Swink (Landry Family 5)

“You need to calm down, Dom.”

“You have about ten seconds to explain or I’m going to assume there’s not a good reason keeping me from knocking you the fuck out.”

“I’ll get the loan. I’ve been approved. I’ll just transfer it back to her. This isn’t a big deal.”

“You paying her interest?” I spit.

“I don’t know.”

“Of course you don’t fucking know,” I roar, turning away before I topple over the edge. “You don’t fucking know because you didn’t think it through!”

Before I think better of it, I grab the edge of the table and slam it into the wall. A picture of a set of praying hands that hangs on the adjacent wall slams to the floor. I stand, staring at the mess, my breathing completely erratic. It occurs to me I might pass out.

“Dom, man, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. She was just helping me out.”

I don’t answer. I don’t even look at him. I can’t. If I turn around, I’m going to do and say things I’ll regret. I’m self-aware enough to know that.

“I’m sorry.”

“That doesn’t cut it, Nate,” I grimace. “Not this time.”

He blows out a breath. His steps patter the floor behind me as he moves across the kitchen. “What do you want me to do? Want me to give it back to her?”

“I don’t know what to do now. You’ve already taken it.”

“What’s it hurt? For real?”

Spinning on my heels, I face him. “What does it hurt? What you did was complete disrespect.”

“To who?”

“To me,” I seethe. “To my girl.”

“How am I disrespecting Cam? She offered it,” he reiterates, bewildered. “Maybe you I can see. But her? Fuck that. She offered it. She can afford it.”

Waiting until I can semi-compose myself, I watch him. He opens his mouth and closes it a few times as I glare at him. The longer I wait to respond, the longer his words have to soak into my brain . . . and piss me off worse.

“Is that what you think of her?” I ask, my heartbeat racing once more. “You think she’s some kind of credit card?”

“Of course not.”

“How’s she gonna feel about this in a couple of days? You think she won’t feel like you just cashed her out? Like you used her for a buck? No, ten goddamn thousand of them?”

“It’s not like that.”

“But what if it is?” I say, balling my fist at my sides. “And what about her family? Her brothers? You don’t think they’ll know there’s money missing from her account?”

“Why would they? She’s an adult.”

“Because that’s how shit works with them,” I say through clenched teeth. “What’s that make her look like?”

All he can do is shrug.

“I’ll tell you what it makes her look like. It makes her look like she needs monitored like a baby and she doesn’t,” I boil. “Who goes around loaning ten grand to someone they just met?”

“It’s not like that.”

“It doesn’t matter. You just gave them every reason in the world to think the worst about her, you fucking idiot.”