Page 3 of All Out of Flux
Again the thug wailed. She didn’t even pull on his arm this time. Tina’s threat was more than enough.
“Hoo, boy,” Max said. “I’d listen to her if, I were you. She collects them, you know. Dries them for her charm bracelets.”
“Nuh-uh,” I breathed. “Is that for real?”
Ross threw his hands up, turning to Johnny. “I swear I haven’t been handing out spare keys to Brillante goons.”
It didn’t take long for Tina to rummage through the thug’s pockets. She grimaced when her fingers found it, before she even pulled it out. It was a key, but large and ornate, like something that didn’t even belong to the current century. Her gaze met with Max’s, her eyes darkening.
Max stood straighter, his shoulders broadening, his face stony and hard. He spoke only two words, yet they were somehow enough to fill me with dread.
“Gustavo Brillante.”
2
MAX
Seeing Guillotina dropkick a man in the back had woken me right up, a jolt of caffeine to my system. Bitter coffee, angry and black. Poor bastard was lucky that she wasn’t aiming directly for his spine. But finding out that he was sent by one of my uncles? That was like having that same cup of coffee dumped over my head.
My ears were still hot, my skin blazing as I drove us from Unholy Grounds to a different destination. Roscoe finally accepted that we’d had way too much excitement for one night, staying behind with Johnny to close up shop and head home. But I needed something to settle my nerves. A little nightcap. Silk would have exactly what I needed.
No way I could fall asleep so soon after all that adrenaline. Leon clearly felt the same, mouth going a mile a minute as he sat in the back seat. I nodded along as he nattered away, waiting for the right moment to interject. I kept my focus on the road, trying not to get too unsettled now that I knew Tío Gustavo had his eye on me and my friends.
“That was beyond incredible, Tina. You took that guy down before he even knew what was happening.” Leon smacked his hands together. “Wham! Just like that.”
Sitting in the passenger seat, Tina shrugged and clucked her tongue. “What can I say? I was born to do this.”
I shot her a quick glare, lingering just long enough to convey my displeasure, refusing to be an irresponsible driver. “Don’t be so cocky, Hernandez. You could have killed him. And boots off the dashboard, how many times do I have to tell you?”
She scoffed, putting her legs down and complying. “As if. How many times do I get to ride in your car anymore, now that you’re spending all your waking hours with Witch Boy over here? All your non-waking hours too, apparently.”
Leon pulled himself forward, his smile like a bright crescent moon as he popped his head between the two of us. “Aww, Tina! Are you really jealous? You can hang out with Max any time you want, you know.”
She threw me a steely glare. “Don’t you think I know that? It doesn’t bother me, really. I just worry. Max is very, very happy right now, and when your world is tinted pink and rosy, it’s harder for you to notice when something dark and dangerous is creeping up on you.”
I could see the shit-eating grin spreading across Leon’s face. I squirmed in the driver’s seat, feeling my neck going hot. Even when Tina was just trying to express that she cared, she was so damn brutal about everything. The honesty, most of all.
“Tina, fucking — shut up, okay? I’m notthathappy.”
Leon waggled his eyebrows, so confident I’d see him doing it in the rearview mirror. “You seemed pretty happy when I did that thing last night.”
My skin was on fire. Tina fiddled with her door. “How do I roll down these windows? I need to throw up real quick.”
“I keep the child safety on.” Perfect. Deflect with humor, toss in a random insult, and maybe he would let this go. “You never know with Leon, can’t control his limbs sometimes. Like a goddamn octopus.”
But it didn’t work. “A sexy octopus,” Leon said, as if that made any lick of sense. And yet I found it adorable anyway.
And sexy, in a stupid kind of way, because he really was irredeemably handsy, pawing and groping at me whenever we had a minute to ourselves. Unbelievably flattering, to be so wanted. Part of me was tempted to leave Tina out on the highway, find somewhere to park, bend Leon over the hood to pound him all through the night.
My hands crushing the steering wheel, I raised my voice, counting on the volume to drown out all the teasing I was receiving from two fronts.
“The point is that I am still perfectly capable of perceiving danger, especially when it’s right in front of me. Thank you very much, Tina.”
“Welcome,” she grunted.
“Tío Gustavo being the prime example. Good God. Can’t believe he’s getting in on the action, too. Business can’t bethatbad.”
“Okay, I give up.” Weight dragged on the back of my seat as Leon shifted, adjusting his butt, getting comfortable. “Clearly there’s much more to this Gustavo Brillante I don’t know about. Shoot.”
