Don't Close Your Eyes Read Free Page B

my bone marrow recovery, and I shouldn't be doing any of the hard shit for at least two more weeks.  My damn coffee would probably be cold by the time he had the balls to answer me, still I waited... my eyes narrowing, my finger moving about my lip as I kept my whole body in check even as I was ready to explode. 
    "Alright!  Yes, Klive!  Shit..." he pushed foolishly.  I lifted my finger from my lip and snapped them with a smug smile.
    "Perfect, I will be sending my guys to pick you up and bring you over so I can remove one for the tone you so foolishly took with me."  I hung up on him and pushed both hands through my hair in complete frustration before sending a text to my muscle.  I bet Ray was looking for a quick escape about now if he knew what the hell was good for him.  Stupid!  We were so close!  I only needed him through April, if I could just hold off on killing him until then it would be a bloody miracle.  That asshole had gone from being my valuable second hand man to a complete pain in my ass as he let the "power" go to his head in his standing with me.  Cocky and arrogant in his threats.  Normally I was fine with that when it came to the shit that got in our way or just getting the job done in general.  This?  No, this was not alright.  He was developing into a bloody monster if he thought it was in any way alright to fuck with a woman that way.  It made me uncomfortable, especially where he was concerned considering the ways I'd seen him treat a whore.  Always pushing that envelope just a little further than I was comfortable with.  I didn't want to know what that sick asshole might be capable of...
    I went ahead and called Joey to be ready to move into Ray's position for the moment I was done with his skanky shit.  After all, maybe I’d end up killing him instead if I felt the situation merited such action?  That poor girl.  At the bar, no less.  Ray could only have a death wish.  What else could it be? 
    Naturally, Joey got onto me for taking this on when I was still recovering.  He volunteered to do the dirty work while I called the shots.  I agreed it was smarter.  Joey wasn’t Nightshade, but I still looked at him as a lieutenant of sorts.  He was my bodyguard, a trained hitman by none other than yours truly, and above all, one of the few men I allowed myself to be close enough to that I called a friend.  I didn’t make many of those in the line of business I was in outside of the office.  I was far better at making frienemies in the underground.  They all served their purpose, and in return, I allowed them to keep their lives and say they were on good terms with me so as to improve their clout and standing when it came to underground hierarchy.  My surname might just give you a hint at where I was in my own ranking.  You didn’t make me your enemy, and those who did didn’t last long enough to hold a grudge.
    Maybe I would still be able to salvage this day if we could straighten Ray out quickly enough.  Should I cut one of his balls off this time, or should I just give him one hell of a beating that he may not forget?  I flipped open the velvet ring box to examine the ring I had bought for Anabelle, and a glimpse of my heart came through.  I sighed heavily again, resigning to leave his balls intact this time.  The extra bloodshed would only take my time away from her, and it was bad enough that this was already going to bleed into that time as it was.  Sunday is my damn day off for goodness sakes!  Is nothing sacred?! 
    My phone rang just as I was getting up to make a fresh cup of coffee, and I relaxed when I saw that it was Chris, who also happened to be Joey’s real boss, by the way.  "Hey!  What's up, Chris?" I smiled automatically. 
    "How much do you love me?" he asked, and I could hear the grin in his triumphant tone.  Hmmm.... what the hell could he be so chipper about, especially this early on a weekend...
    "Is that rhetorical?" I chuckled.  He did,