Page 6 of Glamour and Grit

That’s all I have time to say, because the shock wears off and all Hell breaks loose. Someone pitches a bottle of beer at my head. I duck underneath while Bastian smashes his empty soda glass across my attacker’s teeth.

Pool cue guy has recovered somewhat, and comes off the table with blood on his lip and murder in his eyes. He drops the bottle and takes a two-handed grip on the cue. The banger telegraphs his moves from a mile away, making it easy to dodge his wild swings.

The end of the pool cue gets tangled up with the legs of a chair. I take the opportunity to step up and smash my elbow into his face. The bone in your elbow is five times harder than masonry. His nose crumples like aluminum foil and he goes down again. This time he stays there.

I turn to see Bastian fighting two guys at once, and making it look easy. I don’t see why he should have all the fun and I grab one of his assailants around the waist. Popping my hips, I toss him up and over my head to land in an ugly heap by the rubbish bin.

“Hey!”

The sound of a cocking shotgun draws all our attention. The bartender stands with a big 1980 Ithaca pump action shotgun, the type that shoots solid slugs that go through engine blocks. Major overkill, but it gets his point across.

“Stop wrecking my bar! You two, get the fuck out!”

“What about them?” I ask, pointing at our opponents, but Bastian grabs my arm and drags me toward the door, tossing a hundred-dollar bill on the bar as we go.

“We’ll just be leaving now.”

I can’t help but feel my old man must have been in this situation a lot, on the verge of getting tossed in the slammer. Or dying. Sometimes I worry I’m destined to turn out just like him.

Once we get outside, I start looking for a place to ambush the bangers when they eventually emerge from the bar. I feel like they got off easy for terrifying that woman. Bastian figures out what I’m doingpretty quickly. He almost loses his patience. His face turns red and his jaw clenches tight. Then he visibly forces himself to relax, and his compassionate gaze comes back on, albeit with an edge.

“You know what, man? If you want to punish yourself, there are lots of options. I mean, this is LA. You’ve got fast food, fast cars, fast women…there’s lots better things to do than getting drunk in dive bars and picking fights with guys who have no qualms shooting you in the back after closing time.”

“I don’t give a shit.”

“Maybe you don’t, but how do you think your brother and sister would feel if you got shot?”

His words steal the bitter venom from my tongue before I can spew it. My shoulders slump, and he presses his advantage.

“Think about the people who love you, man. If you can’t pull your shit together for yourself, do it for them! If you want a job tomorrow, right this minute, you’ve got it.”

I groan and lean against a post. “I don’t belong in a position where I’m responsible for someone else’s life. Not anymore.”

“Harlowe says you joined the Navy because you wanted to make a difference, to make a better world. Working for Platinum Security lets you do that as a civilian…and the pay is better.”

I open my mouth to tell him to fuck all the way off, but he holds up a hand.

“Look, something has come down the pike that Jax thinks you’re ideally suited for. I know you don’t want to join the firm, but no one else is available for the commitment this job will take. You’re kind of it.”

“Just tell Jax to turn it down.”

“He’s not going to do that. In this case, I guess you could say it resonates with him.”

“Come on, man…”

“Just do this one job. Just one job, and I swear no one will bother you about workingfor the firm again.”

That piques my interest. If I can get them all to collectively shut the fuck up about my business, it will make my life a lot less complicated.

“All right,” I say. “You’re lucky you caught me early. I’m probably going to regret this, but I’ll take the case. ONE case.”

He smiles, but I’m not in the mood for it.

“Don’t get all smug like you’ve won. I’m only doing this so you’ll all shut up about me joining the firm.”

“Fair enough. Now let’s get you some coffee.”

3

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