Page 130 of The True Garza
Man Two comes forward and reaches inside his jacket for something.
Heart in his throat, Dennis takes a step back, primed to start running. But Man One grabs him by his collar and keeps him in place.
“Let go of me,” Dennis grits out, struggling. But he’s no match for this man’s strength.
Thankfully, it’s not a gun that comes out of Man Two’s jacket. It’s a tablet.
As Man Two swipes around on the tablet, Man One says, “You may choose to refuse the boss’s orders. But it’ll come with consequences.”
Man Two holds up the tablet for Dennis. On the screen is footage of inside Dennis’s construction site. Strapped to all the main support columns are C4 bombs.
“A, we level this building with a single click.”
Man Two swipes across the tablet, and different footage fills the screen.
A large hand clamps over Dennis’s mouth before he can scream. Because this footage is a live feed ofinsidehis ex-wife’s house. And there, are his daughter and ex-wife playing boardgames in their living room.This can’t be happening.
“Or B, we have your ex-wife pay a visit to Lonny and tell her why shereallydivorced you and moved to another state with your child. Beat her to a pulp, raped her, pushed her down the stairs…all that bad stuff.”
What? Dennis has never laid a hand on a woman in his life!
“Yeah, we know you’re not a woman beater,” Man One says, somehow reading Dennis’s thoughts. “But she’ll say whatever we tell her to say to keep her family safe, don’t you think?” The man releases Dennis, shoving him back. “You choose, Denny Boy. We see you anywhere near her, there’ll be consequences. We don’t believe in hurting the innocent, so as you can see, these options are…harmless. Don’t give us a reason to introduce violence.”
With that, the men leave.
Dennis drops to his knees. He has spent so many years single, searching for the woman perfect for him in every way. And now that he’s found her, she’s marked by a fucking mob. Such bullshit.
Utterly shattered, Dennis spent over an hour on his knees in the driveway, unable to move.
In the end, his choice was painful and gut-wrenching to make.
But it wasn’t difficult.
CHAPTER Thirty-Two
“Do you know what you did wrong?”
True
“So, what’s with all thewomen’s clothes and jewelry in the guestroom?”
I glance from my phone screen to my sister-in-law. “When are you getting the fuck out of my house again?”
“When your brother’s suffered enough.” She steps over me, where I’m laid out on the floor, to get to the couch. “You’re tired of me already?”
“Yep.”
“Yeesh, I’ve only been here three days. You’ve had London here for longer than that.”
“She’s London, you’re not.”
I double-tap on the most recent picture Brook posted of her and London on Instagram and zoom in. As with almost all the pictures of her on Brook’s profile, London is unaware she’s being snapped. Only half facing the camera and smiling at someone out of frame.She’s so fucking beautiful.
“Are all those things in the guestroom for her?” Lexi asks, biting into an apple. “Since when did you start spending money on women?”
Not women. London. I can’t help it. Every time I see something I think will look good on her, I buy it. Spending money on things I’ll never give her has become my latest London-induced insanity. “No. I’m opening a boutique.”
Another bite of her apple. Crunch motherfucking crunch. “You know, I miss you. Therealyou. The fun, nutjob you. Not this scroogey asshole you’ve become. This is worse than when you’re on those ADHD meds that turn you into a grunting zombie.” She throws a couch pillow at me. “And I know you miss London, but for the sake of, well,everyone, if you’re not gonna own up to how you feel and go get her back, then you need to hit the streets again. Vagina makes True Garza happy. Lots and lots of vagina.”
