Page 53 of 23 Hours

Not down with my outburst, Bonez drops both of his hands on the top of my shoulders and squeezes hard enough to leave bruises. His nostrils flare. “You listen here, and you listen good. If you wanna be with someone, you will. You’re loyal to a fault. You won’t need the whores anymore. You know yourself. I know you. Do you really think you’d harm someone you care about?”

I’m not my mother or my father. I’m not like Runner or half the brothers who don’t give a shit about the women they claim to love. All they care about is sex. Don’t get me wrong, I do, too. It’s part of me. The desires and twisted parts won’t disappear. The itch to control and fuck always lingers. But…

“No,” I reply and mean it, ’cause I’d never harm a single hair on that sexy woman’s head.

Sighing, I twist from my brother’s grip and close my eyes. There she is—again. Grinning this time, lying in bed beside me, reading.

Just like that… my dick turns to granite.

Ignoring the beast, I eject a rush of air and yank a Dum Dum from my pocket. The moment sweet bliss hits my tongue, it’s relief in the purest form. Tension bleeds from my shoulders. My erection starts to subside.

Stepping up beside me, Bonez bumps his giant bicep against mine in brotherly affection as we watch a club whore right her skirt in the lot. Runner must be done.

“I’ve never been—” I begin.

“In love,” he cuts in. “I get it’s not the same for us. It won’t be, ’cause of Mom. But you worrying ain’t gonna solve jack shit. You’ll love how you’re supposed to love when you’re supposed to love. There’s no rule book on how that’s gotta look or be.” Bonez delivers another arm thump. “I can’t believe we’re havin’ this conversation. Didn’t see that one comin’.”

I smirk, half-cocked. “Me neither.” Not in this lifetime.

“Got me a nephew.” The bastard puffs his chest with pride. “He look like us?”

Rolling my eyes at the ridiculousness of this conversation, I give my brother what he seeks—honesty. “Yeah, Bonez. He looks like us.”

He chuckles in full-bodied childish delight. I share in the sentiment with a smile. It’s small and lacks enthusiasm, but it’s there.

The long-bearded asshole in the corner whistles loudly, drawing our attention.

“You ladies done yet?” Blimp’s rocker creeks as it struggles to bear his weight.

We both snicker and join him on the far end of the porch. Blimp offers Bonez a hit. My brother declines with a respectful head shake.

“Suit yourself.” Blimp tokes and holds it before liberating an impressive cloud of smoke into the night. Wearing a dazed grin, he rocks back in the chair and strokes his beard. “Maybe you can help us with somethin’ important.”

“Uh-huh… what’s that?” I ask.

He looks to White Boy and jerks his chin. “You explain.”

“I got a text from Hunter, Jade’s boy. He was askin’ if I’d seen his mom.”

“Okay… And?” I gesture for him to keep on.

“He hasn’t seen her since yesterday morning, and she hasn’t responded to any of my texts or calls since then. I told him to check out my mom’s place. He said she’s not home either. Blimp hasn’t heard from her since last night.”

That’s not exactly something to worry about with those two. “They’re best friends. You sure they’re not out havin’ a girls’ night or somethin’?” Probably holed up in some hotel, drinkin’ cheap margaritas. They do that. Party hard. Let loose. Especially Loretta, White Boy’s mom. She’s the wild card.

White Boy sits up straighter and grips his knees. “We were thinkin’ that, too. But Blimp called over to Mom’s work, and they said she didn’t show for shift tonight.”

“And she never misses work,” Blimp adds before I get a chance to ask.

The phone in my back pocket vibrates with an incoming call. I pluck it free and check the number. It’s Prez.

“’Ello?” I answer, hopin’ he’s callin’ for a status update and not what Blimp and White Boy are going on about.

“We’ve got a problem.”

Fuck.

I sigh. “How big we talkin’?”

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