Standing By (Road House) by Madison Stevens Page B

She shook her head and slowed down as she turned the corner near the bar. She would just have to chalk it up to being horny. It had been quite a while since she had gotten any.
    Something caught the corner of her eye as she passed an alley near the bar. Two men lurked in the shadows. She shivered as she drove past. One of the men stepped out slightly. His gold tooth glinted in the streetlight.
    Max. Pan cursed under her breath. She had done a run for Max recently. Being a courier meant that sometimes she ran documents for less than savory people, but since all she did was paper, there was little risk in the deal. Until she made the run for Max.
     
     
    The man receiving her delivery looked less seedy but dangerous none the less. When he looked in the envelope and proceeded to light it on fire, she was more than a little surprised. He handed back what was left of the ash paper and paid her to relay a message to Max.
    “Go suck a dick,” she had said to Max.
    “Go what?” Max’s hand crunched the paper.
    “Suck a dick.” Pan backed away slightly. This was not the kind of situation she wanted to be in.
    “Got another run for you,” Max said, his tone menacing.
    “Sorry, can’t take on any more work.” Pan quickly hopped on her bike.
    “Oh, I don’t think you understand.” Max reached forward and placed a hand on the front of her bike. “This isn’t really a request.”
    “Are you threatening me?” Pan carefully placed her hand on the side pack of her bike. She’d tucked a knife in there just in case something like this came up but really didn’t want to use it. Especially since she was certain Max and his cronies were all packing heat.
    “Let’s not call it a threat.” He leaned forward, close enough for her to experience his stale breath. “Let’s call it a promise.”
    “Really? Talk about cliché.” Pan revved the engine and leaned toward him, reaching into the side pack. “How about this for a promise? Move back before I give you a new hole to piss out of.” She tapped her knife on the inside of his thigh.
    Max’s face contorted in rage. The other men outside the warehouse stilled to watch where things would go.
    “You bitch!” he said through gritted teeth. “Don’t think this is the last of this.”
    “Well, next time I’ll be sure to bring bigger toys.” Pan put both hands on the bike and spun out. “And use some mouth wash before you kill someone.”
     
    Nope, things had not gone well. And now here was Max. So, she watched the alley to see if Max would come after her. Instead, a teen walked from the sidewalk into the alley. She watched in her mirror as the three disappeared into the darkness.
    Pan shook her head and tried to clear out all the crap from recent days. Between Emilio and Max, she was having a hard time keeping things from getting all jumbled.
    The bookstore came into view. She was more than a little happy to slip her bike around back in the shed. It wasn’t the most ideal spot but better than alerting Max where she might be. Especially now that she had a pregnant sister to worry about.
    The back door popped open at the click of her key.
    “Hello,” she called.
    She turned to double-check that the lock was in place and then stomped up the stairs. Normally Pan didn’t like to make so much noise, but there had been more than one occasion she’d come home to her sister and Luc going at it.
    “Everyone’s getting some but me,” she mumbled as she made her way to the apartment.
    The door to the apartment was much like any other door except it was inside the bookstore. Pan fished out the key and went inside.
    It was a small space, but she loved it. Although she was technically sharing it with her sister, Iris had mostly moved in with Luc. The two would sometimes sneak up stairs for lunchtime hanky-panky, but that was usually the extent of things.
    After their uncle had died, Iris took Pan to a number of stores, and the two picked out furniture they could afford and