placing her head on my chest. Nita comes over, offering us mulled cider. We each take a cup and she smiles then leaves. We sit together, quietly sipping cider, and watching everyone enjoy themselves. That is, until Chrissy comes over.
“Awww...you two are so cute. Like, the cutest couple ever.” She sits on the table in front of us, eyes darting between me and Raven. “I need to find you a couple name.”
“Couple name?” I ask with raised brows.
“Yeah. You know, like Kimye or Brangelina.”
What the fuck is a Kimye? I stare at her with a blank expression. It doesn’t deter her, though, and she starts throwing out names.
“Gagen...no...Ravage...no, not catchy enough.”
She sits there pondering until Raven intercedes in a low voice. “Rage.”
Chrissy gives her an ‘aha!’ stare then claps excitedly. “Rage! I love it! That’s your couple name. ‘Rage’.”
Before I can get sucked further into this ridiculous conversation, Tek walks up with a worried frown. I excuse myself and take him to my office.
“Talk to me.”
He hands me a sheet of paper and takes a seat.
“I got into Briggs’ files. Dutch Wife wasn’t in full production yet. That’s a list of potential distributors. Apparently, he gave them small samples to test out and see if they wanted to sell for him.”
I start reading down the list. I go through a few names I’ve never even heard of and then I find one I know. All too well. “Fuck!”
“What you wanna do, Prez?”
I want to rip his fucking head off. That’s what I want to do. I’m going to string him up by his feet, cut off his balls, and feed them to him.
“Just remember what you said about starting unnecessary wars.”
Fuck. Tek’s right. I take a deep breath and try to calm down. First, I’ll give him a chance to explain himself. I know what it’s like to be falsely accused. “Give me a minute. Let me talk to him.”
When Tek leaves, I find the number in my contacts and hit dial.
“Well, if it isn’t the Grim Reaper,” the voice comes from the other end. “Not a good sign when you come calling.”
“You got that right, motherfucker.”
“Choose your words carefully, Hunter.”
“You want words? I’ll give you two. Dutch. Wife.”
He goes silent for a beat then asks, “What about it?”
“You tell me, Ace. Tell me how days after a confrontation with your boys, my girl gets raped. Tell me how you’re one of the few people who have access to the drug that was used in that rape.”
“Fuck.”
“That’s all you got?”
“Look, we were given a sample. When I saw what it did, I told The Pharmacist I was out. I didn’t want to be a part of that. I flushed the rest of what we had and that was that.”
“Where are your boys?”
“I swear, Hunter. This wasn’t us. Those two guys, I sent them to Cali the day after the show. They’ve been there ever since, handling some business for me.”
“Do you really expect me to believe that?” I shout, jumping out of my chair. “This is not a coincidence, Ace. I want those men.”
“I get it, okay? If it was my old lady, I’d be on the warpath, too. But I’m not gonna hand over two of my guys to you. Even if they were guilty, it would be my problem.”
“You think they’re innocent? You willing to bet your old lady’s life on that?”
“Leave Dana out of this,” he growls.
“They drugged her, tied her up, and raped her. If it was Dana, what would you do?”
“I’d kill the motherfucker. But it wasn’t my guys and I can prove it.”
“How?”
“Why don’t I come down there?” he says. “Show you I have nothing to hide. I’ll even help you out with the search. I heard about Briggs’ lab. I’m pretty sure that was you.”
“I don’t need your help. I want those men. Don’t make me find them on my own or it won’t be pretty.”
“I’m not looking for a war, Hunter, but if you want to start one, I’ll be ready. Let’s try to work this out. I’ll come down with just a
“Awww...you two are so cute. Like, the cutest couple ever.” She sits on the table in front of us, eyes darting between me and Raven. “I need to find you a couple name.”
“Couple name?” I ask with raised brows.
“Yeah. You know, like Kimye or Brangelina.”
What the fuck is a Kimye? I stare at her with a blank expression. It doesn’t deter her, though, and she starts throwing out names.
“Gagen...no...Ravage...no, not catchy enough.”
She sits there pondering until Raven intercedes in a low voice. “Rage.”
Chrissy gives her an ‘aha!’ stare then claps excitedly. “Rage! I love it! That’s your couple name. ‘Rage’.”
Before I can get sucked further into this ridiculous conversation, Tek walks up with a worried frown. I excuse myself and take him to my office.
“Talk to me.”
He hands me a sheet of paper and takes a seat.
“I got into Briggs’ files. Dutch Wife wasn’t in full production yet. That’s a list of potential distributors. Apparently, he gave them small samples to test out and see if they wanted to sell for him.”
I start reading down the list. I go through a few names I’ve never even heard of and then I find one I know. All too well. “Fuck!”
“What you wanna do, Prez?”
I want to rip his fucking head off. That’s what I want to do. I’m going to string him up by his feet, cut off his balls, and feed them to him.
“Just remember what you said about starting unnecessary wars.”
Fuck. Tek’s right. I take a deep breath and try to calm down. First, I’ll give him a chance to explain himself. I know what it’s like to be falsely accused. “Give me a minute. Let me talk to him.”
When Tek leaves, I find the number in my contacts and hit dial.
“Well, if it isn’t the Grim Reaper,” the voice comes from the other end. “Not a good sign when you come calling.”
“You got that right, motherfucker.”
“Choose your words carefully, Hunter.”
“You want words? I’ll give you two. Dutch. Wife.”
He goes silent for a beat then asks, “What about it?”
“You tell me, Ace. Tell me how days after a confrontation with your boys, my girl gets raped. Tell me how you’re one of the few people who have access to the drug that was used in that rape.”
“Fuck.”
“That’s all you got?”
“Look, we were given a sample. When I saw what it did, I told The Pharmacist I was out. I didn’t want to be a part of that. I flushed the rest of what we had and that was that.”
“Where are your boys?”
“I swear, Hunter. This wasn’t us. Those two guys, I sent them to Cali the day after the show. They’ve been there ever since, handling some business for me.”
“Do you really expect me to believe that?” I shout, jumping out of my chair. “This is not a coincidence, Ace. I want those men.”
“I get it, okay? If it was my old lady, I’d be on the warpath, too. But I’m not gonna hand over two of my guys to you. Even if they were guilty, it would be my problem.”
“You think they’re innocent? You willing to bet your old lady’s life on that?”
“Leave Dana out of this,” he growls.
“They drugged her, tied her up, and raped her. If it was Dana, what would you do?”
“I’d kill the motherfucker. But it wasn’t my guys and I can prove it.”
“How?”
“Why don’t I come down there?” he says. “Show you I have nothing to hide. I’ll even help you out with the search. I heard about Briggs’ lab. I’m pretty sure that was you.”
“I don’t need your help. I want those men. Don’t make me find them on my own or it won’t be pretty.”
“I’m not looking for a war, Hunter, but if you want to start one, I’ll be ready. Let’s try to work this out. I’ll come down with just a
Similar Books
