Page 41 of Bronx

“I’m headed to Mt. Airy.”

“That’s like thirty to forty minutes from your place.”

“Twenty minutes when you drive like me.”

“What are you doing, Bronx?” He sounds impatient. “What made you call me when you’re headed there?”

“It’s the girl.”

“What about her?”

“Her ex gave her a black eye and now he’s causing a scene at the place she’s staying. I’m just going to handle him so that we can get back to finding her shithead brother.”

“You’re doing what?”

“You heard me.”

“The sister has a crazy ex-boyfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re handling him?”

“Yes, Seven,” I answer with irritation. “Why are you repeating everything I fucking say?”

He pauses for a moment. “What does this girl look like?”

“What does that matter?”

“Does she have a fat ass or big tits?”

Both, but fuck him.

“I haven’t noticed.”

“Now that’s a goddamn lie if ever I heard one. You’ve never ignored a piece of good looking ass in your life. Are you sleeping with the enemy’s sister?”

“Who talks like that? The enemy’s sister,” I mock. “This isn’t some kind of one-act thriller play I’m a part of. This is my life.”

“I’ll put it in a way that you’ll understand then. Are you fucking the sister of the man who sliced your throat and left you to die?”

“No!”

My flask is resting on the passenger seat, but I feel the need to take another swig of whiskey as the muscles in my esophagus tighten.

“Do you want to fuck her?”

I swallow, then respond with the second boldfaced lie I’ve told today.

“No.”

“Good, because it would be incredibly messy to sleep with a woman and then kill her brother the next day.”

Right.

That would be a shitty thing to do.

“I would never do something so stupid. You always underestimate me. I’m just eliminating a distraction so that I can handle my business. She’s the key to this whole thing. The girl can lead me straight to him if I work this right.”