Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
“Yeah? Too bad that dumbass didn’t.” He gestured to Brick.
“You’re sure one thing has to do with the other?”
“Don’t believe in coincidences. Besides, even if it doesn’t, he’s taken her on as a protector. He wants to get all rip-roarin’ drunk, he finds someone to babysit while he does.”
I winced. “Not sure I’d add the babysitting part where Winter can hear.”
That got a grin out of Sting. “Or my woman. Iris would bust my balls.”
Stitches entered the room with an IV bag of bright yellow liquid. “It’s called a banana bag, and it doesn’t sober up drunks. It rehydrates them along with other shit you wouldn’t understand, and I don’t feel like explainin’.” The doc knelt beside Brick and tied a tourniquet around his upper arm before swabbing it with an alcohol prep. “Brick!” He smacked the other man’s face several times in an effort to wake him up. He wasn’t gentle about it. “Wake the fuck up, man.”
“Whassup? Wha’der’ya doin’?”
“Fixin’ to stick a big-ass needle in your arm. You move or take a swing at me, I’ll jab it in your chest. Decompress a fuckin’ lung or some shit, then leave you to die a gruesome death.”
I snorted and Sting had to cover his mouth to keep from smiling.
Brick frowned up at Stitches, then looked around. “Where’m I?”
“My fuckin’ office. You got black-out drunk and puked all over the bar. Didn’t want my VP to pass out and drown in his own vomit, so I brought you here to babysit.”
Brick stuck his chin up. “I can get drunk on my own. Don’t need no fuckin’ baby -- OW! What the fuck, man?”
Stitches had stuck him in the bend of his elbow with an orange-bottomed IV needle. “Suck it up, buttercup. I ain’t waitin’ half a fuckin’ hour for this shit to go in. I got shit to do.”
“What’s that got to do with the fact that fuckin’ hurt?”
“Normally, I’d use an eighteen-gauge needle on a patient needin’ fluids. Goes in fast but isn’t so big if feels like you’re gettin’ stabbed. Since I had to leave two of the most talented blowjob experts I’ve ever had to come fix your sorry ass, you don’t get the courtesy of savin’ you a little pain. You get quick. So I used a fourteen. Two sizes bigger than I normally would.”
Brick gave him a hard stare. “Got no idea what that fuckin’ means.”
Stitches finished taping down the IV site and hooked up the fluids, hanging them on the IV pole he’d brought with him. “I can always load him up with potassium, Sting. It’ll hurt like a motherfucker goin’ in, then give him horrific chest pain right before it stops his heart. Detectable in an autopsy, but then someone would have to find his sorry ass to do one.”
“Not until after he helps us find Serelda.” Sting crossed his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. Brick jerked like Sting had struck him before bounding to his feet. Stitches reached out and shoved him back down.
“What? Where’d she go?”
“Not sure she’s gone. Just can’t find her. When was the last time you seen her?”
Brick looked away. Guiltily? “Yesterday.”
When he said nothing, Sting prompted. “And?”
Brick scrubbed a hand over his face. “And… she saw me at the party.”
“That can’t be all of it,” I said. That feeling of dread got much stronger.
“I was with a couple of the club girls. Didn’t start out that way, but it ended that way. Serelda saw and…” He sighed heavily. “I didn’t think the girl was interested in me that way.”
“How could you possibly not know?”
We all turned to see Winter standing in the open door. Stitches hadn’t shut it after he came in. Winter looked ready to do murder.
“She never said anything!” Brick tried to defend himself, but I could see it was a half-hearted attempt at best. He knew he’d fucked up. “I thought she wanted me around for my size. So I could scare off anyone she felt threatened by.” Brick’s obvious panic was cutting through the last of the alcohol in his blood, adrenaline taking over.
Winter stepped forward and, before I knew what she intended to do, slapped Brick with all the strength in her slight body. “You fucking bastard!” Brick looked as stunned as I felt. We all knew Winter had it in her, but I never expected this. Should have. Even given the seriousness of the situation, her show of aggression made my cock stand up at attention.
“Sexy as fuck…”
She whipped her head around to me, bringing her fury with her. “You think this is a game? No one hurts my sister, Roman. No one!” She turned back to Brick. “You better pray we find Serelda quickly, or I will cut off your fuckin’ balls! We’ll see how well your whores like you then!”