Page 65 of Genesis

“Don’t get drunk,” I tell him. “You need a clear mind.”

“Don’t fucking worry about me,” he says. “I gotta make sure I don’t freeze to death, or I won’t be pulling a trigger on anyone.”

Johnny looks over at me. “Nice having you around some,” he says.

“Oh, you gonna get all sappy on me now?” I ask.

“You miss me, mother fucker?”

He scoffs. “Fuck you.”

I hit his arm before rubbing my forehead. I need a cigarette.

We had a moonshine run after the meeting this morning, which meant driving nearly two hours to Robin County. All the liquor stores are closed due to Christmas, which means money for Moretti. We’ve doubled the price. Even the cops have bought some. Moretti’s drug dealers have been selling like crazy. Christmas Day is busy. It’s a moneymaking day for everyone.

I’m glad I spent yesterday evening with Bexley. Between tossing out moonshine, refilling the drug dealers’ supply, and dealing with the cops who want to actually be cops, I haven’t had a chance to catch my breath. Ma will be disappointed I haven’t come by. I didn’t even get to see Paul. I hope he spends the night before he goes back to school.

I need to at least call Bexley and tell her Merry Christmas. I wonder what she’s doing. How her day went. Fuck, Carson’s right. It is cold as shit.

“Get ready,” I hear from my phone. “They should be good and shit-faced by now.”

“You heard him,” I say to Johnny and Carson. I press the side button on the phone. “Ready when you are.”

I look over at Johnny as Mickey and his crew climb out of the car.

“Never get caught,” he says.

“Never get caught.” He offers his hand for me to shake as Carson climbs out.

We dip around the building, and I pull out my gun from the back of my jeans, holding it down as Mickey signals that he’s going in through the back. That’s when I hear the first pop, pop, pop. Women scream as they run out of the building. I run toward the back door, just as a big ass motherfucker comes charging at me, knocking me on my ass. The gunshot almost deafens me as it hits the man on top of me, and I feel the heaviness of his dead weight when he slouches. I look behind me, seeing Carson.

Chaos erupts and more gunshots are fired. I shove the dead guy off of me and stand, seeing Johnny fighting with one of Warren’s men. Another guy comes up behind him, but he doesn’t realize I’m watching. I run up, and he turns around just as my brass knuckles connect with his jaw. I feel his bone give, and blood splatters from his mouth. I hit him again, and again, moving my hair away from my forehead when he slumps down.

I look to my left, seeing Carson pull the trigger like he’s at fucking target practice and hitting all his marks.

The room is smoky and low-lit. The smell of kine bud and cheap women filters through the air. In my peripheral, I see a chair lifted. I raise my arm, protecting my face as the wood smashes down on my forearm. I wince and charge at the man, slamming him backward on a table filled with beer and overfilled ashtrays. He reaches for his gun, but I beat him to it, shooting him in the face.

My eyes widen at my quickness and I hastily wipe at the guts painted on my face and then look at my bloodstained fingers.

“It’s done,” Mickey says, coming out of a room I didn’t even notice. The rest of the men and women have exited the building and it’s just Johnny, Carson, Nugget and their guys, and me. Breathing heavy, I look at Mickey, who out of nowhere starts smiling. “We fucking did it,” he says.

Carson holds up his gun and shoots it in the air, and that’s when I realize maybe I’m dark, maybe I love this a little more than I should, but I’m not as fucking crazy as some of these men.

“You almost shit your pants,” Nugget says to me, laughing.

“What the fuck did you just say?” I ask, stepping toward him. “I just shot a man in the face and you’re coming at me with that shit?”

Johnny holds his arm out, putting it against my chest as Nugget smiles, showing me his ugly fucking tooth.

“I should knock your fucking teeth out.”

“Come on, little boy,” he says, holding his hands up and moving his fingers.

“Chill the fuck out, Nugget,” Mickey says. “Moretti will slit your throat if you mess with Danny, and you know it.”

“Yeah, ’cause Danny is his little bitch.”

I shove Johnny’s arm out of the way, charging at Nugget. His smile widens when I grab his collar, pushing him against the wall as I put my gun to the side of his temple, digging into his skull with my finger on the trigger.

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