stepped closer, ready to tell him why he was lured to the dark, dank alley.

Fuckface gave a barely perceptible nod. I almost felt bad for the guy. He probably had no idea why we were cornering him. Our targets almost never did. Most of the time, they were victims just like we were. Slaves to the life we were born into.

“Here’s the thing, Zack. We don’t want to be out here any more than you do. This will all be cleared up quickly and…well, not painlessly.”

A pathetic whimper escaped Fuckface.

“What do you know of your dad’s dealings?” Milo clasped his shoulder for the down and dirty details.

“What?” He genuinely sounded confused. “What does my dad have to do with anything?”

“Well, Zack, quite a lot actually. You see, your dad’s new on the business scene, only in the shipping business the last ten years, right?”

“Yeah…” A glimmer of understanding dawned, but there was no way he could actually know where this was going. Unless he actually was involved with his father’s business.

“He recently had an opportunity to do a job for Infinity Holdings. Very prestigious company. They deal in various business ventures around the world. Something funny happened on the first shipment. Ten percent of the inventory wasn’t delivered. Now, I’m sure it was an honest mistake, but it can’t be swept under the rug. I’m sure you understand.”

Fuckface didn’t understand at all, as he started violently shaking his head back and forth. “Whatever happened with Dad’s business, I had nothing to do with it. This company should take it up with him. Not me.” His voice shook. “What do you all have to do with this anyway?”

“Let’s just say we have personal ties with Infinity Holdings. Now, I’m sorry to say, from their experience, it never makes a strong enough impression to battle out their grievances in the boardroom. It will be much more powerful if you carry back the message.”

None of us were grinning now. The next part was never fun, but we had to do it. The more jobs we did, the more information we collected. Some might view it as getting deeper and deeper in the criminal world, but we saw it as securing our way out.

Zack tried to bolt, clumsily twisting out of our circle. He never stood a chance. Both Jules and I caught an arm and slammed him to the ground. I braced a knee over his thigh, and Jules did the same. Milo stood over us, studying his body. The jobs came with a name and the reason behind the punishment. After almost four years of this, they left the actual punishment up to Milo. Supposedly, some kind of sign of respect.

“Alright, Zack. Before we do this, I want your agreement that you will not go to the cops, you will not tell your frat brothers, but you will deliver this message to your dad. And let him know, if anything like this happens again, well…let’s just say, we aren’t going to be the ones that find you.” Milo waited. And waited.

“Zack, we need your agreement, then you won’t have to speak to us anymore.” I shook his shoulder, where I had him pinned. Nasty water soaked through my jeans. This was fucking disgusting. We should find a better place to carry out these jobs. But it was hard to beat, because Freddie protected this alley for us. Dumpsters and random trash blocked each end of the alley so cars wouldn’t drive through. His employees also had a strict no visit policy during night hours. They threw the trash away during the day only. A convenient way to say thank you for running the books, even if he despised fraternities.

Zack’s wide eyes rolled around in his head at the sound of my words. No one made a move. Finally, he calmed down enough to give Milo a jerky nod.

“I need the words.” Milo’s voice softened. He hated this more than the rest of us.

“I understand.” The words tumbled out like broken glass through a rusty pipe.

Milo nodded. He lifted his foot, positioning it over the kneecap. Fuck, those were the worst, and didn’t always heal right. Good thing this guy didn’t play sports, otherwise his career might be over. At the last minute, he shifted down to the shin. That would break cleaner, heal much quicker.

Jules shoved a rag in Zack’s mouth when the crack rang through the alley. It barely muffled the scream, but we were far enough away from the parking lot for anyone to be suspicious. The doors were always opened at the front, with music blaring, making it hard for people in line to hear each other.

Then some bad fucking luck happened.

The door to the alley opened, and Pin-up stepped out, with a sweet as hell giggle. Until she saw us. With Fuckface on the ground, screaming.

Chapter Three

Jules

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