Page 15 of Bound by Family
“Nah, Tommy, we’re not runnin’. You need your supply from us, you give us a call and we’ll get what you need,” Pops says calmly, but there’s tension in his voice, one that I’ve only heard a few times in the last couple of months.
The worry hits me like a weight in my gut. It’s getting closer to time.
“It’s only a few runs. Five tops to get it where it needs to be,” Tommy tries, his guys looking back and forth between him and Pops.
“Told ya no, and I don’t say what I don’t mean.”
The air becomes thick with tension.
Abandoning my beer, both Ryker and I move to stand behind Pops with our brothers. If something is going to happen, we’re prepared. Always prepared.
“We were really hopin’ to come to an agreement here,” Tommy says, scratching his cheek.
My eyes burn into the surroundings, checking every single person. Tommy’s little gesture could be a signal for a gun raid, bomb explosion—hell, just about anything at this point.
There’s nothing out of order.
“You want to talk our supply, we can talk. Other than that, Tommy, Ravage has lines. That one, we don’t cross.”
“Since when? I remember a time when Ravage did anything and everything,” Tommy fires back.
“Don’t need to give you any explanation. The answer is no. You gonna let this rest, or we gonna take care of this shit right here and now?”
Tommy’s eyes come to each one of us who are supporting and standing by our president with everything we got. No way in hell those three will make it out of here alive. It’ll be a bitch to clean up with the innocents around, but we’ll make it work.
Pops clears his throat obviously having enough of his time wasted.
When Tommy’s focus goes back to Pops, he sighs deeply. “Fine, no mess. I’ll find someone else, but you gotta know …” Tommy leans forward on his forearms. “You bastards are some of the best to transport this shit. You’d make a fuckin’ killing.”
Pops holds his hand out. “We have a deal. Not another word about your dust. You need us, call.”
Tommy reluctantly holds out his hand and shakes Pops’. “Not gonna fuck up a good thing with Ravage, Pops. Honorable man. Thanks for takin’ the time to come see me.”
Pops nods, releasing Tommy’s hand before standing. “We gotta roll.”
And that’s what we do. Roll the hell out of bumfuck nowhere and head to the booze, babes, and beaches.
* * *
Sunny Florida.The sunshine state, or some other bullshit like that. We’ve been here for three days. Pops has had meetings in his hotel room off and on, while me and some of the guys went to the beach for a bit. Nothing like seeing beautiful women in bikinis.
It’s been pretty low key, but everyone is starting to show up for Burnout Beach tomorrow.
“What the hell?” Ryker jumps back as water sloshes out of the washing machine and onto the floor in pools. The water doesn’t stop, either, even when the water from the wash is out. No, it keeps pouring and pouring like the damn Niagara Falls.
“Where’s the shutoff?” I ask, moving toward the machine and reaching behind it. I can’t see the damn shutoffs since they’re behind some fancy-ass board thing, proving to be no help at all. I pound hard on the wood and hear it crunch, but it doesn’t break.
“Here, let me try. You’ve got monster hands,” Green says as I step away, my pants and boots now soaked.
I look around for an attendant, but there is none. There is a number, though, so I pull out my phone and dial it.
It goes to voicemail.
I call it again. Same thing.
I call it again.
“Laundry Services,” a woman’s voice comes over the line in almost a purr. Not one like some of the girls at the club use to get us in bed. No, this woman has more of a natural purr that’s low, yet not a growl. It’s sexy as all hell.
