Hard Bastard(9)

I followed Boris and Alex out to the parking lot and got into Alex’s beat-up piece of shit black sedan. “What the fuck happened?” I asked him as he started the engine.

“Kuzma called. Evgeni was picked up by the fucking cops.”

I grained. “For what?”

“Who fucking knows? We’re supposed to get down to the precinct pronto.”

“Fucking hell. I thought we bribed those pigs for exactly this reason?”

“We did. We still fucking do. I don’t know what’s happening.”

“Fine, okay. Let’s drive.”

Alex pulled out and sped down the street. The precinct jail wasn’t too far away. I leaned back in my seat and looked out the window.

“Thinking about that piece of ass?” Boris asked from the back.

“No, you fucking pig shit.”

“Fuck you, Gage. No need to be an asshole.”

“Pussy,” I mumbled, staring out the window.

Truth was, I was thinking about her. I couldn’t fucking help it. I could still practically feel her lips wrapped around my cock, could see her body bobbing up and down as she sucked me. I could feel her spine under my fingertips as I fucked her from behind, the way she moved and twisted, the way she rode me. Fuck, I could even hear her laugh as we drove fast and reckless down the highway in my piece of shit convertible.

It wasn’t like me to get hung up on some chick, let alone some ex-girlfriend that I hadn’t seen or heard from in ten years. I took a deep breath and let it out. I was going to have to keep my shit together if we were going to pull this off.

Part of my job was to drop the bribes off to the cops. Normally, I left that to Boris. Evgeni was a friend and typically managed some of the drug dealers over on the south side of town. It was pretty fucking strange that he got picked up since he never actually touched the drugs, just managed the guys that did.

We sped down the road and eventually pulled into the parking lot. We climbed out of the car and headed toward the front entrance.

“Let me talk,” I said.

“You’re outranked here, Gage,” Alex said.

“I know these guys. I drop off the bribes.”

“Actually, I do that, asshole,” Boris said.

“Yeah, well, you’re a slob and a prick. I get along with them better.”

He grunted but didn’t argue. Both of those statements were factually correct and I guess he didn’t feel like contesting it.

We headed up toward the entrance and stepped inside. The desk sergeant, a guy names James Rawls, looked up, a bored and tired expression on his face. He sighed when he saw me. I gave him my biggest, best smile possible.

“What do you want?” he asked as I approached him.

“Good evening, Sergeant,” I said.

“Gage.” He sighed. “It’s late. What can I do for you?”

“You guys picked up a friend of mine. I want to check on him.”

“What’s the name?” Rawls asked.

“Evgeni. Came in just tonight.”

He nodded and typed. I glanced back at Boris and Alex.

Rawls grunted. “Right, he’s here.”

“What’s he here for?”

“Doesn’t say. System hasn’t updated yet.”

“Rawls. You know me. You know my associates. We’ve been good to the precinct, haven’t we?”

He looked nervous. “I don’t know, Gage.”

“We have. You know we have. I’m here to get my guy back. If we need to put some bail money in somebody’s hands, we’ll do that.”

“Bail isn’t set yet. Won’t be until tomorrow at best.”

“Don’t act dumb, Rawls.”

He leaned forward. “We can’t do this. I’m sorry.”

I leaned toward him. “Can’t do what? The things we’ve been doing for a while now? My friend Boris over there brings you guys a little package full of money and you overlook some of our business dealings. It’s been very lucrative for both of us.”

He nodded. “Fine. Maybe that was the old deal. But something is changing.”

“What’s changing?”

He shook his head. “More pressure from the top. We can’t just let this one slide.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What aren’t you telling me, Rawls?”

“Sorry. That’s all I can say.”

I clenched my fists and wanted to smash the guy’s face, but I resisted. Clearly, we didn’t have as much power over the cops right now as we once did.

Alex stepped up behind me. “Sergeant, what’s the problem here?”

He glanced at Alex. “Step back, sir.”

“I’m just trying to understand.”

I could tell Rawls was getting uncomfortable. An uncomfortable cop was a dangerous cop, and I didn’t feel like making a bad situation worse.