Page 25 of Obey

“Yes,” I answer—a bit too quickly.

Thunder gives me a look. “Are you fucking shitting me? After you went on and on about how much you hated that fucker?”

“I do!” I protest. “But come on, hating somebody doesn’t mean you can’t fuck ‘em. Or we’d never have gotten laid in prison.”

“You never hated me,” he says, smirking at me. “Even if we couldn’t decide who got to top.” The smirk fades, though. “Knives, you’ve gotta stop. I know hate sex can be hot, but it’s not good for you. Do you even talk to each other, or is it just a fuck and run?”

I groan and avert my gaze. “I know, all right? And anyway, he was pretty clear we aren’t repeating anything.”

Which shouldn’t bother me, because I don’t want to be fucking near him.

Yeah.

Just like I didn’t want to fucking touch him that first time either.

Or the next, or the next.

SEVEN

MADDOX

I didn’t realize how much I needed a moment to just be myself with some friends. I don’t feel great—the whole affair with Knives is still burning in the back of my mind—but I do feel refreshed.

With a little distance and clarity, I realize there’s a big hole I overlooked in this whole weapons issue.

Whoever took the guns must have known they were being transported. In order to know that, there must have been a leak.

I don’t know why I didn’t think of that sooner.

“Coulda been somebody on the other side,” Lance suggests as we approach one of our warehouses. “There’s no reason to think it was somebody here.”

I shake my head. “Possible, sure. But It was coordinated, and we didn’t notice it for a while. I don’t think any of our men are so careless that we’d lose track of shit for so long.” I glance at him. “You know there are still some guys who wish Silvano weren’t in charge.”

“Yeah, they’re pissed that ‘the fags’ are taking over,” Lance says with a snort. He glances at me, then quickly adds, “You know I don’t care, but yeah, some of the guys have been a little annoyed. They think some people are just getting their jobs because they’re gay.” He straightens up, informing me, “I made damn sure they don’t think that about you, boss.”

I blink at him, a little startled. It isn’t like I try to hide my sexuality, but I’m not open about it, either. “Why would they think that about me?” I ask.

Lance scratches the back of his neck. “I dunno. It’s just…” He shifts uncomfortably, but before I can press him on the issue he opens the door to the warehouse. “We should hurry before Spinoza heads home.”

I want to know exactly what the rumors about me are, but following up on my hunch is more important. I lead us toward the warehouse’s main office, where three men are sitting around a coffee table.

Spinoza is smoking, and he barely glances up at us when we enter. “Yo, Gray! And Lance! We got a new shipment coming in?”

I nod and glance at the others. “Guys, can you give us some privacy? It’s a delicate matter.”

They murmur their agreement and head out. If they’re involved in this, I’ll take care of it later, after I’ve confirmed my suspicions about Spinoza.

Lance parks himself by the door and crosses his arms. Spinoza gives him a wary look before turning his attention to me.

“What’s up? News from Cresci?” Spinoza takes a drag of his cigarette and blows the smoke out.

I sit down on the couch opposite of him and consider how I want to approach this. I could probably beat information out of him, but if he’s innocent, I’ll have just ruined a good working relationship. If he’s guilty… Well, he’s definitely not going to confess with the threat of violence hanging over him. Or he might confess to things he didn’t even do, just to avoid more pain.

I think about how Silvano would handle this. He somehow manages to get people to willingly walk into traps, with just a few words and the right leverage. It’s one of the things I admire about him: he doesn’t always require bloodshed to get what he wants.

Not that he’s against violence, but it’s not his primary weapon.

“We’re thinking about changing up the schedules,” I say. “On account of the last one that went missing.”

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