Page 6 of Sypher

He threw his head back, his laughter booming, a rich and hearty sound that shook his shoulders. “God, Danny,” he whispered, his voice barely audible above the din of the pub, “even I know the military’s relentless demands would crush your spirit and leave you utterly destroyed. What about a federal agency?”

“Already told them no.”

“What do you mean?” Ace asked, leaning forward. “They already talked to you?”

I nodded. “Yeah. My freshman year. Worst two weeks of my life. Everywhere I turned, men in black wanted to talk to me.”

“Danny!” I heard a familiar voice and looked up.

Fucking great.

I groaned inwardly and tried to ignore Carrie’s approach. The scent of her suffocating perfume preceded her as she headed toward our booth. We’d only had one date, which consisted of pizza and beer and ended with me balls deep in her ass. Now she thought we were going steady.

“Hey, baby,” she crooned, leaning down and kissing me hard on the lips. “Missed you last night at the faculty dinner.”

“Yeah, I had other plans,” I muttered while Ace smirked, looking at the both of us.

Shit.

“Who’s this, little brother?” Ace asked, grinning up at her.

“Oh, hello there!” Carrie let out a cheerful chirp, her eyes sparkling when she looked at Ace. “Wow,” she breathed, her eyes lingering on my brother’s chiseled jawline and captivating smile. “You are handsome.”

“Thank you, sweetheart. You’re not too bad yourself,” Ace greeted, getting to his feet. “How do you know my little brother?”

“Oh, we’ve dated a time or two.” She smiled warmly.

“So, you’re his girlfriend?”

“Knock it off, Ace,” I groaned.

“Well, nothing is official yet, but we have fun together. Don’t we, Danny?”

“Yeah. Sure,” I grumbled.

“Why don’t you join us,” Ace suggested while I quickly shook my head no. I absolutely refused to spend my day with Carrie incessantly chattering like a magpie. The woman never shut up. Like ever.

“I would love to.” She smiled, sliding into the booth next to me.

Retaking his seat, Ace asked, “So, how did you two lovebirds meet?”

I sat for the next hour, the rhythmic flow of Carrie’s ceaseless chatter filling my ears, interwoven with the insistent, almost frantic questions from Ace. It was a dizzying auditory experience.

Despite my attempts at participating in the conversation, I found it impossible to get a word in edgewise due to the overwhelming flow of discussion. Ace’s apparent liking for Carrie was evident, and with a captive audience, Carrie was clearly enjoying herself and was in her element, thriving in the situation. In the end, I gave up and just let them talk. Neither one really cared to hear what I had to say, anyway.

So, when the server brought the check, I didn’t think twice before digging out my wallet and handing him my black Amex. Anything to get us out of here faster. Having settled the bill and with Carrie affectionately draped on my arm, we departed the pub, only to find that my day was about to take a turn for the worse.

My brother’s unannounced arrival was upsetting enough, and Carrie’s intrusion only complicated the already difficult situation, but when I saw Dante approaching, I was so shocked that I came to an immediate halt.

The air grew heavy, thick with a sense of foreboding. Something was terribly wrong. His face was red, his fists clenched, and his eyes narrowed—he looked furious. His shoulders were tight with tension; his hurried footsteps drumming against the pavement.

I vaguely heard Carrie sneer, “What the hell is he doing here? I thought he moved to the big city.”

“Who?” Ace asked.

“Him,” Carrie said, nodding her head toward Dante. “He’s a stuck-up snob who thinks his shit doesn’t stink. He and Dannywere really tight before he dropped out of school. Now he lives in the big city doing God only knows what.”

Ignoring the bitch, I looked worriedly when Dante greeted, “Danny.”

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