Hard Bastard(27)

“Yes,” he said, nodding. “I get it.”

I smashed my bat into his other knee then walked away, shaking my head.

Boris followed me, counting the bills. “I think it’s actually six,” he said.

I laughed. “Good. That trailer will bring in like eight. A little more than half is better than nothing.”

“We really letting this piece of shit live?”

I nodded. “You heard the order. No more killing unless we have to. We’re being watched now.”

Boris sighed. “Yeah. I know. I just really wanted to kill this guy,”

“Some other time, maybe.”

Things had changed, and changed fast. Ever since Evgeni got picked up, the mafia had been walking on eggshells.

All because of my ex-girlfriend.

Everyone knew. There was no use in hiding it. The big boss didn’t seem happy, but I hadn’t been killed yet and nothing bad had gone down. Boris was sour for a couple days after I broke his nose, right up until I bought him a hooker and a nice bottle of whisky.

Boris was easy to please, but I knew Vadik wouldn’t be. Just because I hadn’t heard anything else about Sadie didn’t mean I was in the clear. It just meant that Vadik was biding his time, waiting for the right opportunity. I didn’t know what that would be, but I had my ear to the ground.

“Come on,” I said to Boris. “Go grab that asshole. Let’s finish this job.”

“Alright.”

He went back into the trailer. I heard some more yelling as I started the car engine, waiting for Boris. A few minutes later, Boris came back out with the guy in tow, his head hanging low, his hands tied behind his back. Boris shoved the guy into the back then climbed in next to me.

We started driving. It was about an hour to the next county, and I wanted to do it as fast as possible. I didn’t feel like being in a car with fat ass Boris if I didn’t have to be.

I didn’t lie when I told Sadie that I wouldn’t let the mafia hurt her. But she was making my job very fucking difficult. In the last three weeks, she went from pushing for some minor convictions to going after Evgeni very, very hard. The cops still weren’t taking our bribes and I heard whispers that shit was going down for serious.

I didn’t want that shit to be directed at her. So far, nobody was talking about going after Sadie, but I knew it was only a matter of time. I had to be ready to stop whatever was coming, even if it was going to cost me everything.

I still didn’t understand why I was doing what I was doing. I didn’t know why, after three weeks of not speaking to each other, I still felt such strong and intense feelings of loyalty toward her. The thought of walking away from her completely never even crossed my mind. I didn’t owe her shit, and she was the one that decided she didn’t want to see me. I never really lied to her, I just never told her the truth.

I wasn’t going to beg like some pussy ass bitch, though. I wasn’t that kind of man. If Sadie wanted to see me, she could come see me. She had my number and she knew where I hung out all the time, though she was being smart and staying far away from Ralph’s. Nobody in the mob was dumb enough to actually go after her without direct orders, but still, men got drunk and made mistakes all the time. It was better for everyone if she avoided those mistakes.

An hour later, we were far enough away. I pulled the car over on some lonely, empty county highway. The only things for miles were corn and cows.

“This is your stop,” I said to the guy. Boris shoved him from the car. I pushed him over into the field and kicked him in the ribs.

“If you come back to Ashertown, I will kill you. Get it?”

“I get it,” he said. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. You got lucky. If I were you, I’d never make another bet again. It’s going to get you killed sooner rather than later.”

I turned and got back into the car. I did a U-turn and headed back toward town.

“We should have killed him,” Boris said. “Nobody would have known.”

“We’d know,” I said. “And I’m not about that shit.”

He shrugged and we lapsed into silence again.

I wasn’t about murdering someone for no fucking reason. I wasn’t about being a thug and a liar and a criminal anymore, although maybe I was all of those things.

I didn’t know what I was about. Maybe I was just about protecting Sadie, even if she wasn’t interested in me anymore.

Her body said otherwise, though. She could keep her distance, but I knew that if she saw me again, she wouldn’t be able to hold back.

The car ride back went smoothly. We parked outside of Ralph’s and went inside. I sat at the bar and Boris disappeared to the bathroom. I ordered a whisky and sipped it when it arrived, happy to have a second to myself.