Dragon Heartstring(31)

“You paid a visit to the clinic on Sable Street.”

The guy’s eyes widened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I lifted his head and slammed it back down again.

“Mother fucker!” he screamed.

“How about I go get the brick in my car and knock your fucking teeth out. You think you’ll remember then?”

He tried to spit at me, but only managed to dribble on his face and the floor. “Go ahead, pretty boy. You ain’t got it in ya. Who the fuck are you guys anyway?”

I rolled him over onto the arm I had bent backwards, put my knee in his chest, and wrapped my hand around his throat.

“You want to know who I am?” I squeezed his throat a fraction tighter. “I am Demetrius Cade. I own this fucking city. And if you don’t tell me who hired you to throw that brick, I’ll bury your body so deep no one will ever know you even existed.” His eyes bulged as I cut off all airflow. “And trust me. I will get away with it, and I’ll sleep well at night knowing you’re dead and gone.”

“Demetrius.” Max said my name as a warning. He knew I meant every fucking word I’d just said. “He can’t speak if you don’t loosen your grip.”

“We don’t know his name,” shouted Gus.

I loosened my grip on the guy, his face pinkish purple from the blood rushing into his face. His wide eyes remained on me.

“Describe him,” I demanded.

“Big guy. Bald. Scary looking. Was wearin’ a long, black coat.”

I glared at Gus. “A trench coat?”

“Yeah. Guess so. A trench coat.”

I nodded at Max. I knew who it was now. Exactly who I’d suspected.

Max holstered his gun back at his belt and pulled his cuff keys out. “Stand up and turn around.”

Gus obeyed.

I lifted off the mouthy one and stood. “And so you two just agreed to obey a complete stranger?”

He unbent his arm and clutched it to his chest. I might’ve splintered something. I didn’t care.

“It was easy money. He gave us the brick and told us what to do. No questions asked.”

“Yeah,” agreed Gus, rubbing his wrist now and backing away from Max toward the couch where he sat. “Good, easy money.”

I pulled out my wallet and tossed several bills on the guy’s chest at my feet. Then I threw a few more on the table where the poppy dust was scattered.

“Take this and get out of town. Tonight. If I find out you’re still here by dawn, you’ll wish you’d left.”

“We’re gone, man,” said Gus, scooping up the bills. “No problem.”

I marched back through the broken door. Max and I made our way swiftly out of the building. Interestingly, no one even opened a door in the hall. But I suppose they were used to sounds of violence. They all remained behind closed doors and out of other people’s business, which was good for us. Gus and his partner wouldn’t talk. But I didn’t want our description or a comm video popping up anywhere else.

Once out on the street, Max twisted me around by the arm. “What the fuck, dude? You threatened to kill the man and you gave him your name.”

“Because I gave him my name, he’ll never speak a word about this.”

It wasn’t arrogance to point out my name held more weight than anything. If I’d been just any rich boy beating on a criminal on Glendale Strip, I might find trouble. But I was Demetrius Cade. “Trust me. Those two will be out of town in the next five minutes.”

Max took out a cigarette and lit it. “Let’s go.”

We headed up the walk and back toward our cars.

“So you know who the bald guy in the trench coat is, I’m assuming,” said Max.

“It’s Aron Grayson’s new bodyguard,” I said, clicking my car unlocked as I approached.

“And so what do you plan to do now?”

“Pay Aron a visit.”

“No, that’s exactly what you’re not going to do. No vigilante justice. Tonight was close enough crossing that line.”

I opened my door and stopped. Max inhaled a deep puff from his cigarette.

“Then what am I supposed to do? Just wait around till they do something worse like blow up the clinic?”

“The hearing is almost here. You just stay close to your girl,” he said and flicked his cigarette onto the walk. He stomped it out with the toe of his boot. “I doubt you’ll have a problem with that.

“No. That won’t be a problem at all.”





Chapter 11





The sound of knocking on the door echoed through the house along with another rumble of thunder. I’d finally started to drift off and thought the sound was the storm picking up speed again. Then the knocking continued. It could only be one person.

I leapt up and hurried to the door while slipping my silk robe over my short nightie. Checking through the peephole to be sure it was who my senses told me it was, I pulled open the door to find a wet Demetrius for the second time this evening. Except now he appeared less like a wild beast and more like an injured animal.

“Come in. Quickly.”

I locked the door and fetched a towel in the linen closet in the hallway. When I returned, he stood at the window watching the storm crashing violently over the city, the room dark but for the flashes of light.