Page 105 of Deserter

I wiped his spit from my face. “My decision is final. Feel free to sit this one out if you can’t abide by it.”

Wolverine snarled and took a few steps back. “Goddamn you, kid. You’re gonna get us all killed.”

I ignored him and rejoined my men. “Listen up. The girls are off-limits. I want them out before anything happens. Every other mother fucker in there is fair game, with the exception of Carlos. Wolverine and I will be dealing with him ourselves. Clear?”

When they agreed, I singled several out. “Hawk. Pins. You two go in the back and get the girls. Once they’re gone, we’ll begin.”

So maybe I didn’t have the faintest idea what Carlos looked like or how we were going to take out an entire gang without notice. As far as plans went, it was shit, but we’d dealt with worse odds and bigger enemies before.

We’d come out on top then and we’d do it again.

Within a matter of minutes, girls came flying out of the back exit. A girl hopped along on one leg as she struggled to get her other shoe on, jerking her head toward the door as if expecting a bomb to go off.

I lit up a cigarette and approached her while Wolverine stared me down. “Hey, you know which one of those pricks is Carlos?”

She let out a strangled shriek and promptly fell onto her ass. “Please don’t kill me, mister. I got a kid at home. I don’t know nothin’ about nothin’.”

“Which one of those pricks is Carlos? He in there? Think long and hard before you answer, don’t want the wrong guy getting killed.” I patted the gun at my hip to drive my point home.

“Sure, Carlos. He, uh, he was sitting in the booth in the back corner. He don’t talk to nobody tonight, said he wanted to be left alone.” When I remained silent, she added, “He’s wearing a red jersey, you can’t miss him. Can I go now?”

I pulled a wad of bills from my pocket and tossed them down to her. “I was never here. You never made it in tonight.”

She gave me a shaky nod and scrambled to her feet before hopping quickly to her car, still wearing only the one shoe.

I took another drag and turned to Torch. “Go find the prick and make sure no one touches him.”

“You got it, Grey.” He jogged up the back steps, bypassing another two strippers on their way out.

Wolverine crossed his arms over his chest. “The kid I patched in wouldn’t have begged for a stripper’s silence with cash. You’ve gone soft.”

His words cut deep, but I refused to let him see it. Instead, I exhaled slowly, watching as the cigarette smoke mixed with the condensation from my breath until the two were indistinguishable in the cold night air.

With one last drag, I flicked the cigarette across the lot and finally looked back at the man who’d been my mentor; the father figure I never had. A man who was letting his need for revenge cloud his judgment.

“You comin’?”

He nodded and followed behind me. The club had descended into chaos as my men gave into their blood lust. The man responsible for it all looked like he was ready to piss himself as he huddled in the back of the booth.

“This about money, man?” he began as I approached. “I can get you whatever you need, no questions asked, brother.”

I cracked my neck and stretched my arms overhead, feeling more alive than I had in months. Maybe the old man was right; maybe I had gotten soft. I’d let myself get so caught up in being a husband and father that I’d forgotten my first love.

Now it stood in front of me, ready to welcome me back into its embrace and this time, I wasn’t backing down or running away.

I ran my tongue across my teeth in a grin. “Nah, ‘brother.’ This is about Molly.”

This was just what I needed.

A reminder of who I was.

Who I’d always been.

A killer.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Grey: 1993

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