Chapter Fourteen
Amir
Myheadwasthrobbingagain, but unlike my chronic headaches, this time, I’d done it to myself. There was a time when I’d enjoyed myself at Reno’s version of a business meeting—a private room at Savage Beauties with enough strippers for each of us to have two in our laps if we wanted. Those days had come and gone, though. The routine was stale. Now, I had to drink myself stupid to get through the night.
I deserved to feel like a sweaty ass crack with all the ways I’d abused my body last night. Thank Christ I finally washed away the scent of desperation, cheap perfume, and the beer someone had splashed on me. I’d been too far gone to take care of it last night, but fresh from the shower, I felt like a brand-new man.
My boys were up and moving about by the time I made it downstairs. Julien was bugging Zadie—from more of a distance before I got pissy with them both—and Marco was slumped at the kitchen table with one of his regular fucks sitting beside him, typing away on her phone. I pulled up a seat on his other side, keeping watch on Zadie cooking and Julien running his mouth.
Marco’s mouth turned up in a smirk. “You look like dog shit.”
I gave him a once-over. “Pot, kettle, man.”
“No way. I didn’t imbibe half as much as you. Julien and I had to carry you into the house. You were toasted.”
I rubbed the center of my forehead. “I took it too far.” I glanced at the girl. “Cover your ears, sweetheart.”
With an eye roll, she tugged her hood over her head, unfolded herself from the chair, and stalked into the kitchen to check out what Zadie was doing. I kept my eye on her to see if she’d talk any shit to my pet, but she just peeked at the stove, then propped a hip on the counter, adding herself to Zadie’s audience.
“What’d Reno have to say?” Marco asked.
“Remember when we caught Schiffer pushing scripts and he mentioned Reno isn’t in that line?”
Reno dealt in street drugs, always had. Mostly weed, but also coke and MDMA. That wasn’t his primary money earner, and since I handled most of that end, he let me decide what products we were going to push. I’d seen enough bugged-out meth-heads to be certain we didn’t want to go there. For a time, I’d had a lucrative side business selling performance enhancers to athletes, but I’d stopped that. The end of college was hurtling closer, so I was slowly pulling back, easing my way out.
And Reno was having trouble with that.
“Yeah, I remember.”
“He wants me to find a source for scripts, specifically Oxy. He’s all buzzed about it. Wants it to happen soon.” I cupped my forehead, pressing hard at my aching temples.
“You’re not going there.” Marco wasn’t asking. He wasn’t involved in my business, had never wanted to be, and he couldn’t stand that I was pushing for my brother.
“No, I’m not going there,” I agreed. “Having a calm conversation with my brother is next to impossible. Add in a chick grinding on his dick while shoving her tits in his face, and it’s a no go. So, I drank that shit away. I’ll have to deal with him in time, but last night wasn’t it.”
Marco clucked his tongue. “Just another fucking way to reel you in. You see that, right?”
“I see it.” As soon as I had my college diploma in my hand, I was out of the business. Going legit and all that. Reno knew and had known from the very beginning. He had his thing, and I was going to have mine. He’d agreed to my conditions before I’d started working for him. I was in my second semester of my junior year now, and the end looked all too real. I sensed his low-level panic. And when Reno panicked, nothing good came of it.
Case in point, he was all hyped to move into pharmaceuticals, with me at the helm. That wasn’t happening. He was my brother, I’d throw down for him, I’d take care of business for him, but I was not getting pulled any deeper, not when it was nearing time to walk away.
Marco’s girl came back, slipping into her seat. Julien followed, holding two platters filled with pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Zadie trailed behind him with a bowl of fruit. They set everything on the center of the table, and Julien took the last chair, wasting no time in serving himself a heaping helping of everything.
I grunted. “You’re going first?”
He waggled a brow. “Yep. I set the tableandI carried the food. I automatically score higher on the scale than you bitches.”
I’d give him that, even though he was annoying the shit out of me.
Zadie hovered beside the table, gnawing on her bottom lip. Her eyes were trained on the table. Her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.
“Did you eat?” I asked her. “I guess it’s lunchtime. Did you eat lunch, mama?”
She shook her head. “No, but that’s okay. I’ll grab something at the dining hall.”
“Considering you’re staying for a while, I don’t think that’s a great plan. Take a seat. Grab a plate.”
She looked up, scanning the table. “There are no seats. I’ll just si—”