Page 45 of Sweet Sin

“Go on…” I say, my voice sounding like a growl.

“So yeah. I was dealing, and one of the big bosses found out about who I was.”

“Meaning?”

“A Bellamy. With access to property right on the border.”

“Oh my fucking God.” I wipe the perspiration off my forehead. My heart is stampeding. I really don’t like where this is going.

“Yeah. So the big guy, Vega, offered me a bigger cut…if I let them use our land.”

“Which property?” I say through gritted teeth.

“That old barn next to the woods. It’s only a couple miles from the border. Easy access. Through the brush.”

Already I know the ending to this story. It ends in the coke that Hawk and I flushed into the septic tank.

“Continue…”

“One of Diego’s thugs called me today, asked me to meet him at the drop. And when I did…”

I shake my head. “The stash was gone.”

Eagle cocks his head. “Yeah. How the fuck did you know?”

“Hawk and I were out there doing target practice couple days ago. We got caught in that rainstorm, so we sought shelter in the old barn.”

“I don’t get it. They buried the shit.”

“Not well enough. The dirt was soft, one of the bags had broken, and there was some white powder on the ground. It didn’t take Hawk and me long to dig it up and figure out what it was.”

Eagle leaps to his feet.. “Jesus, Falcon. This is great news! I need that stuff, man. I need to give it back or they’re going to fucking kill me.”

Jesus Christ. Hawk and I did what we thought was right. How were we to know our little brother was involved?

“Where’d you stash it? All I need is the stuff. Then they’ll get the hell off my back.”

“I don’t have it, E.”

His face goes pale, his jaw drops, and his eyes seem even more sunken than they did before.

“What the fuck?”

“All Hawk and I knew was there were illegal drugs on our property. So we did what anyone would’ve done. We destroyed it.”

Eagle paces around my bed, and this time his whole body trembles. “Christ, Falcon. They’re going to kill me.”

My brotherly protective instincts kick in big time.. “Slow down, slow down. I will never let anyone hurt you.”

“You don’t understand these people, man. They’re bad news.”

“Uh…yeah, they’re bad news. They’re fucking drug dealers, Eagle. Not Sunday school teachers.”

Eagle leans down and grabs me by my collar. “You just signed my death certificate, brother.”

I stand and break Eagle’s hold, grabbing his arms. Fuck it all. They’re skinny. I force him to sit down on the bed. “You shut the fuck up. And you listen to me and you listen good. No one is going to harm you. I will die before I let that happen. But damn you, Eagle. Damn you for putting me in this position. Damn you for putting Hawk in this position. What the hell did you think we would do? We found drugs on our property. If the cops had found it before we did, our whole family would be in trouble. Is that what you wanted?”

Eagle’s face falls into his hands. “No. I didn’t want any of this. I just…”

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