Page 7 of Monster
I would have loved to play him at poker.
“Don’t play innocent with me, son…”
Leaning forward, I felt my face change. “Do not call me son, and I’m not playing at being anything. I haven’t committed a crime, I rarely even left my hotel, and I’m sure if I did…” I paused, and the smile that split my face open was predatory. “It would all be caught on camera.”
His face flamed. For a second, I thought he might actually have a heart attack. “You were caught on camera...” he spluttered, “...with my daughter.”
“Oh.” I quickly shifted back to total indifference. “Was I? Remind me of her name again? Las Vegas is full of beautiful women.”
The redness in his face deepened to purple. He really did need to learn to wear his mask better. He showed his emotions all too easily.
“She was beautiful, right?” I arched an eyebrow in his direction, enjoying his rage. Fang and Cyber would have told me to pipe down and behave if they had been there, but they weren’t and I hadn’t had so much fun since…well, since my night with Angela in Las Vegas.
“Her name is Angela…but I think you already know that.” He seethed. He was just too easy to wind up.
I made a show of thinking about the name. Meeting his eyes, I smirked. “Oh I remember…long dark hair, a body just begging to be explored.” I licked my lips.
Maybe it was my words, or maybe it was the lip licking, whatever it was, it sent the old man flying over the table. One hand, with its neatly trimmed and manicured nails, pulled me from my chair, the other closed into a fist and rushed towards my face. I didn’t fight back. He could hit me if he wanted. I would give him this one.
What I had done to his daughter was pretty fucking bad, but if he thought I had ruined his life by making sure those videos were seen, he was in for a shock.
Innocent man assaulted by police chiefhad a nice ring to it. I could see the headlines.
His closed fist connected with my jaw with the power of a sledgehammer. For an old guy, he could still pack a punch and still I didn’t move to defend myself. I didn’t need to.
With a bruise on my face and the CCTV running in the corner, he had just ruined his own career.
He didn’t get the chance to hit me again, a uniformed officer launched himself out of the corner. Gripping the chief’s arm, he pulled him away.
Slowly, I drew myself up out of my seat, rolling my shoulders to relieve some of the tension in them. “I think we are done here, gentlemen. Unless I’m under arrest for something?” Without waiting for an answer, I headed towards the door. “Say hi to Angela for me.”
* * *
Cyber was waitingfor me when I got outside, leaning against the wall and watching over the bikes. Heading in his direction, I gave him a cheery wave. Straightening, he took in my face with a frown.
“They beat on you?”
“It was one punch.” I shrugged. “I probably deserved it. Your little girl could probably hit harder.” I chuckled. “Hell, I definitely deserve it. He is not very happy with me.”
Why did that make me so unbelievably happy? Why did I have to be so tapped in the head that I enjoyed other people's pain?
“Yeah about that.” Cyber scratched at the back of his head. “That’s what I came to talk to you about. Fang wanted you to be aware of something before you headed back in. He didn’t want it to be a surprise.”
Something in his voice made me suddenly nervous.
“Her old man is the least of your problems, brother.” Cyber’s voice dipped lower still.
“What the fuck is going on?” It was obvious something was. The way the women at the barbeque had giggled whilst looking at their phones. And what had someone yelled just before I got carted off in a squad car? Something about me being famous?
“It looks like Ms Monroe leaked some photos of her own. Pictures of you. Well, there’s a whole website.” The mirth in Cyber's voice couldn't be hidden. He tried, but he always sounded a certain way when something amused him and he was trying to hide it
“You’ve gone viral, brother.”
6
MONSTER
“Stop fucking looking at it.”Gritting my teeth, I tore the tablet out of Havoc’s hands. He was trying not to smirk at least, which was more than anyone else in The Drunken Otter. Pope and Cyber were giggling like schoolgirls smoking their first joint. They weren’t even trying to hide it. And who could blame them? I would be laughing too if our roles had been reversed. “Fucking perverts.”
