“The Snake Pit,” he spits. “It’s a place on?—”
“I know where it is,” Brew mutters, then to me he says, “Shady piece of shit bar on the outskirts of town. We’ll need backup.”
“When and how do you check in with them?” I ask. “Pretty please.”
“He’ll send a text confirming if the location has changed,” Barry says.
I pat him on the head. “Good boy.”
“A minute,” Brew says, giving me a chin lift.
I smile at Barry. “Hang tight, I’ll be right back.”
“Are you gonna let me go?” he stutters. “That’s all I know!”
We both ignore him as we huddle. “Gotta send the tip to Willow about the kids. If we kill him now, we’ll lose our future bargainin’ chip,” Brew says. “And if he’s lyin’, we can come back here and torture him till he squeals.”
“Agreed. So, we off his bud over there to show him we’re serious?” I ask.
Brew smiles a rare smile. “Sounds like a plan, you up for it?”
I nod. “Of course. You know I have no conscience for assholes like this.”
“You don’t even wanna know what else I found.” Brew grinds his teeth. “Let’s deal with his buddy first.”
But when we turn, Haze clears his throat. “Uh, we lost him.”
“Jesus,” Brew mutters.
Haze shrugs. “Didn’t tell us a lot, though he said he thinks Regi has an apartment downtown, he owns a dry cleaners.”
I glance behind me, then pique a brow. “Interesting. So, are you gonna revive him?”
“Uh, no, I don’t think so,” Logan says, rearranging the dead man back to the floor, laying him in front of Barry.
He stares down at his buddy in horror. “Holy shit,” he whispers. “Frank? What the fuck did you do?”
I point at him. “I’d advise you to shut that stinkin’ mouth and keep quiet,” I threaten. “You’re still useful to us for now, he isn’t.”
Barry looks like he’s gonna cry like a little girl, but he thinks better of the outburst he keeps in check. “I have kids,” he mutters. “I have a wife.”
“So did a lot of us,” Brew says. “And you’re harpin’ to the wrong choir, you piece of shit. Oh, I’m gonna have some fun with you, but first we’ve gotta see if these locations stack up before we call the cops, so we’re gonna keep you alive,for now.”
A few seconds later, the door to the back swings open. Tag and Harlem walk in.
Barry’s eyes widen.
“Oh, the cavalry.” I smirk. “Barry, old bud, you should be shittin’ in your pants right now if you thought we were bad. We’re gonna leave our pals here to talk with you some more, okay? Now don’t you go passin’ out or, heaven forbid, following your buddies footsteps.” I give his friend a shove with my boot. “Because, mark my words, we’re far from done here.” I smile, then pull his gag back into his mouth, wiping my hands on his shirt. I’m gonna need some soap and a shit ton of hand sanitizer.
“You started the party without us,” Harlem grumbles. The two men are foreboding to look at, much less be left alone with. They are fucking huge. I don’t blame Barry for trembling. I would be too.
“Nah, Cash just gave us a head start,” I say when they pound hug us.
“Knew you couldn’t stay away for long,” Brew says, folding his arms over his chest. “We’ve got one casualty so far, the other fucker we’re keepin’ alive until we can confirm the addresses he gave us are legit, you think you can keep him alive until we get back?”
Tag glances over my shoulder. The man of few words actually smiles. Well, it’s more of a lip twitch, but good enough. “I’m sure we can find a way to pass the time.”
I’m really glad I’m not fuck face Barry right now, because he’s gonna wish he was never born.