Page 45 of Giving It to the Monster

Saint watched the man leave, and turned to Pipe.

“He seems reasonable.”

“Don’t believe everything you read about them, Saint. Ricky’s a good guy. He just has to do bad things. Like us.”

“Yeah, I had figured that.” He stared at the time, and saw it was a little after eight in the evening. The best chance he had of getting out and being at home with Natasha was not to cause a scene. He couldn’t deny that Ricky was a good guy.

Minutes passed, and finally Ricky came back.

“The men I work for have agreed to let me tell you the truth. I work for the Lorenzo family, and recently they have been maimed and killed. This led back to a guy known as Hoover. We believed we’d killed him, but he’s the only one who would know about the rat poison.”

“What that fuck does that have to do with Sinners’ Corner?”

“Besides the fact this isn’t contained. Once the cops analyze this, it’ll come back to us. We’re being framed, which is why I believe your MCs are clear. This is a fight that is not yours. I am sorry, gentlemen.”

Pipe sat back. “How deadly is this?”

“It’s taken the usual way, Pipe. The only reason it is deadly is if the person actually injects it. Otherwise, it’s just a simple white powder.”

“That’s good to know,” Saint said.

“Thank you for bringing this to me,” Ricky said. “We won’t forget it.”

“I can’t guarantee this isn’t going to be found out,” Saint said.

“But this was brought to us with enough time to handle it. Now, how about dinner?”

****

Natasha decided to stay at the club while she waited for Saint to get back. She sat at the bar nursing a beer, watching everyone within the club.

“You like it here,” Vanilla said, coming to sit beside her.

“I will admit it’s a lot different.”

“You know Saint is crazy about you, right?”

“Yeah, I do. I’m crazy about him as well.”

“Then why are you still wearing your wedding ring?”

She stared down at the ring on her finger, and shook her head. “No, this isn’t mine. It’s my mother’s. Whenever she went away, she always gave me her wedding band so she didn’t lose it. Every year I’d get a visit or her wedding band in the mail. She was always so afraid of it falling off. I’ve not wore my wedding ring since I walked out on Simon. I have no intention of ever going back there.”

“Sorry, my bad.”

She shrugged. “You assumed the worst. You’re trying to take care of Saint, and that I can respect.”

“Thanks. He’ll be back soon. Club business means he has unusual hours.”

“I can see that. I can also see that this club is good for him. He loves it here.”

“It’s in his blood.”

“Let the woman go,” Rage said, coming up behind them.

“Just talking.”

“Everyone seems to want to talk to me tonight. I must be popular.”

---