At the Stars(49)

The guy’s growling quietly. Pushing his spine as straight as he can with Dante’s arms wrapped around his. “I don’t know any Mariana. You must have a lot of damn people pissed enough to want to track you down.”

Dante tightens his hold from behind. I see it in the pump of his arms, and the way our pal’s face gets tight and red.

I grit my teeth. “Is that how you want to play things, my man? If so, maybe we ought to make it so you don’t walk out of here at all.”

Jesus in fucking Heaven. No way I mean any of that shit. I don’t want to be some kind of low-life thug. It’s all hot air. All I want is my life back.

“All right, you fucking psycho. I’ll tell you what the hell I want if your gorilla here lets my arms go.”

I look at Dante. He nods his head and lets go.

The guy jerks and rubs at his shoulders with a bitter look on his face. He’s still kind of red from being held, so no shit he’s pissed. I’m also pissed. “So what’s going on? I don’t know you. Why are you following me?”

He sniffs and rubs at his face. “My name... is Eli Banes. You killed my brother, you son of a bitch.”

“God damn.” I grab some paper towels from behind Delia’s counter and dry my sweaty palms. I point to Dante. “You go. Leave out the back door. We’ll be fine.”

“You sure?” Dante looks worried.

“I think so. If he’s smart, he doesn’t want the headache any more than I do.” I toss the paper towel in the trash. “Hey man. Thanks.”

“You really want to be alone with this guy?” Dante saw the fight where Davidson went down. He shoots an uncomfortable look between the both of us.

I get it, but I wave him off. Maybe Cassie’s right and his brother’s death wasn’t my fault exactly, but I landed the blow. The fallout will always hurt. It hurts me, and it hurts this guy standing in front of me. Whatever this guy’s gonna do, he can go on and get out his anger.

So I sit my ass down in the chair where Dante had been holding him. I’m surprised to find I’m shaking some. It’s not fear, but having the guy’s brother here in front of me is something I don’t know how to reconcile. All over again, my throat is raw and it’s hard to swallow.

“All right, look. Let me say this: Your brother was a good guy. I’m so fucking sorry I wasn’t able to help him. I wanted it to be me that day.” I did. That’s no lie. Davidson Banes had a family and a baby on the way. I had nobody back then, and I would’ve gladly taken his place. I take a deep breath, meeting the coal-dark of his pissed-off eyes. “So do what you need to, man.”

Noise coming from the stairway has us both turning around. Cassie. Shit. “What are you guys doing here?” She looks around. “Why do you have your shirt off? And who’s this guy?”

I point to Eli. “This is uh, Davidson Banes’s brother. The guy I told you about from that fight.”

“Oh.” She looks nervous now. I see her hand go to her back pocket. I wonder if she’s grabbing for her phone in case shit goes downhill.

“Cassie, we’re fine. Just having a chat.”

“So you took off your shirt?” She’s looking at both of us now, and she’s looking scared. I can’t take her looking at me like she’s frightened.

Maybe she knows I took my shirt off in case we had to fight. So it didn’t get bloody. Maybe she only suspects, or it looks weird regardless. Whatever it is, I need to fix that look on Cassie’s face.

“I didn’t know who he was at first. I didn’t know what might happen.” I needed to put up a good front, because that’s what you do in front of someone who’s out for your balls.

Eli puts his hand out. “Okay, hang on here. I really did come here to talk.”

I rub my hand over my face. “Shit, man. I’m sorry about the way we came at you before.”

He gives me a look that appropriately makes me feel like hell. “Yeah, I’m sorry I gave you shit.”

He makes a face. “I get it. I thought at first I wanted to see you laid out on the floor, actually. When I first started tracking you down. I got locked onto Arlo Specter though, and I think in him we might have a mutual enemy. He’s been responsible for a higher-than-average number of deaths in the sport of boxing. Suspected bribes. Shady contracts. Rochelle’s got a copy of the contract Davidson signed, but I want to come after him for more. If we can get a suit together, I hoped you might be willing to testify.”

“Oh. Fuck.” I’m glad I’m sitting.

I look over at the sound of Cassie’s butt hitting the stairs. She’s looking at Eli again. “Do you think you have a case?”