Page 75 of Sleeping with the Dark (The Righteous 3)
Cody stared at Arek’s hand as he suddenly leaned onto his shoulders and gave them a squeeze. Eyes deathly intense stared into his own. “I know you don’t know me that well, but let’s just say the missions and the guys that find justice help keep my head from swimming in dangerous waters.” Cody swallowed hard as he took in the glint in Arek’s eyes. He was a man that could cut your balls off like it was a third-grade art class project while singing a song and eating a sandwich at the same time.
“Fine, if we’re going to go, we better get out of here. I expected Trev home already. We had fun plans if you know what I mean.”
Arek nodded and started out the door, and Cody almost collided with him as he stopped and spun around, holding a finger up in front of his face. “Since you brought it up. Next time you plan on having a daytime bump and grind in Trev’s office, could you make sure J.J. is not home. I had to tell him that you two were watching the Discovery channel, and the fucking kid told me he knew every episode, and those noises didn’t come from any animal. Too fucking smart,” Arek mumbled as he turned and marched down the steps.
Well, that was awkward.
Cody shook his head and locked up as he rushed to catch up to Arek and skidded to a halt as he took in the garage and the missing vehicles.
“Ah, where is my car and the mustang?” Cody blinked a few times like that might put them back in their rightful places.
“Oh, I burned them. Now get in.”
“You what?” Cody’s mouth dropped open as fast as his heart fell through the floor. “That car was my baby, I….”
“It was also used in a chase from the police who are most likely still looking for it. It had to go.” Arek lifted a shoulder like this all made sense.
“Have you ever heard of a fucking paint job?” Cody clenched his fists as he thought of his baby going up in flames like some random piece of trash.
“Huh, yeah, I guess I could’ve done.” Arek tapped his chin then laid his hands on the top of the Porsche as if he might leap over the roof. “Then again, no amount of scrubbing was going to get rid of the bloodstains, smartass. Now stop blubbering and get in the fucking car or stay here.”
Arek’s door slammed as he got behind the wheel. The words Arek had said finally sunk in, and Cody’s hands shook for a different reason. Taking a deep breath, he slipped into the passenger seat and barely got the door closed when Arek stomped his foot to the floor, making the car leap forward out of the open garage door.
“Jesus H, man. My leg was still half out the door.” Cody glared at Arek as he snapped the seatbelt in place.
“Be faster next time.” Cody envisioned what it would be like to mess up that pretty face. “I see you staring at me like that, and I wouldn’t think about it unless you want to end up under the car.”
“You really are….”
“Don’t say the word crazy.” Arek glanced over at him. “I really have an aversion to that word.”
Just when he thought they could be friends, Arek went sideways. “I have to know, would you really kill me? Take me out and burn me like the cars?” Cody gripped the holy shit handle as they screeched around the corner at a red light, causing drivers to blow their horns as they scared the shit out of them.
“No, but only because Trev is in love with you and you’re J.J. and Renee’s brother. You will forever get a free pass around the Arek-opoly board unless you hurt Trev.” Those eyes that could cut you down where you stood bore a hole right through him. “If you break my brother’s heart, no one will ever find your body, and I’ll enjoy every second of it.”
“Well, wasn’t this a fun conversation?”
“Please, I’m a fuzzy little pussy cat in comparison to the crazy fuck you used to room with.”
The worst part of that statement was that it was true. Cody opted to simply watch the city fly by as they streaked for their destination. He could picture Ray in the backseat cracking a joke, and he had to stop himself from falling down that dark hole.
Cody rubbed his face as he switched gears in his brain. Arek said that Trev loved him, but Trev hadn’t said it back. How could Arek be so certain? Did Trev say something to his brother? That seemed unlikely. It was probably a guess, one that he could only hope was true.
The industrial section was quiet for race night. They should normally have seen a couple of dozen cars either coming or going by now.
“Park here, don’t pull up where we normally go especially driving this. If Spike is here, he is going to spot this out-of-place car and have his men scoop us up before we get close,” Cody said and pointed to a tucked-away spot, and Arek seamlessly backed the car into the small space.
“Arek, please don’t go in there like it’s the fucking wild west. I really don’t feel like dying tonight.”
Arek smiled, the corner of his mouth pulling up just enough to show off his incisor like he was a dog growling at him. “I got you. You have nothing to worry about.” Arek punched him in the arm just as the interior light went out.
This was a bad fucking idea in a long list of bad fucking ideas.
They strolled down the quiet street toward the loud noises of engines revving. Both of them slipped around the corner, trying to blend with the others who were loitering about along the sidewalk. It wasn’t quite dark yet. The sun was a ball of fiery orange in the sky casting a stunning glow on everything.
“Do you see Spike?” Arek stopped moving, his eyes flicking back and forth. “If he wasn’t standing in the bed of his truck, where would he be?”
Cody stared at the empty truck bed and began doing the same scan of the crowd. “He seems to be over there.” Cody pointed to the back of a mohawk. Arek led the way, his eyes never leaving their target, even when a woman bumped into him. It was as if she never existed.
