Page 24 of Room Seven

Just give me a nice graveyard and I’ll be happy enough. It won’t be long before my body gives out at this rate.

Viper hangs the phone up and tucks his phone into his front pocket.

“Nothing?”

He shakes his head. “Says he’ll call back.”

I swallow a good mouthful and refill my glass. I hold the bottle out to Luther, who does the same for Viper and himself. Forty-six years isn’t tombstone age. But my soul has taken a beating and the weight of feeling her and not being able to touch her, kiss her, or even see her is slowly killing me.

I’ve never felt another person’s pain, fear and joy before Aster. Or pleasure. My skin prickles with an invisible energy just thinking about her. Dark sensations turn into darker wishes. A voice in my head says to take what I want, but ruining her isn’t the answer, either.

“You okay, brother?”

Luther is the sensitive one while Viper is the balls to the wall type. He cares too much and let’s emotions drive him. Luther likes to take his time and think things through. He notices shifts in the atmosphere and is perceptive.

We all balance each other out somehow, but it’s Luther that makes sure we don’t off ourselves.

“You’re looking pensive tonight.”

Age has worn me down. There’s no escaping the hint of silver at my temples or the weight of not having her in our lives. Every day that goes by, I feel like I age five more. I’ve kept myself in shape, taking my anger and stress out on iron in the gym, but my soul is tired. In all honesty, I don’t know how much longer there is for me.

I brace a hand on Luther’s shoulder, my glass in the other. “After we secure this deal, I’m going to go away for a while. Being here is giving the dark voices in my head bad ideas.

Understanding eyes turn to me. We stand at the same height and have almost the same build. Growing up and coming through the ranks of my father’s criminal empire, everyone thought we were brothers. Truth is, we are. Not by blood, but by life experiences.

Drake joined our band of fucked up boys when our dads struck a deal over some arms deal that eventually fell through. The senior men parted ways, while us boys grew closer. Viper was the last to join our trio.

He held a gun to my head one night when we were all about fifteen and said he was sorry but had to kill me or his step-father would kill him.

I didn’t hold it against him. I would have done the same thing. It’s always better when it’s theotherguy and not you, right?

With Luther’s gun to his head and Viper’s pressed to mine, we all faced a conundrum. So I made him an offer. Spare me and we would work to take down his step-father.

An hour later, we were best friends and his power-hungry step-father looking to take down my father by killing his son was no longer an issue.

And then Drake got married and had a daughter. It was fine until she came into her womanhood and then this dark fusion of energy happened.

Luther considers me through the reflection of the large window in front of us. Beyond the glass, barely dressed club members enjoy themselves openly without fear of living out their fantasies. But Luther’s gaze isn’t seeing anything other than my tortured expression. “What’s your plan?”

Kill Drake, kidnap his daughter, and then live happily ever after.

“Go back to Rio, maybe. I like the heat and the slow pace.”

“Do you ever-”

I shake my head and cut in. I already know what he’s going to say. “We are not good for her. We weren’t back then and now, much less. We left her. She won’t ever want to see our faces again, and Drake will see us under six feet of dirt if we try. Do we want to risk him hurting her to get back at us?”

“You think he would hurt his own girl?”

I grunt with disgust. We are animals, mother fuckers who don’t blink at ending life when the men staring down the barrel of our guns deserve their ending. But we have lines. Drake does not. “Do you remember what he did to the daughter of the rival family moving in on his territory when Aster was about twelve?”

“He had no remorse at delivering the body of the poor thing who looked just like his daughter,” Viper cuts in from behind us.

Viper leans his broad against the frame of a door and crosses his arms over an expansive chest. His chin is held high and you would never know that he got wasted last night to the point of passing out to help dull the pain.

He smoothed out his long black hair and made sure his jawline was clean and his clothes were wrinkle-free. But I know the man and one look at the swirling storms in his golden eyes tells me he’s hurting just as deeply as Luther and myself.

He’s a few years younger than me, but a few years behind bars does things to a man’s soul. Creases have appeared along his forehead to match mine and I haven’t missed the ones on either side of his eyes. Age gets us all, but the three of us wear it well.

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