Not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable, I looked at Tank and whistled loudly. “Hey, Tank! How’s it going tonight?!”

Tank looked up from his game of cards and met my eye. With a nod, he shouted back, “Fucking A-okay, man. How you doin’, Lawson?”

“Doing damn good, thanks.”

“That your misses right there?” he asked, gesturing to Allie.

“Off-limits to you if that’s what you’re really getting at,” I told him.

He winked. “Off-limits, hey? I love a good challenge.”

From my peripheral, Allie cringed and I laughed. Tank was being a shit head. Unlike many, he was a happy drunk, and despite his fighter status, he was as harmless as a fly to the public.

He raised his beer to me and gave me another nod before returning to his game. I leaned over to Allie and said, “He’s easy. Don’t worry. Good guy on the inside, that one.”

“That’s crazy,” she replied, smiling back at me. “When you guys were fighting, he seemed so aggressive. Call me silly, but I didn’t think that sort of thing could be easily turned off.”

“You’re right. Some of the fighters are naturally aggressive even outside the matches. But it’s their hot-headed tempers that land them straight in jail. You’ll see them around, but personally, I’ve gotten along with most fighters just fine. Like I said, we keep the personal shit out.”

She nodded in understanding. For a while I let her soak up the place. She listened in on the chatter, relaxed and ate her little heart out. This was nice. For once, I didn’t need the buzz that came with drinking. I was getting it from her.

“I like this song,” she suddenly said, pointing to the jukebox.

I stopped moving and listened intently on the song playing.

“Love is the drug” by Bryan Ferry.

It was bittersweet. Mom liked this song too.

“Is that right?” I asked with a smile.

Before she answered, I stood up and grabbed her hand. I pulled her off the chair and took her to the centre of the bar where others were dancing. She was bright red as I brought her hands up into the air and yelled at her to dance like everyone else. She laughed and, to my surprise, started moving her body around to the music.

“You know the words?” I shouted to her.

She nodded. “Of course I do!”

“Prove it!”

She took my breath away when she opened her mouth and started singing to the lyrics, getting louder and more confident as she went on.

“Late that night I park my car
Stake my place in the singles bar
Face to face, toe to toe
Heart to heart as we hit the floor
Lumber up, limbo down
The locked embrace, the stumble round
I say go, she says yes
Dim the lights, you can guess the rest
Oh, oh, catch the buzz
Love is the drug I’m thinking of.”

Her whole body was flushed, her face glowing, acting her age for once and not consumed by the recent pressures in her life…

Allie Wallace.

This unbelievable girl.

What the fuck was Ryker thinking throwing this away?

She was breathless by the time she finished the song, and the loud sound of applause by the guys sitting at the bar behind us suddenly filled the room. She jumped and glanced at them over her shoulder, her eyes widening and her face – if it was possible – getting even redder. She hadn’t expected an audience, and I’d been so absorbed by her, I didn’t notice them too.

“Brilliant singing, Allie,” hooted Matt, coming in from behind her. He had a pool stick in one hand and his arm went around her, pulling her into his chest to give her a “welcoming” hug.

Fuck, this guy wanted to die, right? He was begging for it.

Allie smiled up at him, and my irrational anger simmered as I watched her give him attention. I wanted it all on me, and it was a pretty fucked up, childish thing to admit to myself. I headed straight for her, glaring at Matt, and took her by the arm. I motioned her to me and said, “Let’s get back to the table, Al.”

She moved to leave, but Matt’s grip around her shoulders tightened. “It’s alright, man,” he told me, “I want to have this next dance with her.”

“She needs to rest,” I told him, flaring my nostrils as he scowled at me.

“She seems fine to me,” he retorted. “Isn’t that right, Allie?”

Now her smile faded, and she looked between us uncomfortably. She cleared her throat and made to move out of his grip again, saying, “Actually, you know, that really tired me out. Heath’s right. I’ll just take a seat for a while.”

I pulled at her arm when she said that, and Matt reluctantly let her go. I softly pushed Allie in the direction of our table, and when she was a safe distance away, I turned back to Matt and gave him a rough shove back, growling, “What the fuck is wrong with you, man? Are you really that drunk?”

He was – and that was the only thing saving him from a beat down – but he shook his head and snapped, “Nothing is wrong with me. She’s been through rough shit. I wanted to give her a good time.”

“And what’s a good time with you?” I took a step closer to him, intimidating him with my width and height. Matt had nothing on me in the body department.

He was angry. “Man, what’s your problem? Since when does it bother you when I talk to a girl?”

“You know that’s Ryker’s girl, right?” I scolded him.

He raised a brow, glazed eyes daring to look into mine and said, “The real question is, do you know that’s Ryker’s girl? You think because she got a taste of one brother, she’ll want a taste of another –”

He didn’t finish that sentence. Not with the punch I gave him anyway. He fell straight back and landed on the ground like the drunken ass he was. Blood poured out of his busted upper lip and he gawked up at me with shock and anger. Would he have preferred I hit him in the nose? That would have been a broken bone, and I was feeling hospitable enough not to want that on the guy. He should be thanking me for going easy on his ass after saying what he did in a packed bar.

Everyone around us backed away, staring at us with growing interest until I looked up at them. They turned away immediately and resumed their conversations while I sighed and offered Matt my hand.

“You don’t know when to shut the fuck up,” I bit out.

He stared at my hand and shook his head. “I’m not taking your hand after you fucking punched me.” I didn’t listen to him. I grabbed him by the arm and hauled him to his feet. He wouldn’t have been able to get his stumbling ass up otherwise. He tore from my grip and wiped the blood from his mouth, turning away quickly to escape the bar. I’d embarrassed him in front of the guys, and I felt bad for it, but what the fuck did he think was going to happen to him saying that kind of shit?

