Damaged Goods

“Yes,” he said sharply, his clipped tone something I knew not to take offense to. The men who came in for weapons were not the type to show weakness to. Even bristling at tone would tell him one thing: I could be bothered. In my side business, you had to appear unflappable, the perfect picture of calm knowledge and professionalism.

“Dani, watch the front,” I ordered. She gave me an odd look, which meant I’d get the interrogation late. I nodded before turning and leading my customer to the back. “My office is this way.”

Being in the small hallway with him so soon after my trip down memory lane, my senses were on high alert. I kept my body angled so I wouldn’t be caught unaware, one hand on my Sig, just in case. When we reached my office, I opened it and gestured for him to step in first, closing the steel door and dropping the small covering that blacked out the window.

“Now, what can I do for you?” My voice was strong and clear, my indifferent smile in place like I wasn’t studying the man intently.

“I need a rifle this time, off the grid, untraceable, like usual. Do you do disposal yet?” His beady eyes narrowed on me, and I could’ve sworn I literally felt my skin crawling. Something was creepy about him, but I wasn’t turning down a deal while still trying to build up my business, and we’d worked fine together before. There was also the fact that the kind of people who wanted to buy weapons weren’t exactly the most upstanding citizens. It’d be more unusual if he seemed like a normal guy, to be honest.

“I do not. I just supply them,” I said firmly, not willing to take on that kind of burden. He gave me a disgusted look, like I’d somehow shit on his favorite shoes, before clearing his face. My eyes narrowed on him, noting a tic in his jaw and the flexing of his fingers that showed a barely restrained rage. Not exactly the kind of guy you want armed, but exactly the kind of customer that keeps me in business.

“Unfortunate. Here are the specifications I need. I’ll send my man to pick it up when it’s ready,” he said, listing off everything, right down to a specific amount of ammo. “I came to personally make sure you understood the importance of keeping my timeframe.”

“That’s fine. As long as he can prove he’s your man, this can be picked up by another party” I said, scanning over the paper. It was a tall order, the gun fairly rare. “And this will run you a pretty penny.”

“I’m prepared for the cost. I’ll call you in one week to check progress. I have no more than two weeks to wait for pick up,” he said, turning on his heel and stalking out of my room without another thought. I could have told him I had his gun in stock, but because he was being a twat, he could just fucking wait.

“What was that about?” Dani asked, poking her head in once the coast was clear. I sighed and flipped the top of my mural down, showing the gun display I had back there. It wasn’t the only stash in the room, but it was the biggest. She gasped and then burst into laughter. “Man, you can’t take the mafia out of the girl, huh?” My answering smirk only confirmed her statement. Unfortunately, there was one other side effect of her comment, and my mind was now poking at me, reminding me that I shouldn’t have condemned the guys for what I’d seen. I'd done worse in my lifetime. I guess part of me is afraid they’ll want me to get involved, and that feels too much like letting Eros win. If I start working with them, then I’m nothing more than the tool my grandfather always wanted me to be.

“It’s different. I’m my own boss, answering to no one,” I said, walking back to the front. In this neighborhood, it wasn’t a smart idea to leave the store unattended.

Having her here could be good for both of us, honestly. She’d be happy here; she had always been more of a game nerd than me. I occasionally played with her… now that I thought about, she was probably the reason I chose the store, subconsciously missing her. And I’d have a friend, someone outside of the guys who knew me. That was something I?

?d never take for granted.

We worked side by side for a few hours while I showed her how to inventory, order new stock, and do the tedious things that kept the shop running smoothly. But after the fifth time I spaced out, getting lost in my thoughts about the guys, she'd clearly had enough.

“Who the fuck is this?” she asked, waving at me like I was a pod person. “The Otsana I know wouldn’t be moping around her fucking store like this.”

“I’m just stuck in my head a bit,” I insisted in defeat, flopping back onto the floor where I had been sitting, unboxing a new shipment. “Should I have left like that?”

“Would you be questioning it like this if you’d stayed?” she asked. “Listen, you don’t want to fall into a Family, right? That was the vibe I got last night. So here, let’s find you a wholesome, not involved in the family business kind of man. Come here.” She held out a hand to help me up, fussing with my hair for a second before pulling out a tube of red lipstick and applying it. For a final touch, she ripped the neckline of my shirt so my cleavage was visible.

“Jesus, Dani,” I growled, my shirt now ruined, but she smacked my hands away when I tried to fuck with it.

“Stop, just trust me. Pose, bitch,” she urged, holding up her phone and snapping what felt like seven thousand pictures, shifting a piece of hair or making me pose weirdly until she was finally satisfied. Damn, when did she get so bossy?

“Okay, weirdo, that’s done with,” I told her, pushing her phone out of my face. “Listen, you want to stay late with me tomorrow? There’s a monthly game tournament we do,” I explained, going back to the display and covering myself the best I could. I wasn’t typically shy, but this wasn’t the club with the guys, either. I’d have customers coming in, and they weren’t coming here to scope out my chest. Of course, when I glanced up, she was tapping away at her phone, barely even listening.

“Okay, profile done! Let’s find you a wholesome date tonight,” she said, ignoring my question.

“Why are you even being helpful?” I asked suspiciously. Last night, she was on team Adrostos, and I knew her well enough to remember she was a great actress when she wanted to be.

“Ew, hard pass,” she mumbled, swiping her screen. “Oh, he definitely lives in his mom’s basement and eats pizza rolls three times a day.”

“Oh my god, Dani,” I laughed, throwing a game at her. She’d had the same training I had, or close to it, so of course she expertly dodged.

“How do you feel about country boys? You’d make a great southern belle,” she suggested “innocently.”

“No,” I said, but she ignored me and parked her ass right on the counter, flipping through profiles for the next hour or so while I did the inventory and helped the few customers who came in. We weren’t super busy right after releases, so at least I wasn’t swamped while she was absolutely zero help. I wanted to protest, but the idea of getting out of the house with someone who didn’t know me sounded kind of nice. Plus, at this point I didn’t care what they looked like. There was something to be said for first meetups; you could show them whatever parts of yourself you wanted, be anyone you wanted. It was freeing.

“Okay, found you a date. Lance is thirty, clean cut, and, oooh, he’s a general manager of a bistro downtown,” she listed off. I moved forward, trying to snatch it away, but she refused, sliding it into her bra. “The date is tonight.”

“Don’t think I won’t go in there to get it,” I challenged, but she kept out of reach.

“Stop! Go home and change. It’s closing time, Cinderella.” I glanced at the clock, shocked to see she was right. She didn’t say anything else as we closed up and started the walk home, my chest tight with anxiety. I was so fucking conflicted that I couldn’t handle it, flopping between excitement to hating the idea of being with anyone but the triplets.

“Alright, what am I wearing?” I asked as we kicked off our shoes and locked the door behind us… still no word from the guys. Roughly nineteen hours and counting.