Page 42 of Burned & Bound
“Burt,” I warned.
“You got that look about you,” Burt continued stupidly, not realizing how close he was to being decked. “Don’t he have that look about him, Henry?”
“Quiet now,” I snapped, interrupting him. I took three long steps to close the distance between us. I wanted to make sure he heard me when I threatened him. My height had me towering over him. “Listen real close, Burt, because you got two choices here. On one hand, you nod your head, you say goodbye, and you get the hell on with your day. On the other hand, you tell Henry here to call the Sheriff because West won’t be the one to hit you. I will. And I promise I’ll make it fucking hurt. So, what’ll it be, Burt? Are you and me going to have a problem today?”
“No, Sir,” he let out.Good. Maybe he wasn’t all that stupid after all.
“Good,” I said. “Now, say goodbye and run along, Burt.”
“Have a good day, Henry.” He nodded once to Henry before hurrying out of the store.
“Now, why do you have to go scare away my customers, Jackson?” Henry asked after the bell dinged.
“First off, Henry, we both know I’m your best damn customer.” I leaned against the counter. “Second off, when was the last time Burt bought a damn thing in here?”
That part had Henry laughing, which was a good thing. It broke enough of the tension to let me relax.
“Tell me one of the boys is here,” I continued. “There ain’t no way I’m letting you carry out my order.”
“Nah.” He groaned loudly as he got off the stool. “I haven’t lifted a damn thing in years—I could, but it’s more fun to watch them run around like idiots to make sure I don’t. I’ll get Casey upfront to get you all squared away.”
“Thanks, Henry.”
“You boys behave, you hear me?” he called over his shoulder to me and West as he meandered down an aisle. “I remember the kind of trouble you two used to get into.”
“You got your wires crossed, Henry,” I replied loudly. “We were goddamn angels.”
“So was Lucifer.” His loud laughter carried through the store as he disappeared. I chuckled.He wasn’t wrong.West and I had been a pair of hellions when we were kids.
“I don’t need you to protect me,” West snarled. His fingers drummed anxiously on the countertop.
“Yeah, I gathered that,” I retorted. “But if someone’s going to hit Burt, it’ll be me. I ain’t a felon. You are.”
“Fuck off,” he muttered, but I ignored him.
“And let’s face it, Burt deserves a good hit every once in a while,” I said under my breath.Wasn’t that the fucking truth.Glancing at West, I caught the way the corner of his mouth quirked with the tiniest of smiles. It vanished almost as quickly, but I’d still caught it.
And I’d take it.It was better than him scowling at me.
Henry took forever getting Casey to come help me, and Casey took even longer getting my order together. Even with all the shit I bought, it shouldn’t have taken so goddamn long. I’d blame it on an off week for them because usually, they were damn good about it. Still didn’t improve my mood as I slammed the tailgate to my truck though.
Stepping onto the sidewalk nearby, West paused, his gaze lingering onLenny’sacross the street. His jaw clenched as he drew in a deep breath. I wanted to poke and see just how bad the withdrawal was—how hard was it for him to stand there and not go in?
“Have you gone to a meeting?” I asked.
“No,” he muttered.
“Merrillville has one tonight,” I told him.Yeah, I had a whole list of AA meetings on my phone in case he needed it.
“Fuck off, Jackson,” West snapped. “I don’t need you to fix me.”
“Not trying to fix you. Just trying to help.”
“Yeah, well, you can fuck off with that too.”
CHAPTER 29
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