Nix
“Is your old man around?”
I glared at Vince Colombo, unable to hide my sheer contempt for the guy.
“He’s not here.”
He glanced over my shoulder, peering into the trailer. Yanking the door behind me, I stepped forward, forcing him to back up. “I said, he’s not here.”
A wolfish grin tugged his mouth, revealing three gold-plated teeth. They glinted in the moonlight making him look deadly. “You know, Nix, I always did like your balls, kid.”
He shouldered me out of the way and entered the trailer uninvited. Anger rolled down my spine like lightning. Vince Colombo was a local dealer. A bad guy. The type of guy you didn’t want sniffing around. Joe worked with him sometimes, but even Joe knew Vince was someone you kept at arm’s length. So the fact he was here, in the trailer, was a huge fucking problem.
“Jessa’s been good for this place,” he said, running his fingers over the soft throw draped over the couch. “Where’s she at?”
“At work.” My spine stiffened.
Please God let her be at work.
“What can I do for you, Vince?” Leaning against the counter, I tried to keep my posture casual. Easy. Guys like Vince preyed on the weak. They devoured that shit for breakfast, chewing up and spitting out whatever was left. Which usually wasn’t much after he’d finished.
“Now there’s an idea.” His eyes glinted. “What can you do for me?”
“Look, man, I’m not—”
The door handle rattled, Jessa’s soft voice filtering inside. “Nix,” she called. “I’m home.”
Shit.
Vince rubbed his jaw, watching through hungry eyes as Jessa entered the trailer, a grocery bag tucked under her arm.
“I got din—Vince.” The blood drained from her face.
“Looking good, Jessa.”
“W-what are you doing here?”
“Came by to see Joe, but can’t deny it’s always good to see your face, dolcezza.”
“Nix, a little help.” She motioned to the bag, and I took it from her, setting it down on the counter. “We’re about to eat, Vince, if you want to join us?”
“I wanted to talk to Joe about a few things.” He raked his leering gaze down her body, and my fist clenched against my thigh. Jessa was beautiful. A good soul. Too fucking good for likes of my father and definitely too good for the likes of Vince Colombo. But the 9mm pistol tucked into the waistband of his jeans kept my mouth shut.
Vince didn’t dick around. If you stepped out of line, he dealt with it. Consequences be damned.
I eyed my cell phone on the counter, contemplating trying to get a text to my old man. But Jessa caught my eye, shaking her head discreetly.
“Want me to call him?” Jessa said. “I’m sure he’ll come back and—”
“Actually, I think we can come to another arrangement. Joe owes me a favor or two.” He took a step toward her. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me collecting.”
“Come on, Vince,” I said. “Let me call him. He wouldn’t want—”
He turned his attention on me, and a chill ran through me. “Why don’t you go play with your toys, kid, and leave the grown-up talk to me and Jessa?”
“What the—?”
“Vince is right, sweetie.” She cut me off. “Why don’t you see if Zane wants to hang out?”