These are the men who murdered my family, and tonight, I’m going to take one of them to the grave as retribution.
“Stay away from them,” I say. Pulling my arm free from Heather, I grab the tray as they all take a seat.
“Issy,” she calls my name, but I ignore her.
Walking over to them, I place on the best fake smile I can muster as I reach them. They all look at me, but only one keeps his eyes on me—he’s the one that makes you think about making a dental appointment to ask for teeth as perfect as his.
“What can I get you, gentlemen?”
One snorts, one speaks and it’s the one who happens to have a great smile, and the other keeps quiet. “We’re anything but gentle, missy.”
I’ve never seen the three of them to this day. My uncle didn’t want me to know what they looked like. He believed going in blind’s my best option because that way my face can’t deceive me. My uncle has known what I want to do since I was old enough to realize it. He was the one who put the idea in my head, and helped me make it a reality.
“That’s okay, we don’t do gentle in this place anyway. So, what’s your poison? Whiskey? Tequila? A beer perhaps?” I ask.
The one who didn’t snort and said nothing looks up at me, his eyes are dark brown with a hint of black to them. He assesses me then smiles. His teeth are crooked, but even so, he’s still beautiful. All of them are, in their differing ways.
“Whiskey, neat,” he finally says.
I offer my best soft smile as I turn away and step to the bar. I reach for my pocket mirror to check my makeup, and when I do I notice he’s still watching me, his eyes trained on me. Just the way I like it.
“Issy, what do they want?” Benny appears at my side.
“Whiskey.”
Benny reaches for the top shelf and hands me a bottle of Macallan with three lowball tumblers.
“Dazzle them,” he says, pushing me away.
“What’s their names?” I ask as he’s glancing over my shoulder.
“The first one, that’s Ace. The one with the bald head is Gabe, and the one with the dazzling smile is Carter. He isn’t in charge, but he’s pretty close to the boss.”
I nod, smiling at all that glorious free information. This is the closest I’ve been to them since I figured out who they are, which I only discovered two months ago. My uncle didn’t want me to know too much information too quickly, he said it was best that I find out at the right time and in the right place. The only thing I know about is a tattoo on each of their hands. It has meaning.
The police won’t go after them.
They’re too powerful.
They own the whole town.
And soon, I plan to bury them in it.