The First Last Boy by Sonya Weiss Read Free Book Online Page A

were. Then .” He rubbed his forehead with his thumb. “Everybody living happily ever after. But now, I’m missing a little something from the warehouse where your dumbass brothers work and I think you might know where it’s hiding.”
    “That’s not my scene anymore.” Ryan put his hand out behind him when I made a noise. He pushed me slightly to the side so that I was completely covered by his body.
    “Not your scene?” Chanos lips turned upward in amusement. “Mama Leena has you in the church to spoon feed you some religion?” He raised his hands toward the sky and shook them. “Hallelujah.” He lowered his hands and smirked. “Don’t you know, boy, there ain’t no redemption for motherfuckers like you and me?”
    I peeked up at Ryan’s face. He yawned and crossed his arms.
    That action made Chanos laugh. “You always were one cocky sonofabitch.” His laughter faded. “Street value thirty eight thousand. You think you might know somebody besides yourself with balls big enough to walk out with my product?”
    I’d known Ryan long enough to know when something upset him and he didn’t want to let on. There was a slight shift in the way he stood, in the way he curled his lip at one corner. “Can’t think of anyone.”
    Chanos rapped his knuckles on the side of the SUV. The back doors opened and two other guys stepped out. One black, one white, both with shaved heads, baggy pants and lifeless eyes focused on Ryan. Their T-shirts were caked with spots of what looked like dried blood. My stomach churned.
    “I wish I could accept that, but you know how it is.” Chanos shook his head. “You let one fucker slide and the next thing you know, there goes the goddamn neighborhood.”
    “You want me to talk to him?” The white guy took a step forward right into Chanos’ upraised hand.
    “It’s not necessary. My brother, Ryan, is a reasonable man. He knows that when one family member owes a debt, they all owe a debt.”
    Ryan looked at the white guy with a sneer. “Still Chanos’ bitch.”
    When the white guy took another step forward, Chanos warned him, “Ryan’s the king of bare knuckle hurt. I once saw him break a man’s jaw who was twice his size. Put that baby in the dirt begging for mercy. He’ll fuck you up the same if you touch him. Make you wish you were dead. Isn’t that right, Ryan?”
    Ryan didn’t answer and the guy looked at Chanos and then back at Ryan.
    Chanos moved closer and looped his arm around Ryan’s shoulder. “I think you can ask some questions, yeah? Find out who’s playing hide and seek with my kilogram, for old time’s sake, huh?”
    “Yeah. Sure.”
    Chanos smiled and patted Ryan on the back. “See? I knew I could count on you. Once a family, always a family.” His dark gaze switched to me and his voice lowered like the hiss of a snake. “And you know how much it hurts to lose a member of the family.” He made a twirling motion with his hand and the two guys with him went back to the SUV. Chanos opened the driver’s door and looked at Ryan. “I’ll be waiting.”
    As soon as the SUV was gone, I breathed out. “Losing a member of the family? He was threatening me.”
    “Uh huh.” He was edgy, impatient.
    “Because someone took drugs that belonged to him?” I wanted to hear Ryan say it because I could hardly believe one of his brothers was messing with a drug dealer.
    Ryan headed back to the garage and started turning off the lights. When he was through, he came back to where I waited. “Why don’t you go home and I’ll call you later?”
    “I’m not stupid, Ryan. Something is going on with your brothers and that guy’s drugs, right?”
    For a second, I thought Ryan was going to tell me again to leave, but he sighed. “Yeah, something bad.”
    I rubbed my hands on my arms and shivered.
    He shot me a look. “What’s wrong?”
    “Seeing that out there made me realize that even though you and I have been friends for years, there’s a part of your