Page 54 of Bastard Prince
“What the fuck did you just say?” I cut in, causing the kid to swing around and finally take in his surroundings. He stared at me and Rock, standing side by side and blocking the back half of the room from view. I saw the moment he realized he was fucked, because he swallowed, then looked behind him at the door Massimo had just closed. “What do you know about Frankie the Wolf?”
“I know you’re a dead man if word gets out that you’re holding me here.” He puffed up his chest, trying to look confident, but I could see the shake in his hands. The kid was terrified but refused to show it; at least he had balls, which was more than we could say for Andy.
I was about to push him for answers when Francesca’s voice came from behind me. “You can relax, boys. This one’s with me.”
Pushing between Rock and me, Frankie stepped forward, a smile on her face. “Hey, Sway. Seems like you’re in a bit of trouble.”
I whipped my head to her. “You know this punk?”
Francesca smiled. “Sure do.”
“Caught him spray painting the back of the building at Sin City,” Massimo said, shoving the kid toward me. “He was drawing a wolf’s head when I rolled up.” The kid darted a look at Francesca, who was still smiling, even though I didn’t think this was funny in the least. “Little shit runs fast, but I caught him in the end.”
“Sway,” Francesca scolded. “What did I tell you about breaking the law?”
“Not until my homework was done,” he returned with a grin. “Got it covered Frankie. Finished that shit in class.”
“What the hell, Francesca?” I asked, scowling at the lanky punk in front of me. “How do you know this kid?”
“Francesca?” he asked her, laughing. “That’s an old lady, name.”
“Hey,” she barked, whacking his arm playfully. “Watch your mouth,Sway.”
“Alright, alright,” he conceded, his hands up. “So, you wanna tell me what we’re doing here in what is clearly a torture den? I didn’t realize the penalty for tagging had been increased from a warning to an unmarked grave in the desert, but hey, what do I know?”
Francesca laughed. “Sway, this is my husband, Enzo Argenti.” She gestured to me, and I watched as the kid’s eyes widened. “Enzo, this is Sway. My eyes and ears on the streets.”
“Gotta keep my streets under control,” he said, puffing up his skinny chest. “Watch out for the little guy, you know how it is?”
“You mean, my streets,” I said, shooting him a menacing glare.
Sway snorted. “Sure, okay. If you say so.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Massimo cut in, shoving the kid forward a bit. Frankie scowled at Masi but said nothing. Damn, she was getting protective over this little shit.
“It means,” Sway paused and rubbed his shoulder dramatically, “that if they were his streets, he’d be doing a better job of keeping them clean, that’s all.”
“Clean how?” Rock asked.
Sway looked to Francesca, who nodded slightly, giving him the go ahead to tell us what he knew. “Look, man. There’s shit going around that ain’t good for no one, you know? That Frost Bite is tearing shit up, and it’s messier than fuck out there.”
I looked to Rock, then Benny, as we all registered what Sway had just said. “Fuckin’ Frost Bite again.”
“Yeah, man. Frost Bite. That shit is everywhere right now. Started out real cheap, you know. Five bucks a hit, something like that, but the price is going up as demand rises. Now, you want that shit, you gotta shell out huge, and you need to trade in favors. It’s bullshit.”
“Favors?”
“Yeah, you know, like, you wanna score, you gotta rob a store first, bring your haul to prove you did it. Or maybe, you already did that, got your hit. Next time, The Chemist ain’t letting you off easy. Next time, you gotta bring him something serious to prove you’re legit.”
“What’s more serious than bringing in stolen property?” Francesca asked.
Sway turned to look at her, his face like stone. “Stolen people.”
There was silence for a moment, except for the still heavy breathing of Andy and the quiet sobs of Willow, as we all processed what we had just learned.
“So wait,” Benny cut in, “you’re telling me that once people get hooked on this Frost Bite, they have to start paying with...people?”
Sway shrugged. “Somethings are worth more than money.”
