Page 16 of Bound By Temptation

“Me…” He dragged out the sound for much longer than needed for some reason. “I’m good. I just…” He paused. “Just…”

“Would you spit it the fuck out, Nick!” My father’s voice rose a few octaves.

“Need a job,” he said, surprising me. The shit he was in—no job was going to pay him what he needed.

“So get one. You’re a fuckin’ electrician,” Uncle Breaker said.

“No, need a big job. One where I can earn some serious money. You know, a job for the club.”

My father sat back in his chair. “So, you’re in half a mill to Old Red, huh?”

“Wha—” Nick started.

“You don’t think my boys know what the fuck they’re doin’? Raid had the info before you hung up the fuckin’ phone, dumbass.”

“If you think the club is gonna give you a half a mill job, you’re out of your mind. They won’t give you a fuckin’ penny for anything,” Uncle Breaker added.

“This is my last hope.” Nick started talking fast. “I gotta get this money to Old Red or he’s gonna kill me. You don’t want me dead, right?”

Gaslighting… I hated that shit, and Nick was trying his damnedest to put it on all of us. Not going to happen.

“I don’t give a shit,” I responded, and my mother gave me a look. One I couldn’t read, but it was the truth. I had my family, and he was so far out of the circle that if he disappeared, he wouldn’t be missed.

“You say anythin’ to Old Red about the club?” Raid asked, and the room went still.

Yeah. This was a very important question that needed answering like yesterday.

Nick said nothing. Dead quiet on the other end.

My hands balled into fists when the silence went too long.

“Answer!” Uncle Breaker ordered.

“I—” He broke off once again.

“If I call Old Red and he tells me you said a single word about the club, I’ll come kill ya myself,” my father stated matter-of-factly. “You won’t have to worry about payin’ it back. You’ll be six feet under.”

“Great way to treat your brother…” Nick grumbled.

“Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me!” My father’s fist came down hard on the table. This time we all reached for our cups and glass, but some of us were too late, and shit spilled everywhere.

Without a word, my mom got up and brought back some towels. Raid and I took them and began to clean the mess up. Remember. Mom was queen here. We cleaned; she did not.

She gave me a soft smile which warmed my heart. Loved that woman.

“What did you tell Old Red?” Breaker tried keeping the focus on the information while my father wanted to punch something, namely Nick, hard.

“I didn’t…” Nick trailed off.

“I’m callin’ his ass,” my father stated. “One fuckin’ word, and there’s no place on this fuckin’ earth you can hide. I’ll find ya, and I’ll take the money out of your skin.”

“I didn’t mean to. It just came out!” Nick practically cried over the phone. Yeah, this fucker would be dead.

“The club isn’t givin’ you shit. No one at this table will give you shit. You fly on this one solo, and you will pay for even sayin’ my club’s name to Old Red.” My father reached over and punched off the call.

Immediately the phone started ringing again. My father looked at it, hit some buttons, and the ringing stopped. Breaker’s started, and he did the same thing as his brother: blocking Nick. Then mine. I blocked him too.

“What do we do?” my mother, Bella the Beautiful, I loved to tease her, asked the table.

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