“Sick,” Jim said.
His eyes popped open.
Fuck.
I jumped back and kicked off my sort of heeled shoes I’d been wearing. I darted to the bathroom and grabbed the trash bucket. I snagged a towel and a washcloth on the way out. I jumped to the floor, put the towel down, and held the bucket out.
Jim rolled to his back and started to cough. His mouth then looked like a bubbling volcano as he started to get sick.
“You’ll choke!” I screamed.
I grabbed his hair and twisted his head to right.
He let loose into the trash bucket. It sounded like someone was dumping a bucket of wet mud out a two story window. I turned my head and held my breath, knowing I’d end up getting sick too.
The last few heaves sounded like a bear growling, threatening to rattle the windows.
Jim then rolled to his back and groaned.
I slapped the washcloth across his face - harder than was necessary, but I was pissed off. I emptied the bucket and returned. I forced Jim to turn to his side and stuck a few pillows behind him to keep him there. It was going to be a long night making sure my brother didn’t choke on his own vomit.
What a great way to spend a Saturday night.
I sat against the couch and reached for the bottle of whiskey. I took the remote and found some house renovation show to watch. In another life, I was going to be a nurse. In this life, I was a real estate developer, which sounded fancier than what it was. I managed all of Dad’s land, except the pieces Jim owned personally. I helped to find plots that could be rezoned and built up. It was flexible and paid well.
As I sank into a one hour show about a newlywed couple arguing over the quality of the bushes in their new backyard, I couldn't help but sip some whiskey. Yeah, it was probably the wrong thing to do. But I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. Jim was snoring behind me. That was good.
I finished off what was left in the bottle.
By the time the show came to an end, the couple was happy, kissing, then on a swing in their new backyard.
“Losers,” I whispered.
That’s when I realized I was a little drunk.
I looked to my right and Jim twitched in his sleep. I heard his stomach gurgle and managed to get out of the way as he got sick again. The sound made my stomach curdle and then Jim rolled right off the couch. He hit the basket and tipped it over. I got the bucket before it spilled and I was back to cleaning up again. This time, I swayed back and forth, hitting the walls left to right.
I left Jim on the floor and grabbed a blanket.
On the love seat, I was wide awake, replaying too much in my mind.
There was a pact made a long time ago. A brotherhood kind of thing. Yet I was the woman dragged into it all.
I spotted Jim’s cell and told myself no. I screamed in my mind not to do anything dumb.
But I did.
I found Duke’s name in Jim’s phone.
I put the number in my phone.
It had been years. Years.
Everything changed when Duke came home.
More than that, he never kept up his part of the brotherhood with Jim.
The whiskey fueled my anger and courage.
I sat up on the couch and looked at my brother on the floor. He was not the man I looked up to. He was not the warrior soldier that left to fight for freedom.
And I was not the woman I had dreamed to be.
It was my turn to pass my feelings along.
So I chose the worst person in the world.
I called Duke… and changed the rest of my life for forever.
three.
(duke)
We walked into the warehouse and looked pretty rough. Ivan and Peter stepped forward out of the shadows of their bodyguards.
Trent had a bloody nose because of me. I had a bloody leg because of the Hell Five. And Trev… he was just in a nasty fucking mood.
He had the bag of cash and slammed it to the ground.
“You said we were protected,” Trev yelled. “That you didn’t want a goddamn convoy showing up here.”
“I don’t follow,” Ivan said with his thick accent.
“You don’t follow?” I asked. “We were ambushed, asshole.”
“Easy,” Trent said and put a hand to my chest.
Coming from the club’s enforcer, I knew I was stepping over the line.
“Ambush?” Ivan asked.
“Another crew,” Trev said. “Looking to stir up old trouble with us.”
Ivan turned and looked at Peter. He gave a nod. Peter then slipped away.
“I’m sorry for your trouble,” Ivan said. “But you brought the money.”
Trev walked away.
I pointed to it. “It was on my ride. I kept it safe. They started shooting long before we saw them.” I nodded to my leg. “Luckily that was the only bullet one of us took.”
“Good blessing then,” Ivan said. He grabbed the bag and opened it. Within a second, he said, “There’s money missing.”
The entire scene then changed. Ivan tossed the bag to one of his bodyguards and the guy started counting.
“We did what we could,” Trev said. “We were attacked.”