Page 67 of Bad Men

“He offered me a job,” I said at last.

Davien shook his head. “Okay, so?”

I peered into my friend’s eyes, fully confident in the knowledge that he would support any decision I made, that he would celebrate the win on my behalf and never question why it wasn’t him. But I did. I had meant it when I told Alejandro I wouldn’t accept without Davien. That wasn’t how our friendship worked.

“It wasn’t that kind of job,” I said at last. “It’s a seat.”

Dav’s brown eyes widened. “Seriously? Who—?”

“Cortez.”

“Jesus!” he breathed, rocking back on his heels as if physically attacked by the news.

“I know.”

His head slid from side to side in slow, disbelieving rocks. “Holy shit.” One hand rubbed at his jaw, the five o’clock shadow hissing under his nails like sandpaper. “That’s…” He trailed off to blow out a burst of air. “Okay, well, what did you say?”

My hesitation was thickened by my inability to meet his eyes, unable to explain the rest.

“You didn’t say no, did you?” He gave my shoulder a hard punch. “Tell me you’re not that stupid!”

I rubbed at the back of my neck. “I didn’t say anything. I told him I only wanted it if … if you had the same spot.”

He frowned. “Like co-own a territory? Wait, what?” He punched me again, harder, actually sending a crackle of pain down my arm.

“Hey! Ow!”

He ignored my injuries. “What is wrong with you?”

“With me?” I rubbed the sore spot. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Why would you say that? You know Eduardo isn’t going to go for it.”

I raised the shoulder not bruised. “So? I don’t care. We’re partners. We stick together, right?”

He expelled a groan of anguish. “This was a once in a lifetime opportunity!”

“Whatever,” I mumbled, hoping my brush off sounded as casual falling off my lips as it did rolling around in my head. “I’m not worried about it. If he agrees, great. If not, whatever. Nothing changes. Look,” I put a hand up when his jaw unhinged to unleash the array of insults I could see swirling behind his eyes, “you’ve been my brother for thirty years. We don’t abandon each other. That’s the deal, right?”

The hard snap of his teeth clicking together echoed in the silence between us. The muscles along his cheek bunched with the sharp grind. I braced myself for the verbal lashing I knew was coming, but I wasn’t prepared for the knuckles on bone when he slammed his fist into the same shoulder a third time, this one with the full weight of his left hook.

“Fucker!” I snarled, giving him a hard shove.

He staggered back two steps, but his annoyance remained as resolute as ever. “You’re an idiot!”

“Well, you’re a jackass!”

“Everything okay?” Mia stood in the kitchen doorway, expression a creased line of concern.

Davien shook his head, dark eyes never wavering off me. “I hope you don’t think this makes up for the time you set my soldiers on fire.”

“Twenty years ago!” I exclaimed. “And you told me to.”

He scoffed and turned away. I watched him amble into the kitchen, leaving me to face the tiny brunette watching me with quiet uncertainty.

“They were plastic,” I muttered, feeling the irrational need to explain an incident that happened over two decades ago on a dare.

The hint of a smile perked the corner of her mouth. “You look tired,” she said instead. “I can go if you want to rest.”

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