Dust rolls from the tires of the trucks as they pull into the abandoned quarry north of Vegas.
Nikolai and I sit in his black Hellcat, waiting for them to roll up next to us.
The air conditioner barely keeps up with the sultry one hundred and ten degree sun.
I can feel the heat radiating through the roof into my head. At least he has cooled seats that keep my balls cold.
When they’re sweaty, I get cranky.
“How many crates did Frankie send?” Nikolai asks me without looking up from his phone.
“Enzo said a fuck ton. This is going to suck ass.” Mikhail sent us with a small fleet of cargo vans to move the guns through the city without bringing suspicion.
But it means we have to move every single one of them from one rig to the other.
“It used to be we would be here to protect a shipment from the Reapers. Now, we’re here just as extra workers.” Nikolai slips his phone into his pocket and checks the chamber on his pistol. “Gun fights were more fun. But peace is good.”
The only time I get to rumble lately is in the boxing ring.
When we open the doors, the wave of intense heat almost knocks me back into my seat. “Damn, can it get any hotter?” My curly hair lays limply across my forehead.
“Just wait until we’re in the back of those containers. Like an oven.” Nikolai shakes his head as he hoists me into the cargo bay of the first truck.
Enzo made it easy with his inventory app. I scan each crate before dragging it over to Nikolai to load into the smaller vehicles for distribution.
Like a regular big box store for weapons.
I’m sweating so badly, my eyes are blurry when I finally get to the last box. Nikolai pulls it out as I jump down onto the dry dirt.
My junk is sticking to the inside of my thigh, and it makes me want to punch something.
“Viper’s tonight? Alexei said he could meet us there.” Nikolai wipes his palm through his short brown hair, making rivulets run down the back of his neck. “I could use a cold drink.”
I glance at my Rolex.
Shit.
“Sounds good. Let’s blow off a little steam since I have that bachelor party thing tomorrow.” There’s a part of me that really doesn’t want to go, but it’s not every day I get the opportunity to get to know a brother I didn’t know I had.
Nikolai’s blue eyes narrow. “Are you sure you can trust this guy?”
I can’t help but laugh. “Yeah, ‘cause we’re upstanding citizens and all. I gotta give him a chance. Blood should count for something?”
Maybe.
It’s too hot to think clearly.
“Is this because of the anniversary?” Nikolai walks ahead of me and doesn’t look back when he asks.
“Fuck off. I just think I outta give him a chance.” I don’t want to tell him that there’s a part of me that misses having a brother.
And that it might be because the date of Kai’s death is rolling up on me.
It still isn’t fair he’s gone.
One day, I’ll find something to fill this hole in my chest.
In the meantime, it can’t hurt to get to know my own brother.
We load back into his car and I bask in the cool air as he peels out of the gravel pit.
By the time we get back into the city, I’m not as cranky.
Alexei is already inside with Enzo when we get there. Alexei always has a wild look in his eyes, the tattoos stretching up either side of his neck help give him an old school berserker vibe.
Most people don’t know he’s actually pretty chill.
“The birthday boy!” Alexei smacks me on the shoulder as I sit at the table.
Rhonnie steps near his side with her empty drink tray pinned beneath her elbow. “Birthday? First round is on me!” She gives me a slow wink before patting Nikolai on the top of his head.
She doesn’t see him scowl in response as she heads back to get our drinks.
“Next time, I pick the bar,” he grumbles. “I dislike how handsy she gets.”
“Ah, it’s because she hasn’t touched the right spot yet.” I grin as I push my sweaty hair back and prop my sunglasses on the top of my head.
Alexei laughs loudly, tipping his chair back to let his feet dangle between the legs. “Niki, you need to get laid. How long has it been?”
“I don’t know. When was the last time your mother visited?” Nikolai stretches his arms and lets a small smile play across his lips. “Put your chair down, animal.”
Alexei rolls his eyes dramatically before dropping it down. “Fine, Dad.” His palms fly up in a sign of surrender as Rhonnie returns with our drinks.
It wasn’t that long ago that Kai and I were joking just like this. He was the quiet one, always trying to keep me in line.
Now, I have no one. I didn’t realize I wanted a tether until he was gone.
Why did he have to die so close to my birthday? It makes this shit so tough when all I can think of is that it’s one more he isn’t here for.
We used to get a new tattoo every year and see what kind of trouble we could find.
Now, it’s hard to want to do anything but my job.
And even that is getting harder.
Boxing used to be my outlet. Until I was suspended for three months because I didn’t stop swinging after my opponent went down.
Any sense of self control I once had is laying in the ground in New York.
“Don’t you think, Jax?” Alexei interrupts my thoughts.
“What’s that?” I have no idea what he was talking about.
“I said, Enzo mentioned something about opening a new branch to his club here. I offered for us to try out the girls he wants to employ there.” Alexei grins like the Cheshire Cat with his boots propped on the table.
Enzo laughs.
Fuck, I missed him coming in, too.
His black hair falls forward over his eyes that his smile never touches. “I’ll need lots of girls. I don’t think you boys could keep up.” The ice in his glass clinks as he sets it on the table.
The diamonds in his rings reflect the light like the cubes in his cup. “Besides, you have things to do. I don’t need you at the club standing on your dicks all day long. You’d die of dehydration.”
“There’s worse ways to go,” Alexei says before he takes a long swallow of his beer.
Enzo wags his finger at Alexei. “You, little boy, would be a flash in the pan.”
“That’s why I have this.” I click my tongue bar against my teeth. “If I’m in between nutting, I can always keep them happy.”
“The only thing you know how to do with that is make annoying noises.” Nikolai taps his finger against the table in a mocking rhythm of my piercing. “All day. Like a clock that doesn’t keep time. Is that why you’re late most of the time? Your timer is broken?”
I don’t want to tell him that the person who used to keep me in line isn’t here anymore. That I feel like I’m numb and wandering and lucky when I do remember to show up.
“Nah, man. I’m just late to give your mother-hen ass something to do, keeping tabs on me.”
