Page 18 of Bottoms
“Call your mom and ask if Tanner can join. Your dad said that he would train him when he was older. We both worked with him well before we were thirteen. I think it’s time,” Colt said like it was the simplest thing in the world.
Dad had said he would train Tanner, and I guess he wasn’t the same little kid that came into the clubhouse snot-nosed and red-faced from crying.
“I can try,” I shrugged, grabbing my phone to text my family.
“Dammit, Fynn,” Tanner said, as he noticed the stolen envelope on the table. “My dad's going to have me write lines for the next week when he checks the mail and finds this missing again.”
I watched as Tanner flopped into his large leather lounger as if writing lines were the worst punishment. At least his dad wasn’t one of those rich assholes that beat the snot out of their kids. Which is why it never bothered me when Tanner was blamed for my antics.
“Stuff like this is not suitable for a household with children in it,” I said in the rich, low tone puberty graced me. Tanner’s voice still squeaked on occasion.
“And neither are the weapons you grew up with,” Tanner fired back, making me smile.
“Weapons are tools, and tools belong in houses. Beating your meat to pictures of naked women you didn’t take, however, is less appropriate.” I took the envelope off the table, ripping the top off to slide the shiny stack of pages into my lap. A blonde with a brilliant smile looked back at me for just a moment before I tossed the magazine into Tanner’s lap. “I prefer brunettes anyway.”
Tanner grabbed the magazine, barely glancing at the cover before throwing it back on the workbench. “At least we agree on something,” he laughed, his tone cracking deeper. Giving a glimpse of the man he would one day become.
“Now that this morning’s pissing match is over, we have Arsenal matters to discuss,” Colt said, and the cogs in my mind came to a sudden halt as I switched over into work mode.
Our little group may have come together because of our entangled families. But our work as the Arsenal would be our future. We would follow in my dad’s footsteps and control the underground art smuggling business of the elite.
Present Day
“Idon’tseeanyunwrapping,” I told Nessa, my story coming to a screeching halt. She looked at me, her green eyes wide. Trying to absorb all the information I just gave her.
“Sorry,” she muttered. Looking around to grab another present before ripping the paper off. Her delicate hands shook as she grabbed the knife. Trying to control her movements only seemed it make it worse.
“Let me do it before you cut yourself,” I snipped, bending down to squat beside the bed as I covered her trembling hand wrapped around the handle. Her fingers were cold beneath my palm, and my thumb started to rub against her thin skin.
She bristled in place, but I refused to let go of her hand. Needing to feel the warmth in it before I relinquished it back to her. My fingers tightened around hers, and I moved our hands together to press the sharp tip through the thin tape.
Cutting into Vanessa’s skin would be as easy as this.
We worked together to unseal the package before my hand left hers. The blade started to tremble when left to only her grasp. She set it down next to her drink before returning to the box to see what was inside.
I could smell her from this close, and I watched her face while she peered inside. It looked like she expected a live spider to burst out from within, but her eyes held a hint of curiosity. Her shaking hand pulled the gift from the box; a set of throwing knives housed in a thigh holster.
“Did Tanner get to go to dinner and training at your house that night?” she asked, holding up the knives to glisten in the light of the tree. The movie she watched as if part of a religious custom each holiday season droned on in the background, entirely forgotten.
“Tanner did not,” I sighed, remembering how quickly our night had turned once Daddy Ryland discovered his precious dose of voyeurism was stolen. “Tanner got a text from Mike saying he needed to come home for dinner. His father had plans for him. Colt was so worried that he decided not to come to my house for dinner or training. With my plans cleared for the evening, I decided to sneak over to Tanner’s house and see what was going on for myself.”
Nessa put the throwing knives to the side, on top of the butterfly necklace I gave her twice. She grabbed the next box but paused, looking at me expectantly.
“Tanner sat to the right of his father at the dinner table that easily could have sat twenty full-grown men,” I said, and she peeled away the paper.
Slowly this time, ripping off a small section before waiting for me to speak again.
“Everything inside their mansion was overly large and grand. Which was probably why I didn’t like being over there much.” I shrugged, having just realized that. “Mr. Ryland acted like his son was the next king of New York and expected me to treat him as such.” I looked at Nessa, making sure she was looking at me. “There are a lot of future kings in this world, and I won’t get on my knees for any of them.”
She milked the paper to draw it out as long as she could before the small box slid free from my shit wrap job. Colt was the one you went to if you needed everything nice and tight. I grabbed the knife before she could, slicing the tape free before her protest even touched her lips.
“Hey,” she pouted. Too late to stop anything. Her reflexes were slowed, but even at her best, she wasn’t quicker than me. That would all change once I finished molding her.
“When you can stop shaking, so I don’t have to worry about you popping the mattress, then I’ll let you go back to cutting,” I said, folding the knife and putting it back in my pocket.
Nessa groaned as she pulled the magazine from the box with all her bullets neatly packed inside and her gun. “Why would you let me have a loaded weapon? Why not just let me go, Fynn?” she said, looking up at me with pleading eyes. She wanted to know what the plan was so she wouldn’t have to imagine all the deranged scenarios. I wanted her to imagine them all.
“I’m afraid that’s not the story I’m telling Vanessa,” I said firmly.
