Page 3 of Ravaged By the Dark (The Righteous 2)
Trevor didn’t even bother to lift his head from the paperwork as the door slammed open. His twin had a flair for the dramatic.
“Job’s done.”
“Oh, I know,” Trevor said. He slowly lifted his head and grabbed the remote to flick on the television. Although it was on mute, it was easy to see the news report. It was about the three men gunned down just outside of town.
“I picked an awesome spot. Look at the view the helicopter camera is getting.” Arek sat up and watched the screen, a smile plastered across his face. “I truly am a fucking genius!”
“No, you’re a conundrum and a cluster fuck.”
“I’d call that a compliment.”
“You would.” Trevor flicked off the television and stared at his brother. “What happened to low-key? What happened to taking our time, and for fuck’s sake, what happened to being discreet?” Trevor slammed a hand down on the desk before reaching into the bottom drawer for his bottle of whiskey.
“I’ll take some of that.”
“Fuck you,” Trevor grumbled but poured a glass for his brother anyway.
Arek never just sat. He sprawled, flopped, or draped himself in a chair, but sitting was not an option for him. It was like simply sitting was beneath him. Trevor stared at Arek as he struck a relaxed pose in the chair across from him and flung a leg over the arm. He swirled the whiskey in his glass.
“Do you not have anything to say for yourself?”
“What do you want me to say? The job is done. It was set up and executed without any complications or witnesses. The Streetlores will retaliate against the Crimson Vipers the way we want and hopefully draw out even bigger fish. Doing them one at a time or waiting weeks until someone stumbled upon the bodies would be tedious and slow us down for the next phase of clean-up. I honestly don’t know why you’re bitching.”
Trevor knew there was no point arguing further. Arek ran his life on fast forward, and he always felt like he was hanging onto a leash trying to slow him down. There were times like tonight he was tired of it.
“When did you get that one?” He nodded toward the skull-faced Grim Reaper tatt holding an hourglass on Arek’s pec.
Arek looked at his newest addition and rubbed one hand over the ink. “A few weeks ago.”
“I like it.” They sat in silence, each one facing the ghosts of time as they sipped their golden drinks.
“Got anything else on for the night,” Arek asked, breaking his train of thought.
“No, my last deposition is complete. Court sessions were canceled for tomorrow, so I think I’ll relax,” Trevor said.
“Great! Why don’t you come with me to theGolden Rail?” Arek downed the rest of his drink before jumping up.
“You want me to go to a strip club?”
“You say that like they’re disgusting.” Arek crossed his arms over his chest.
“That’s because they are. I don’t even want to guess what a black light would find. Thanks, but no thanks.”
“After all the shit places we’ve laid our heads, and you’re worried about a few cum stains?”
“I’d rather cuddle those fucking camel spiders than one of those women.” Trevor didn’t really have an issue with strippers per se. Everyone had to eat, but he had no interest in rubbing up against a woman that had an unknown number of men rub up against her in the same night. And without a shower first—no, thank you.
“Bambi’s not like that.” Arek’s tone was suddenly defensive.
“How about we agree to disagree. You can fuck as many strippers as you like, and I’m free not to have any interest.”
“Have it your way. I just thought it might be nice to hang for a change. All you do is work.”
“Don’t fucking bullshit me with your fake ass guilt trips. If you wanted to ‘hang’ with me, you’d pick another spot. Your only interest is the piece of ass you have your eye on. What’s her name? Foxy, Bunny, oh yeah, Baaam-bii. Like that name doesn’t say it all,” Trevor retorted. He leaned back in his chair and watched as his brother’s face turned fifty shades of red. There was no denying that Arek had it bad for a girl he barely knew, but he hated being called out on it.
“I don’t need to take this. I was just trying to be nice.” Arek stomped toward the door, his bare feet slapping against the tiled floor.
“Keep telling yourself that, brother,” Trevor called out before the door slammed closed. He smiled to himself, satisfied he’d annoyed his brother as much as the fucker had annoyed him earlier by disobeying orders.
Arek had always had trouble with authority and following the rules. How they managed to make it overseas without being court-martialed was beyond him. The worst part about tonight was that Arek wasn’t entirely wrong. Trevor turned the chair so he could look out the window over the city, admiring the view. He preferred to take the careful path to their ultimate goal—Arek, on the other hand, liked to walk with one foot in the fire. Being safe had gotten them this far, and being a defense lawyer paid well, but being one that took anonymous jobs on the side paid handsomely. Working for The Righteous on top of that…well, that fed the soul.
