More Than This

9 - Garrett

Surprise!! I couldn't leave you hanging so early update it is!!

Song of the chapter - Breaking the Law by Judas Priest

"That is a shit-load of money we just got!" Nico said.

"Yeah, the biggest profit so far, that's for sure." I replied.

"Well, it's also the best job we've ever done. All the gears were running smooth on this one, and that design you pulled off..." Nico blew out a breath of air and shook his head, "that was a masterpiece."

He said that every time. Usually I blew him off, but this time I had felt it. The design had just come together, and it was almost effortless. Finishing it had been almost like a high, like a buzz that left you feeling amazing.

"Thanks" I said simply.

"Finally! I thought you'd just tell me to shut the fuck up. Looks like you can take a compliment now." He reached over and smacked my cheek. I flinched away and scoffed.

"Lay off! Jeez!"

We pulled into the lot of a convenience store and parked. It was tradition to puff on a cigar after selling one of our classics, but we weren't too picky about which kind. We didn't really smoke them, we just liked the celebration factor.

"Come on, let's go celebrate our latest baby." Nico said as he got out of the car.

The guy he had contacted about the Camero lived a few towns over from us and we had driven the car to him for the sale. John, the man who ended up buying it, took one look at it and started drooling. That's when I knew it was a done deal. He spent the next hour looking the car over thoroughly, putting on a good show to try covering the fact that he would have offered us his first born child for it. Nico gave me the look he gives when the sale is a sure thing, which also means that I need to pipe down and not ruin it.

That only happened once. And in my defense the guy was a total prick, talking down to us like we had no idea what we were doing. Like just anyone could fix up a car the way we had.

He hadn't deserved the car, anyway.

"So, we going with the usual?" Nico asked, "or should we upgrade?"

"Usual. It's not like we actually smoke 'um so why spend the money."

"Noted" Nico agreed. He walked over to the Swissers and grabbed a pack.

After paying, we headed back to the car, but Nico stopped suddenly just as we exited the store.

"Holy fuck!" He muttered, almost under his breath but still loud enough for me to hear him.

"What?" I wondered aloud.

"Shit, Garrett, go back inside the store." He said as he turned to push me back through the door

"The fuck? What is going on, Nico?" I demanded while pushing back a little. I wasn't going back in without some kind of explanation.

Nico huffed in frustration, "G, just trust me, man. Go.back.inside." He added firmly at the end.

As I started to let what he was saying sink in and just go back to the store, I saw someone out of the corner of my eye approaching. Something in my gut kicked in and every nerve in my body seemed to light on fire. It was a furious shock of electricity causing time to slow down. Instant recognition flooded my mind and intense anger exploded along with it.

Brett.

Fucking Brett.

***

They say anger can cause a person to see red, to flip a mental switch and lose all sense of reason and logic.