Lock You Down (Rivers Brothers 2)

Before King got the place up and running, I bounced around.

Let's just say that when you spent most of your adult life doing illegal shit with all your siblings, you didn't exactly have a solid work history. So I did some work for King's in-laws--The Mallick family who worked as loansharks, but had other legitimate businesses--or found my own odd jobs. I kept a roof over my head, but I had never exactly been rolling in it.

King's private security firm brought stability I hadn't realized was craving. And for a long time, that was enough. It got me out of my shitty apartment and into a house. Sure, it was a shoebox, but it was mine. It paid off my car. It allowed me to grow some credit, and sock some money into savings, some into investments.

Grown-up, boring-ass shit.

But grown-up, boring-ass shit was important too.

That was what kept me firmly planted where I was even though I wasn't passionate about it, it wasn't what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

Until I figured out what I did want to do with it, though, this was my work. And work sucked sometimes. Or a lot of the time. But anytime you got to get paid while not having to sit in the office all day was a minor win. I would take it.

"Fine," I said, taking back the file.

"He's that bad?" King asked, leaning back in his chair, giving me that look he'd given all of us growing up. The dad-look. Since we didn't have one. And then we didn't have a mom either, so he became our only parental figure, even if he was only a few years older than most of us. When he gave each of us that look, it meant something different. With Atlas or Rush, it was about them being immature, about not thinking shit through. When it was with our sister Scotti, it was typically about her guards and why she had them up. With me, it was about him doubting that the people I came into contact with were as bad as I said, and that I was probably judging them too harshly.

"He called his secretary a 'useless bitch' to my face."

"You're shitting me," King said, brows scrunching up.

What could I say, times had changed. No one called women bitches anymore. Especially not anyone in our circle. We had a little sister. She meant the world to us. We couldn't fathom someone saying it about her, so we didn't say it about other women.

"Nope. And it slid right off his tongue. Like he called her that frequently enough that it wasn't awkward to do it."

"Another dick of a client. I wish I could say I was surprised at this point..."

"But a certain level of assholeness can come with the tax bracket, I guess," I agreed, shrugging. "It's probably just paranoia. I can tail him for a week, talk him into a security system, take his five-figure check, and call it a week."

"Hey," King called as I started out of his office.

"Yeah?"

"You good?" he asked, always having a sixth sense when something was off with one of us. Probably more of that parental figure nonsense. "You've been pulling a lot of hours lately. If you want some time off, I can ask one of the Mallicks to pitch in, or can just cancel the client. Not a big deal."

I could use some time off, but there was no reason to let that kind of money go to waste just because I was not feeling in the zone.

Beside that, I knew my brother. I knew that he wouldn't call one of the Mallicks. He would find a way to work the case himself. Which wasn't fair. He had just barely started a relationship with Savea, who he had been head-over for about as long as she had been head-over for him. And after waiting fucking years to get into a relationship, I figured they deserved as much free time together as possible.

I had to step up.

And since I had nothing else to do with my time, I figured I had to nut up about it.

"I'm good," I told him, nodding. "Just in a shit mood after that interview. I'll hit the gym and feel better tomorrow."

"Alright. If you're sure. I will call the client back and let him know things are all set up, that you will be tailing him, so he knows that if he sees your car following, not to panic."

"Sounds good. Say hi to Savvs for me," I tossed back at him as I made my way through the office, going for the front door.

I made my way to my car--a black Ford Explorer, one of the most common vehicles on the road, so people wouldn't pick it out if they saw it hanging around too often, which made it possible for me to be invisible--thinking about King and Savvs, thinking about how he'd practically been floating around since they shacked up.