Backward by Andrew Grey Read Free Book Online Page B

him in custody, I’d say you ought to be shaking in your boots. A weasel like that isn’t going to stay quiet for long.”
    Eddie smiled. “Don’t be so sure.” He turned to Jimmy and Lewis, and the three men shared a laugh. “I get what I want.”
    Bull leaned closer. “So do we.” Jimmy stood, and Bull clamped a huge hand down on his shoulder and slammed him back down into the chair hard enough that Tristan expected it to break. “And we aren’t lowlife drug peddlers. But we do know how to make sure no one ever finds the bodies. Get me?” Bull glared, and for the first time Tristan saw a chink in Eddie’s armor. “Now, you boys enjoy your lunch, and you treat your server with respect at all times. He’s a very good friend of ours.”
    Eddie straightened his lapel and brushed off imaginary lint. “Like I said, I get what I want, one way or another.” He turned back to the table, and Bull stepped away.
    Tristan wasn’t sure what to do, so he grabbed a pitcher of water and refilled glasses. When he got to Eddie’s, he felt him wrap his hand around his wrist and squeeze. Tristan tried to pull away, and when Eddie wouldn’t let go, Tristan dumped the pitcher of ice water in Eddie’s lap. “I think you need to cool off.”
    All hell broke loose after that. Eddie let go of him and jumped to his feet. Lewis and Jimmy did the same, bumping the table so hard it overturned. Food and water went everywhere. Tristan raced away and thought about hiding in the kitchen, but he wasn’t a coward, at least not like that. He set the water pitcher in the service area, grabbed some napkins, and returned to the mess.
    Mrs. Martinelli stood over the fallen table. She glared at Tristan, then said, “I’m so sorry, gentlemen.”
    “Don’t be,” Bull told her. “He grabbed your server and was hurting him. He deserved whatever he got.” Bull slowly stood. “Maybe we should call the police and let them straighten all this out?”
    “No. It’s fine,” Eddie said magnanimously. “It was an accident.” Tristan stood back, watching water drip out of Eddie’s pant leg and onto his shoes. He did his best not to smile, but the more he told himself not to, the more it tried to bubble up.
    “This still isn’t right,” Mrs. Martinelli said, clearly upset.
    “It’s fine,” Eddie said, and then he reached into his pocket and pushed some cash into her hand. Then the three of them left, and Tristan began cleaning up the mess.
    “I want to talk to you,” Mrs. Martinelli told him.
    “Ma’am,” Harry said from the table. “We really did see the whole thing, and it wasn’t the server’s fault.”
    “We can’t treat customers like that,” Mrs. Martinelli said, and Tristan lowered his gaze, picking up dishes and overturned glasses.
    “Ma’am, if you want the honest truth, those aren’t the kind of customers you want,” Harry said. “We’re businessmen downtown. We own a nightclub, and we regularly run that type of patron out. They have their own product to sell, if you understand us.” Harry held her gaze until she gasped slightly. “Exactly.” Harry sat back down, and Bull did the same.
    Mona came in, and together they righted the table. Tristan swept up the broken glass and food. Mona brought a bus tray, and within a few minutes they had the mess cleaned up, and Mona was resetting the table for him. Mrs. Martinelli wasn’t done with him, but she’d bustled away after what Bull and Harry had said.
    “Did he hurt you?” Mona asked and pointed to Tristan’s wrist, which had purple marks on it. At least that might help him keep his job.
    “Not really.”
    “Well, if he did that, then he should get ice water in the lap.”
    Tristan leaned closer. “He’s my asshole ex.”
    Mona gaped at him. “Why didn’t you say so? I would have dumped the water on him.” She smiled, and Tristan began to giggle. He saw Bull and Harry looking at him and stopped. “Really, I would have switched tables with you,” Mona