Page 18 of Headcase
The restraints might have looked frilly, but they were police grade handcuffs. Zane wasn’t going anywhere until Asa let him.
“Nah, I think I’m going to leave you as you are for now. But, if you’re a good boy, I’ll let you have some of these.” He rattled the cashews. “But if you bite me, you’re going to go hungry.”
Zane huffed out a breath through his nostrils. “Whatever,” he finally muttered, opening his mouth obediently.
Shit.
Was this what cowboys felt like when they broke colts? Breaking Zane was a prospect that made Asa’s blood pump a little faster. How long had it been since he’d felt any kind of excitement like this?
He fished a few salted cashews from the container, feeding each one to him slowly. After that, he opened the bottle of water, letting Zane see him break the seal before holding it to his lips, watching his throat convulse with each swallow. When he’d drained the bottle, Asa smiled, wiping a droplet from Zane’s lips. “There. That wasn’t so bad. Was it, sugar?”
Zane continued to shoot daggers at him, but his voice was wary. “You can’t keep me here forever. People will notice.”
Asa gave him a patient smile. “I’m not planning on keeping you here forever, just until I convince you it’s better to have the Mulvaneys with you rather than against you.”
“Good fucking luck. The second you let me go, I’ll tell the world about you and your brothers and send you a copy of my prize-winning story for you to hang in your cell, you fucking piece of shit.”
Asa leaned in close, pushing a lock of Zane’s hair from his face. “I really hope you change your mind. I like your brains so much better on the inside.”
“Fuck you.”
Asa grinned. “You keep offering yourself up to me and I’m going to think you mean it.” Zane sagged against his restraints, suddenly looking far more fragile than he had minutes ago. “I’ll be back in an hour, just in case you need to use the bathroom.”
“I am not using the bathroom in front of you,” he called as Asa closed the door.
Asa didn’t respond, just chuckled as he shut the door behind him.
That laugh died as he realized his phone—his real phone—was ringing, his father’s picture flashing on the screen.God fucking dammit.Had Jericho ratted him out that quickly? There really was no honor among thieves…or killers. Whatever. Fuck.
He watched it until it stopped ringing, then collapsed onto the bed, only for a text to appear on the screen.Don’t ignore me. I can do this all night.
Shit.
When it started ringing again, he growled, then picked it up, keeping his voice upbeat. “Hey, Pops. What’s going on?”
Thomas hesitated. “What’s wrong with you? Why do you sound like that?”
“Like what?” Asa asked, wincing as his voice rose another octave.
Thomas scoffed. “Like you’re ten and I just caught you in a lie about what you and Kenny Baker were actually doing in your closet.”
Asa grinned. He’d forgotten about that. “Uh…no reason. I’m just waiting for you to yell at me for skipping out on your award dinner.”
“Oh, I’m not going to yell at you about that,” Thomas said in a voice that implied there was something much worse to come. “But you are going to do me a favor.”
“What kind of favor?” Asa asked, suspiciously.
“I need you to look into something for me,” Thomas said.
Asa frowned. “What do you mean…look into?”
“I mean, a friend asked me to look into something.” Friend said in that tone always implied a person in the know about their extracurricular activities. “A mystery of sorts.”
Asa frowned. “Um, I don’t solve crimes, Dad. I just clean up the mess.”
“You do whatever I tell you to do, Asa,” Thomas said sharply. “I know you’re acting out because Avi is with Aiden, but I need you to act like an adult.”
An adult doesn’t take orders from his father.But Asa didn’t say that. “What’s this mystery?”
