Page 41 of Debt of My Soul

I take the beer, the pads of my fingertips relishing the cool sweat dripping off the bottle.

“Thank you.”

She retreats to the bar and slides in next to Trip, who wraps her in his arms.

“Liam.” Darrin’s voice breaks through the haze of music. He’s propped up in one of the leather chairs, elbows leaning on his thighs. The ring on his pinky finger glistens with an emerald-colored stone that appears surprisingly feminine. His eyes bore into me as I stride over, taking a sip of my beer. The chilled alcohol slides down to ease the burn in my chest.

“What’s going on, D?”

He snorts, then motions for Blitz, Snape, and Trip to come over as well. Roe twirls on the pole, and she bends over in front of Darrin’s face. He glances away.

“Alabama is going to be a problem. Their dealers have been spotted on our turf. They’re poaching our users across state lines.”

“Let’s take them out,” Snape says.

I shake my head. “Gotta be smart about it. Are they feeding into the national shipments? Don’t want to go to war with those contributing like us.”

Darrin leans back, the chair creaking as he settles deep into it. “They’re a new player. They aren’t part of the national relationship. The Cartel isn’t dealing with them like they dous. I talked to a brother in Chicago, and he’s sending me their formula for it, dirty.” His blue eye shifts over to me. “There’s demand there. Even more so outside of Ruin and surrounding Mississippi. We have the means.”

Blitz practically salivates. “Make our product better, D. They won’t even want the Alabama shit. Plan B is we kill them.”

I stiffen. Dirty Jackpot means the powderwill be cut with other potentially more harmful substances.

“I’ve secured a small shipment of weapons from New York for this exact reason,” Darrin answers.

I bite my tongue so hard it bleeds. But that still doesn’t stop me from asking, “New York?”

“Luka Morozov.”

“Oh boy.” Blitz cackles, downing the last of his growler. He wipes at his mangled mustache with the back of his hand and lets out a belch. “Never thought we’d go as high as the Mafia.”

There’s no way in hell I want the Mafia involved in this business.

“Is that a smart idea?” I ask.

All three heads snap to me, and I level them each with a stare. Folding my arms across my chest, I shrug.

Blitz snorts while sticking his hand down his pants and I narrow my eyes at Darrin, who kicks him in the shin. He tries, unsuccessfully, to stand up straight.

“It’s a small shipment. An insurance policy. This will make us richer, boys.” Darrin raises his glass and we each do the same, most of them sloshing over the side and landing on the already sticky floor. “To getting lucky,” he says.

I take my sip before turning to toss my bottle in the trash. It lands with a loud clank against the bottom of the barrel. “I’m off to bed. Need to check on dealers early in the morning.”

Darrin rises, extending his hand to mine. “Keep me posted on tomorrow.”

I nod, taking his hand in mine, and he pulls me in for a slap on the back. It’s a hug. The big baby.

Pulling away, I smile and raise my hand to Blitz, who is going for round two with a different girl. Snape yells something about the music needing to be louder, and I step out of the room as the bass rattles the clubhouse. It fades as I exit the building.

A few men work to clean up the firepit area. Many of the packers are leaving the warehouse and returning to their bunkhouses for the night until they start all over in the morning.

The Mississippi night air is humid. Thick and sticky, as if I could pick out the moisture by hand. Dampness settles in my nose, the earthy notes mixing with the stench of body odor from the men passing by. Tilting my head up to suck in a fresh breath, I eye the full moon. The rocky and cratered texture pins me with memories of the dimpled peel of the orange on my counter.

I hate it.

Chapter 18

Fleur

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