Page 49 of Twister's Salvation
Podge leaned back in his chair.“We doing this?”
“We’re doing this,” I confirmed.“Grab your cuts.We ride in five.”
They didn’t ask questions.Just got up and followed.
We fired up the bikes and took off.The ride to the bike shop was quick.I was too damn keyed up.Brick through our window.Threat under Tempi’s door.Same fucking message from different messengers.
We parked in front of the bicycle shop with a rumble that shook the sidewalk.The place looked just like last time.Glass front, cheap decal on the door, and a wide-eyed kid behind the counter who looked like he’d just pissed himself when he saw us.
I stepped inside first.Podge followed, and the moment the door clicked shut behind us, he reached up and locked it.
Click.
The kid’s eyes went wide as dinner plates.
“Get your bosses,” I said and leaned across the counter.“Then take the rest of the day off.”
He didn’t argue.Didn’t breathe.Just nodded and scurried into the back room like a rat escaping fire.
Footsteps.Voices.Then Nick and Frank appeared.
This time, they didn’t have that cocky edge.No puffed chests or smug smiles.
Just sweat and dread.
“Morning, boys,” I drawled and straightened up.“We need to talk.”
Nick glanced at the locked door, then at Podge and Hodge, then back to me.“Listen… if this is about the—”
“It is,” I cut in.“Exactly about the fucking brick that came through our window.That note Tempi got shoved under her door.Same chicken shit tactics.Same vibe.”
Frank swallowed hard.“We didn’t…”
Hodge moved around the counter without a word.Frank and Nick backed up so fast they almost tripped over themselves.
Nick made a break for it, bolting left, aiming for the back room like he was gonna teleport out of this situation.
Hodge was faster.
He grabbed Nick by the back of the shirt and slammed him up against the wall hard enough to rattle the damn drywall.
“Where the fuck you think you’re going?”Hodge growled with one arm pressed across Nick’s throat.
Podge moved to Frank, who made the smart move of not running.Though it did look like he was about to piss his pants.Neither of these assholes was as tough as they thought they were.
“I, I, I didn’t—” Nick stammered.
“Start talking,” I said and stepped in closer.“You throw the brick?”
“No!”Nick cried, and his eyes were wild.“We didn’t!I swear, we didn’t want to do any of this!”
Frank was standing frozen near the counter, pale as a ghost.
“Then who the fuck did?”I asked.
Silence.
I stepped forward, placed both hands on the counter, and slammed one flat against the surface.The crack echoed like a gunshot.
