Page 32 of Dirty Like Jude
And he was jealous. Threatened. Not sure what my relationship with Roni reallywas.
Trying to look tougher than he was for hisbrothers.
I wondered whose idea thiswas.
Theirs?
His?
He lowered himself down on his haunches and looked into myface.
“I get it. You’re Mr. Protector. The security guy, right? Bodyguard to your best friend, the rock star… what’s his name?Jesse.”
Jesus. Christ. Was he seriously threatening Jesse tome?
This kid was way the fuck stupider than I took himfor.
Then he leaned closer to me and said, “I know about the dude with the pretty teeth. Lex, right? Had my boys follow him home from the club tonight. Know who he is. Know where he lives. Know he’s been watching Roni. Know you’re the one who put him there, watching her, thatright?”
He waited, but I didn’tanswer.
He knew I was never gonna answer a question like that,right?
“Good looking guy,” he went on. “Probably not so much, though, after Topper plucks out all those pretty white teeth. Those silver fangs, I’d definitely have to keep those. Make myself a necklace or something. Trophy kill,right?”
Right. So maybe he wasn’t thatstupid.
He was sharp enough to figure out that a death threat to one of my club brothers, or anyone else I cared about, was the surest way to get myattention.
But the kid definitely had some kind of death wish, pulling what he was trying to pull rightnow.
Did they teach him nothing in that joke MC ofhis?
I glanced at Topper again. There were huge sweat stains under hisarmpits.
None of them were wearing their Sinnersshit.
There was a thick, nervous energy crackling in the air between them. They felt to me like three yahoos who’d cornered a lion on a safari to take selfies and didn’t know at what point the lion was gonna turn around and bite their faces off. Just knew it was gonna happen, if they didn’t workquick.
Then Taze’s gaze shifted to Brag, behind me—and something hit me, hard, in the lower back. Fucking kidneyshot.
Left side, up under myribs.
I went down like I’d been struck by lightning, the pain shooting through my body. I was already on the ground and curling up like a snail when I saw the weapon; not a gun but a tire iron, in Brag’s fist. He was standing over me, but I couldn’t pull my shit together to get up. Pain was spreading through my body again in a residual wave of fire. I couldn’t find air in mylungs.
Fortunately for me, he didn’t take anothershot.
Taze hit me once, in the face, with a closedfist.
“Forget. About. Her.” Close to my ear, his voice. But I couldn’t quite see through the haze ofpain.
Then he kicked me in the side with his booted foot,hard.
Then they weregone.
* * *
Forget.
