Page 16 of Brick
Thankfully, Tre didn’t have the smarts or experience to figure it out himself. Otherwise, he would’ve probably been chomping at the bit to find another target. “Shit, man, you’re right. Thanks.” The kid surveyed the room. “Where do we start?”
“We start with a tarp.” He pulled the black, folded, plastic sheet from the backpack he carried on all his jobs. “We roll him up. Get him out. And leave the rest for the rats.”
***
Brick didn’t realize he’d hoped to catch a glimpse of Olivia at the construction site again the next morning until he recognized his pang of disappointment when he didn’t see Will with the crew. In fact, only a handful of the guys were there when he arrived. Even stranger, he saw no sign of Robby, only Kane and Matt.
He didn’t know Matt very well. The guy kept to himself, did the work, went home. He was black—clean-cut, twenty-five or so—and he usually wore a nice T-shirt or polo tucked into his khakis. Today, he had on a bright green tee with a pocket over his heart. He appeared to be a much safer man to be around than Kane with the biker’s arms sleeved in tattoos and the scar cutting across his cheek. But appearances could be deceiving. Matt could be a church deacon or a serial killer, for all Brick knew.
Kane wandered over as soon as Brick climbed out of his truck. “Crew’s split today. The company won a last-minute bid on a big place in Decatur.”
“So why didn’t they put another team on it? Xander’s not the only foreman they’ve got.”
Kane gave a short nod. “True. But he’s the best.” He lifted one shoulder. “And since we’re his crew, we’re the best, brother. So, they want us.”
Hard to argue there. Splitting everyone up would slow down both jobs, but at least everyone had stable work for a while.
They planned to finish up the subflooring so they could get started on the walls. It was his favorite part of any build. It warmed him seeing the bones of the house taking shape.
Matt nodded as they joined him on the slab. They all worked in easy silence until about eleven-thirty when Kane called for a lunch break. “Guess we’ve got no pizza today. Tell me what you want, and I’ll run over to the deli around the corner.”
“I’ll go,” Matt said mildly, the first words Brick had heard from him in months of working together.
Matt took their orders and stuck the cash in his back pocket as he walked to his car.
Kane stroked his beard. “I saw you talking to Will’s sister the other night.”
Fuck. He carefully blanked his face. “Sure. She seems like a nice girl.”
Kane laughed…a rich, full-belly laugh. The man never did anything halfway. “You want to play it low-key? She’s a nice girl? So you wouldn’t mind if I hit that? ‘Cause you see, I think a pretty little thing like her would taste like honey between her legs and—” He stopped talking and grinned when Brick started growling.
Fucker. He pushed the noise down in his throat and ground his teeth together.
“I thought it would take a little more work to get you going.”
He narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like being played. “She’s not for me.” He held up his hand before Kane could start talking again. “She’s not for you, either, man. Olivia deserves someone better than the likes of us. Someone whose hands are clean.” His were black as tar.
Kane’s mirth disappeared like it had never been there. “I hear you, but the girl couldn’t keep her eyes off you, brother. And you can be sure Will noticed.”
“So? He’ll get over it. There’s nothing happening.”
“Brick, you need to pay closer attention to the folks around you. I thought you were supposed to be this badass ballbreaker. How do you survive if you don’t bother to read the room?”
So much for their silent understanding to pretend their outside lives didn’t exist. He poked at a small hole in his jeans. “I didn’t think I had to worry about that kind of shit out here. This is my escape, man.” He didn’t realize the truth until the words came out of his mouth. He wished he could stuff them back in.
But Kane proved far too perceptive. “Yeah. I get it. I’m just saying be careful with Will. Dude’s on parole after a ten-year run in Reidsville.”
He did a double take. “For what?”
“Don’t know, but I doubt it was for jaywalking. I saw him having it out with your girl after you walked away from the bar. Watch out. Whatever is going on with you and his sister, he doesn’t like it.”
A bead of cold sweat tingled down his spine. He didn’t worry about his own safety, but could Olivia be in danger from her brother? Nah, he couldn’t miss their easy affection when she brought the cookie cake last week. He shook it off. She’d be fine. She didn’t need him sticking his nose into her life and fucking it up.
She did need him to keep his distance. “Message received. Will’s got nothing to worry about because nothing’s going to happen with me and his sister.”
Kane nodded sympathetically. “No matter how much you want it to.”
No matter how much he wanted it to.