"She doesn't belong to him, so he can't give her to you."
Taz stretches so his shiny nipple rings shake. I try not to stare, but they're weirdly hypnotic. Is this how he cons his followers into worshipping him? Will I shave my hair into a Mohawk soon and join his cult now that I've witnessed the holy rings?
"Who is she to you?"
"She's my brother's fiancée's best friend," I say, running my hand through my shoulder-length blond hair. "So we're tight and shit. Now where are Bebe and the kid?"
"She's around, but she ain't leaving. I'm owed what I'm owed."
"Listen here," I say, trying to sound friendly, but failing because I don't try hard. "We don't need to make this messy. We both want something, so I say we trade."
Taz sizes me up. "Trade what?"
"My people for your person."
"You got one of my guys? Let him rot."
"Naw, it ain't one of your guys."
"Fucker, I don't care who it is. I'm owed money, and that girl and her kid are how Wolfman wants to settle up."
"You don't care?" I say, scratching my beard. "That's cold. I mean, doesn't everyone love their mom?"
My mom doesn't mean shit to me. She was never around when I was growing up, and I can't remember any particularly fond memories of her. Hell, I don't even know if she's still alive. Yet Taz's twitching jaw tells me that he loves his mommy. Loves her so much he goes stupid and reaches for his gun.
Smiling at the weapon, I know he won't shoot me. Not if he wants his mommy back. "I have a picture of her looking pissed off in her nightdress. Wanna see it?"
"Fucker, I oughta kill you."
"Yeah, go ahead. I promise you'll get chunks of your mommy in the mail. When her head arrives, that'll be the day my boys show up and skin you. You know I don't work alone. Yeah, I'm a guy with friends too."
Giving him a wink, I slowly reach for my phone. "Wanna see your mom?"
"I could just exchange you for my mom."
"Naw, I ain't interested in playing hostage, asshole."
Pressing a button on my phone, I ring up the bomb Madden set up on one of Taz's cars. The explosion isn't big. Doesn't need to be to scare the shit out of everyone in the house and likely people a block over.
"Don't you worry about the pigs heading this way, Taz. They didn't hear nothing. They won't hear your mom begging either."
Taz gives me a real nasty look, and I try not to laugh. The dweeb is nothing more than a stupid kid playing tough guy. Acing Grand Theft Auto don't make him a thug.
"Bring out the bitch and her kid," he says to one of his kiddie goons.
I warn myself not to react to seeing Bebe. Years ago, a guy shoved a gun barrel against my head, and Ford never even blinked. He didn't seem to give a shit if I ended up dead. My brother knows how to play the badass. I need to do the same when faced with a scared Bebe.
Knowing I'll probably show something when she enters the room, I look at my nails instead. One of the fingers got banged up at the batting cages, so the nail is black now. Waiting for it to fall off, I hope to gross out Shay.
Bebe stumbles into the room, holding Lula. I glance up to find her surprised to find me. Bebe also looks relieved. The hope in her eyes makes me feel great. Her opinion matters too much, but I can't shake off the need. Thinking about her relief distracts me from the black eye hiding behind her long, wavy brown hair. I'm not distracted for long before the thought of setting the house on fucking fire in vengeance sounds good.
"Here's my problem," Taz says, tapping the gun barrel to his head. "Wolfman owes me money. They're his payment. You have my mom, okay, but that ain't much of a trade. Since the kid belongs as much to Wolfman as the bitch, why don't I keep her? I'll pimp her out just until I make back what he owes."
Bebe makes a strangled noise and wraps Lula tighter in her arms. Seeing her fear pisses me off, but my temper won't keep the girls safe. I think about Ford again and how he plays with people in these situations. He's a manipulative fucker.
"You know, I'd be more pissed if I was you," I tell Taz. "Wolfman set you up, and you're sitting here worrying about your damn mommy."
"How do you figure he set me up?"
Even though I don't find any of this shit funny, I laugh. "Wolfman knows Bebe is protected by the club. Like you said, he's about to get out of prison, and I'm guessing he wants to get rid of the competition. Meaning you," I say, pointing at Taz. "He cons you into grabbing Bebe, figuring the club will want payback. We take this shit personal, so we kill you and your baby badasses here. Then he gets out and takes your place."
"Won't you want to kill him too?"
"Oh, Wolfman probably didn't think I'd come in all nice this way. He assumed we'd tear your house apart and never learn about him. Yeah, he screwed you pretty hard, and I bet he didn't even pay for dinner."