Page 67 of How We End

“Anders, AA is for people trying to quit drinking.I’m not trying to quit drinking.But you might want to think about it.”

“It’s not Assholes Anonymous?”

I looked over at him, my head still resting on the back of the couch.“Please tell me you’re kidding?”

“No, that’s what Margo told me it meant.I asked Trembles, and he said yes.”

I lifted my head.I didn’t mean to laugh at him because I thought he really meant that.“No, that’s not what it stands for.As far as I know, there is no Assholes Anonymous, and I’m hurt you think I need that.It’s Alcoholics Anonymous.”

“Fuck.No wonder everyone looks confused when I say Murry needs AA.”He shrugged.

“After dealing with you, Murry probably does need AA.”I sat up, stretching.“Maybe I’ll sit Reno out.”

“Or you bring her and see how it goes.Tremble’s girlfriend, Hannah, is a bit of a bitch.That’s according to Tee.But between Tee and Ray, she should be fine.If it goes bad, then you’ll know what you have to do.”

“And if it goes good?”

“Then maybe Wyatt will need to get that job at the dental office.”

“I’m not going to tell her to quit.”

“If she wants you, she will.I will say, since you’ve been having sex regularly, you haven’t been as high-strung.”

“I am not that high-strung.”

“Right.How many hours are you at the gym?”

“You could use a few more hours there.”I had been drafted into the NHL when I was seventeen.Played my first NHL game the day after my eighteenth birthday.I was playing against men who were bigger, faster, and hit harder.The only way to survive was to be bigger than them.

“Nah, my underwear model career fell through after I got my front teeth knocked out,” Anders teased.

“Get a new joke.”A former teammate’s girlfriend had stumbled upon some Julian Silver fan club and found a few photos from my very brief modeling career.It wasn’t even a career; it was a paid promotion for compression shorts.

“Nope, that photo of you in those tight black underwear is burned into my retinas.Was that a sock or?—”

“Are you done?”It still came up sometimes in the locker room.Anytime we got a new guy on the team, he’d show up with a photo and ask for an autograph.

“Nope,” Anders said, pushing play on the remote.“Seriously, was that a sock?”

“I need better friends.”

CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE

WYATT

December 11

I followed the hostess to the small outdoor table where Margo sat.Her dark hair was pulled up into a messy bun, and her laptop hid half her face.I realized it had been almost a month since I had seen her or Jackson.

“Hey,” I said, sitting down.“Can I get a glass of red wine?”I told the waiter who rushed over.

“Hey.Me too,” Margo said, closing her laptop and putting it away.“So.”

“So.What did you want to talk about?”We normally held business meetings at the Sands, and Margo and I didn’t see each other outside of work.And not to have drinks.So something must’ve happened.

“Maverick saw the Halloween photo.He knew it was you, and the press knew it was Julian.I tried to cover for you, but he ran the financials.He knows Julian is one of your clients.He also suspects that’s who you’ve been seeing onhisnights.”

There was only one reason Maverick was looking at my financials.“If he thinks I’m going to let him blackmail Julian, he underestimates me.I’ll take him and the rest of his little group down.”Prostitution was illegal within the Las Vegas and Paradise city limits.Maverick regularly entertained clients with the girls from the Golden Serpent within those city limits.Not to mention, I had a long list of powerful clients he had recommended.