Page 5 of The #2 Guy

1

Johnny

Two weeks later…

“Would you calm down?You’re bouncing so much—my notebook keeps moving.”

My knee is bouncing. I’ve got three pieces of extra Bubble Chew inside my cheek and the nerve above my left eye is twitchy. “What? Am I ruining your mojo? Ruining your next kiddie plot? Spoiler alert, the prince is a douche. No—a cock-blocking little prick of a douche.”

The bastard smirks. If he wasn’t my best friend, he’d be skewered to a pole, naked while wild animals feast on him.

“Jealous of my success?”

“Please,” I snort. “No one is terrified of you now. You’ve made a mockery of our livelihood. Who ever heard of a savage poet for a Don?”

“Don’t mock me, John-John. It’d be a mistake to underestimate me.” Both my knees bounce. My heart feels like a wild rabbit that just got sprung from its cage. Not because of Roque but because of Christine. “Her family still thinks she’s dead. Not a trace of DNA or an article of her clothing was ever found. That bastard brother never stops trying to find a clue though. I’ve handled him. Got him put on a case in Libya so he can’t snoop around in the states.”

“Good. Let it stay that way. She’s mine for the rest of her life, anyway.”

He smirks. “You know there is a way out… put a ring on it. Worked for me. She can’t testify against you.”

“Well, jackass, you were the one who hid her in a cellar. Not me.”

His pen finally pauses from the paper. “I’m not going down for your toy, Johnny. I spared her life for you. That’s it. If you fuck this up again—"

“I won’t. I don’t love her anymore.”

He studies me for a minute before resuming whatever bullshit he is putting down in ink. Sensing my disdain, he speaks without taking his eyes off his words, “It’s a poem for my wife.”

“Totally pussy whipped,” I reply, with a snort while tipping my head toward the window.

“Like you won’t be as soon as you see her. Maybe this was a bad idea. I’ll text Rog to call it off.”

“Don’t you dare. You’ve cock-blocked me long enough.”

“Please. You cock-blocked yourself. Why did you wait so long? Scared she won’t want you anymore?” He taunts, knowing that’s exactly why but I play it off.

My lips tip up. “I might not be as smart as you. Or as polished. I’m rough as shit but the one thing I definitely know how to do is lay it down. Ask your ex, Julietta. Remember how she screamed for me?”

“I’d rather not remember.”

“One look at my cock and Christine is gonna be begging for it. Especially since you’ve had her hidden for so long. No one touched her?”

“No. We don’t do that shit. Rog kept her fed. Well fed. Who knows, she might be a porker by now.”

“I never minded a little cushion for the pushin’.”

He shakes his head at me. “Red was right. You’ve got the maturity of a fifteen-year old.”

“She said that shit about me?” It’s no secret that his lady and I butt heads. Mostly because we fight over him. Roque’s been my right-hand man as much as I’ve been his. When he hooked up with Ro again, I felt like an abandoned dog.

“Why are you coming anyway? You wanna watch?”

“I have business in Springdale. I own the Inn there, remember? Besides, I know the real reason you stayed away. You didn’t trust yourself. You wanted to punish her as much as you wanted to fuck her. You needed time to cool off.”

“Book us a couples massage. I’m blaming you for this shit. So, I can swoop in like a hero… Actually, yeah, let’s stage this shit. I’m gonna kick the door in, tie Rog up and make it look like I’ve finally found her. I’m gonna Stockholm Syndrome the shit outta this situation… yeah, you are right. I had some dark nights when I believed ending her would end this never-ending torment for her that runs through my blood.”

“You dumbass. Stockholm Syndrome is when a person falls in love with their captor. Not the other way around.”

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