Page 56 of Boost

“And what, brother?”

He sighed heavily and grumbled under his breath. “I’m way too fucking hungover for this shit. Look, I’m not a mediator and I’m certainly not some fucking love guru. I can’t tell you who not to fuck, but if you guysarefucking, then don’t let it affect business.”

“We aren’t fucking,” I snapped, not welcoming the reminder of that fact.

Colton sniggered. “Disappointed much?”

“Fuck you.”

“See. Voodoo pussy,” he stated, as if it explained everything.

“What the fuck ever. Raf Ortiz doesn’t get tied to one pussy.”

“Neither did Colton Donavan, but here we are,” he countered, without missing a beat.

I scrubbed a hand over my head again, then got serious. “So, you’re not firing her, right?”

“No, Raffie. I’m not.”

“Thank you,” I murmured, not really sure what I was thanking him for.

“Besides,” he added. “I’d be firing your ass before hers.”

“Might make life simpler.”

I swung my legs over and sat on the edge of my bed. “It’s not too late to pull my contract, Colt. I mean, I don’t wanna fuck this up for you.”

It had been years since he and I used to roll. After he found his lucky break and turned pro, our paths forked in opposite directions. His aiming skyward, while mine veered down the same road I still travelled. The streets were what I knew, what I loved… what Ilivedfor.

I heard his muffled, irritated huff. “You’re the only fucker for the job.”

“Surely you don’t believe that. You could have sent your own man, or asked anyone else. Why me?”

A beat of silence pulsed, and it sounded as if he was on the move. In the background I heard the distant crash of waves on a shoreline and figured he’d stepped outside.

“I needed someone loyal, who knows the streets inside and out. I’ve been out of that game far too long.”

“Like you said, brother, it’s been a long fucking time. I’m not the same kid I used to be back then.”

Colton scoffed. “Neither am I, yet I am at the same time.” He released another agitated breath and then muttered a curse. “Fuck. I remember years ago some skinny-ass kid saying to mebrothers on the street, brothers for life.You telling me that shit only sticks when it’s convenient for you?”

I stood and paced to the window. “That’s fucking rich coming from you. Haven’t heard from you in fuck knows how long, then all of a sudden you’re back because you want shit. Is that how we roll now, Donavan?”

“Quit whining like a bitch, Ortiz. I recall you wanting an out; this is your fucking out,” he bit back.

The glacial undertones in his voice fueled my frustration. “I’m not fucking eighteen anymore, and I was doing real fucking good until you breezed in handing me a fucking gold ticket on a platter made of shit,” I yelled.

“Never took you to be an ungrateful son-of-a-bitch, Rafael.”

“I’m not ungrateful! I just…Fuck!”

I turned to lean my ass against the windowsill. The morning sun coming through the glass warmed my bare back and quelled some of the storm within.

I needed a damn moment to get a grip, and by the sound of the harsh breathing coming through the phone, so did Colton.

When he eventually spoke, his voice was even and carefully masked. “If you didn’t want to be onboard, you should have said right at the start.”

“It’s not thefucking foundation,”I exclaimed, my tone whip-lashing between us.

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