I went after him, grabbing him by the arm whenever he tripped over his feet. When we got out of the bar, I pulled out my phone and called a taxi, all the while keeping my hand firmly wrapped around him. He kept trying to wriggle from my grip, as if expecting to suddenly be hit with hulk-like strength.

“Sit down,” I told him, and without waiting for his cursed response, I shoved him to the ground, forcing him down on the sidewalk. “Taxi’s coming.”

“I gotta car,” he slurred angrily.

“You’re drunk. You’re not driving.”

“Glad to know you care about my well-being after you fucking punched me, buddy.”

I didn’t respond. I opened my wallet and took out a few bills. I threw them at him. “Use that for payment. I’m going back in.”

“Back to her, you mean.”

I hesitated. “I brought her here, Matt. She wanted to see where we took Ryker. So she’s my responsibility.”

“Is that what this really is?” he snapped, turning his face up to stare accusingly at me. “Because after what I saw in there, I can’t agree. You looked at her like you wanted her.”

I scoffed. “You’re so drunk, man, you don’t even know what you’re seeing –”

“I’m seein’ just fine, Heath.”

I glared at him, trying not to let the panic his words made me feel show on my face. I liked to think I had a good poker face, but then again I’d never felt this way for a girl before, and I was suddenly fighting against feelings I’d never had.

“You’re getting it wrong,” I stressed. “She’s my friend, Matt.”

He eyed me with those judgmental eyes before shrugging and looking out into the streets. “Whatever, man. Just keep your hands to yourself.”

Said hands were tingling with the urge to give him another rough lesson, but I stopped myself from reacting impulsively. I wasn’t an angry person. Not after witnessing all the shit the men in Mom’s life had put her through before she passed away. I vowed never to act that way. But this felt personal to me. Way too personal for my liking. I wasn’t the kind of guy that liked to explore my emotions. I wanted simplicity in every part of my life.

Nothing about Allie was proving to be simple, though.

I didn’t reply to Matt. I left him sitting there on the curb, moving back to the entrance of the bar when I heard a, “Yo, Lawson,” from behind me. I stopped and looked back to a solid man I’d never met before. He was around my age, looked like most of the ghetto thugs in Hedley, wearing baggy black jeans and an over-sized white tee. Silver chains were draped around his neck, his hair was thickly set in dreadlocks, and the corner of his mouth was grasping a rolled up joint that he was sucking the life out of.

I stood tall, looking warily at him as I said, “Yeah?”

He strode up to me with confidence. He carried himself like he was all power, and I suddenly had a bad feeling about him. I glanced around the crowded streets, wondering if he had guys lurking around that might take me down in numbers.

“Hey, man,” he said, extending his hand out for a slap/shake. “I’m Ricardo.”

I returned it and gave him a cool nod. “What’s up?”

He shook his head. “Nothin’, man. Look, I’m just gonna get straight to the point. Was in the neighbourhood and thought I’d have a word with you. Wasn’t hard finding you. Just askin’ around and everyone be callin’ you a fighter. Is that right?”

I shrugged. “People say a lot of things.”

He chuckled and nodded, probably catching my cautiousness. “Right, well, look, I’m just gonna out with it. Your brother worked for my boss. Did some… deals with him for a long time. I’m not gonna give you the details right now. I’m just going to let you know I’ll be around, and it’s fuckin’ imperative we have a chat about your brother’s failures. Know what I’m saying?”

I looked him over again. My spine stiffened and I might have cursed if I wasn’t grinding my teeth so hard. This situation wasn’t rocket science. The man was a thug. Obviously a part of a gang. A gang that I was certain was behind Ryker’s criminal activities.

That little shit was still causing trouble and he was in prison!

I bristled. “You know I have no part in what he did illegally, right?”

The thug smirked at me, showing off a gold tooth I wanted nothing more than to rip right off. “Yeah, I know, man. But see, where my guys and I come from, our world don’t care about whether or not you kept your distance. Point is you’re blood. Blood means you inherit the shit that resilient bastard left behind.”

“And what’s he left behind?”

He looked at me cryptically. “You’ll know soon enough.”

I glared at him. “How about just cutting to the chase and letting me know now? I don’t see the point waiting.”

“I’m part of a pyramid, man. I get told what to say and what not to say. Right now I just needed to tell you that you’ll be seeing me around.”

“At least give me something.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” He then threw his joint down on the ground and squashed it with the tip of his shoe. “Have a good night, man.”

He turned around and took off down the sidewalk, walking in that exaggerated side-to-side way that I was sure was exhausting as fuck. Only his movements seemed heavy with purpose. He was gone to report this conversation to someone. His boss.

Matt heard the conversation and was dutifully avoiding my gaze. I eyed him carefully. “Got any idea what that was about?”

He hesitated before shrugging. “I don’t know all that much. Just… You know Ryker was dealing drugs, right?”

“I didn’t know until after his arrest.”

“Well, he was tight with that guy. I’ve seen him around. Part of one of those big gangs.”

“Yeah, and?”

“And… what did Ryker get charged with?”

I started to get the gist of what he was saying. “Proceeds of crime. Had a shitload of money on him after he sold drugs.”

Matt nodded. “Yeah, so, this guy is coming around, telling you he’ll be having a word with you over Ryker’s failures. What do you think that means?”

“Means he wants to be compensated with what Ryker got caught with.”

“Yep.”

“How much do you think that is?”

“Fuck, no idea, man. Maybe you should ask him yourself.”

I wasn’t sure I ever felt this angry before. I rubbed my face in exasperation. Despite my anger, I wasn’t surprised. I knew that when you dealt with gangs in this town, you didn’t just walk away unscathed. Even after being arrested, that shit was going to haunt you until they got even. What I didn’t expect was to be the one they wanted to get even with.