Page 70 of Brew
“Would you prefer a prospect?” he snickers. “I don’t think so.”
“At least if I told them to shut the fuck up they’d have to listen to me.”
“Don’t get your panties in a knot. I say we give it twenty-four hours, if they don’t leave, we go in and take ‘em to the warehouse.”
There’s a danger in moving too quickly. If we do nab them, then the others who are part of this syndicate will know about it sooner or later, and they’ll realize something is up. Keeping a ‘business as usual’ status has never been more apparent than right now, even if it’s giving me a nervous tick.
I sigh. “Whatever.”
“Don’t have to sulk, we all know how you like to drag out the questionin’.”
Of course, Haze has been by my side at every single interrogation; he knows how I operate.
“That’s because I’m good at it.”
“If you were good, you wouldn’t be draggin’ it out for hours, would you?”
I shake my head, pinching the bridge of my nose. We both know the reason I drag shit out, and it’s because I enjoy it. Call me a sick bastard, I don’t care. It’s what I’m good at. The way I see it is these assholes could’ve chosen to do anything in life, and they chose to do this. I have no sympathy, and certainly not any hesitation when it comes to seeking the truth. Maybe that’s my calling.
I think about Erica and what she would think of me if she saw me in action. She’d be horrified. That instinct inside her that tells her to run wouldn’t be wrong, she should run. This dark world is no place for her, but she chose to work for us, knowing being associated with the MC and the Nomad Brothers can mean bad things. It’s just the way of things. Another part of me wants to believe she’s resilient, and she’d understand my plight. She did, after all, have a husband who was involved in one of thebiggest trafficking operations in Iowa, so I know she’s hardened to some of that.
Erica is tougher than I give her credit for. This is a woman who actually evaded the Chicago mafia. I want to hear more about that, about how she did it. Oh, I know the reasons why, and I admire her for that, even if it meant leaving Olive with Amber. She did what she thought was right as a mother. Protecting the innocent is the only job we have to do. I may not be a father, but I understand. If I ever have a kid someday, there isn’t hell or high fury that I won’t cross to make sure they’re safe. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to hold my own child. Sometimes the idea scares me because I know the cruelty and unfairness of the world. At some point, we all get hurt. We all get burned in one form or another, and that would gut me.
“Let’s agree on twenty-four hours, the prospects can take back over tonight, and if anythin’ crazy happens we’ll be ready,” I say.
I’m cranky because I haven’t been at the office as much this week, and that means I haven’t been able to see Erica.
“Should we talk about what happened with Olive and her signin’ the other day?” Haze says. I’m surprised he even remembered that, we hadn’t spoken of it.
“Nothin’ to talk about.”
“You gonna teach her some?”
“No.”
“Why not? Seems a little harsh.” He shrugs.
“Because I’m not a fuckin’ teacher, that’s why.” I look out the window. I’m being an asshole, I know that, but signing is something I learned so I could communicate with a beautiful woman I wanted to spend my life with. A woman who was murdered in cold blood because of me. I’ll never want to relive that.
“You torture yourself,” Haze mutters. He’s always been good at reading me. “You need to stop doin’ that. What happened wasn’t your fault.”
I’ve heard it over and over through the years, but it doesn’t matter what he says, what anyone says. I won’t rest until they’re all dead.
“Fuck off.” My words hold no weight behind them. “You take the first shift, I need to sleep.”
I close my eyes and dream of a life where none of this is my reality.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
Erica
I’m lying here awake, unable to sleep.
My mind is reeling after what we did.
Brew didn’t come to my window like he promised, however, if he had, I know I wouldn’t have had the will to turn him away.
