Page 13 of Leather & Lark
Leander jerks his head toward Robbie in a bid for me to follow, and I do. “Good thing I’m all benevolent and shit. I wouldn’t want you to miss your little brother’s special night. And Idefinitelywouldn’t want him spitting in my meal the next time I pop in for a visit. Word is that while he might have scaled back on his Boston Butcher theatrics around town, he’s still a bit unhinged. I understand he was recently up to no good in Texas with that girlfriend of his. That’s where they went, right? Texas? And … oh, where was it before that …? I remember now. California. Calabasas, specifically. And West Virginia—”
“What do you want from me?” I snap.
Leander grins. “Just hold him steady.”
With a flash of a lightless glare, I step behind Robbie and press my palms to either side of his head. He trembles in my grip.
“Open wide, fucker.” Leander pushes the end of the funnel past Robbie’s gag. Robbie tries to thrash free of my grip, but there’s no escape. “Last meal down the pipe. Did you know the Nelsons’ kid had to be tube-fed after he OD’d on your fentanyl candy? This iskinda the same thing,” he says as he pours the first thick dollops of pizza smoothie into the funnel.
“Not really the same at all,” I grumble over the sound of Robbie’s gurgling cough.
“Close enough.” Leander pours more mixture in, but it only ends up dribbling from the corners of Robbie’s mouth. A frustrated sigh leaves my psychotic boss’s lips. “He’s not swallowing it.”
“Can’t imagine why.”
“It’s just pizza and beer, Robbie.”
“And teeth.”
“Just imagine it’s protein powder. Come on, man. Down the hatch,” Leander says as he tries again. Robbie whimpers and whines, but still doesn’t swallow. A petulant sigh leaves my boss’s lips as his shoulders fall. “Pinch his nose.”
“Hard pass.”
“That wasn’t a question, kid.”
“Leander—”
“Do it, Lachlan, and then I’ll let you head off to your party.”
Our eyes lock for a moment that feels endless.
I could snap Leander’s neck. With one punch to his throat, I could crush his trachea. I could shove the heel of my palm into the base of his nose with a satisfying crunch. Or I could take the easy way out and shoot him. Leave him to bleed across the floor like so many others before him who have found themselves in his basement on a Friday night.
But revenge for my betrayal would be swift and merciless. His equally batshit brothers would hunt me to the ends of the earth, just like I would do for mine. And their vengeance wouldn’t start or end with me.
My fingers curl around Robbie’s nose and pinch it tight.
“The Nelsons wanted him to suffer like they have suffered. This is not torture, Lachlan. It’s not murder. This isjustice,” Leander says, his eyes not straying from mine as he fills the funnel.
This time, Robbie has no choice but to swallow. Not all of the liquid makes it down his throat, of course. But Leander doesn’t stop, not until the pint glass is empty. And even then, he keeps his unwavering stare on me.
When he’s satisfied, Leander gives a single nod.
I release Robbie from my grip, whip my gun from its holster, and shoot Robbie in the head.
The pressure and pain behind my eyes subsides now that Robbie’s gurgles and sobs and pleas no longer drone on around us. It’s just the music, and now the steadydrip, drip, dripof blood that falls to the floor.
I slide my gun back into its holster. There can be no threat when I let my next words loose between us. “I want to retire.”
A slow, predatory grin creeps across Leander’s face. “You don’t say,” he says, turning his back to me. “I’m totally shocked.”
“Leander, I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for me and the boys. Covering our asses back in Sligo. Bringing us here, setting us up. You know how much I appreciate it. I’ve put in the years to pay it back, you know I have. But this …” I say, trailing off as I cast a glance down to the slumped body next to me. “I don’t think I can do this anymore.”
Leander lets out a deep sigh as he sets the glass and funnel next to the sink and turns to face me. “I’m going to be straight with you, kid. I always am.”
I nod when he raises a single brow.
“When you pissed off Damian Covaci last year, that didn’t just kill our contract with him. It had ripple effects on other contracts as well when gossip spread in certain circles. And you know what, kid? That pissedmeoff.”
