Grizz
2002, Fort Lauderdale
He waited with Carter and Bill, hoping Ginny would call or show back up, but she hadn’t. His calls to her went straight to voicemail.
He headed back to his house in Laurel Falls and dug out Moe’s journal. He’d started to get a little antsy when he’d realized he was on edge about Ginny going to see Sarah Jo. If that call from Stan was about what he thought it was, the journal, along with what Carter and Bill had given him, should help shed some light on things.
All he could do now was wait.
He stood at his front window, arms crossed, and stared out. It felt foreign. He was very private and had always kept his front blinds closed. He certainly never concerned himself with what was or wasn’t happening on his street. And there wasn’t much to see now. A few cars drove by, and an elderly couple who’d recently moved in down the street were walking their large poodle. He only knew they’d just moved in because he saw the moving van on his way to work one day. He stiffened as he watched their dog squat in front of his mailbox and take a humungous dump. So that’s who was leaving those piles of shit. He’d recently had to take a fucking scooper with him to check his mail. Well, he wouldn’t be living here for much longer, so he’d let it go and let the next renters deal with it.
He watched as the nice girl next door pulled up in front of her house. Rosa cleaned his house and used to grocery shop for him. He’d decided after the one time he’d shown up at Ginny’s grocery store that he was wrong to call attention to himself when it wasn’t necessary. Besides, Rosa was more than happy to earn a little extra money. He’d leave a list and money for her when she cleaned, and his groceries were delivered by the end of the day. Since he’d been back with Ginny, he’d told Rosa he didn’t need her to do the grocery shopping anymore. Ginny always showed up with a bag of groceries. Cooking was one thing they enjoyed doing together. Well, he knew how to cook, but he didn’t like to. He used it as an excuse to sit at the table and stare at her ass while she cooked. He smiled to himself.
Just then, a car pulled in behind Rosa’s. Grizz watched her body language change as she heard the car and turned to see who’d parked in her driveway. She seemed to stiffen and pasted on what he was certain was a fake smile as a guy got out of the car and sauntered up to her. Grizz knew the type. What was a quiet, studious, hardworking girl like Rosa doing with a total punk asswipe?
His brows furrowed as he studied the scene. The guy pulled her so close their bodies were touching. He watched as he got in her face, whatever he was saying clearly making her uncomfortable. His sneer was meant to intimidate, and he couldn’t hide the fact that he was enjoying scaring the girl.
Grizz used to eat guys like this for lunch. It was almost dinner, and his stomach growled. He was hungry. He was frustrated. Where the fuck was Ginny?
He closed the blinds and headed out the front door.
“Justin, no. Please, Justin! You’re squeezing too hard. You’re hurting my arm!” Rosa’s eyes were wide.
“You can’t tell me no. You know that, little bird, don’t you? Nobody tells me no.”
Grizz could hear the whispered threat as he approached the couple. He hadn’t been noticed.
Without missing a beat, he said loudly, “No.”
They both turned at the sound of Grizz’s voice, and Justin let go of Rosa, his eyes round. She stepped back, and Grizz noticed she was trembling.
“This a friend of yours, Rosa?” Grizz asked when he got to them. He casually leaned against Rosa’s car and crossed his arms over his chest.
Justin gave him the once-over, his glance at first hesitant and then replaced with false bravado. He’d decided the big tattooed guy wasn’t much of a threat. Besides, all he had to do was make a phone call, and his homies would be on this fucker like stink on shit.
He sneered at Grizz. “None of your fucking business, hombre.”
He started to puff out his chest and say something else when Grizz pushed off the side of the car and walked right up to him.
“Which one do you want to eat, hombre?” Without waiting for an answer or taking his eyes off the guy, he said, “Go inside, Rosa. It’ll be fine. This piece of shit won’t be bothering you anymore. Tell your parents not to worry. They don’t need to call the police.”
She did as she was told, and Grizz heard her front door open and close.
“Which one do you want to eat?”
“What’re you talking about, dude? The only thing I’m going to be eating is tiny pieces of your ass when my boys show up later.”
“I recognize the ink,” Grizz growled. “I know your boys. I’ll give you one more chance. Your choice. Which one do you want to eat? Is it going to be eyebrow, ear, or nose? If you don’t pick, I’ll pick for you.”
“You are totally fucked in the head, dude.”
“My choice then,” Grizz said.
Before Justin could react, Grizz grabbed him by the throat and ripped the ring out of his nose. He was so stunned, he couldn’t react. He howled in pain as Grizz spun him around and held him in a chokehold, forced him to open his mouth by squeezing his jaw. “You should’ve said ear. It would’ve been less painful.”
He shoved the nose ring down the guy’s throat. “Swallow it.”
Grizz whispered something in Justin’s ear that made his eyes go wide. He let go of him then and shoved him toward his car, telling him, “And that is why you won’t come back here. Am I right?”
Shaking, Justin nodded and fumbled with the car door. He got in and drove away.
Just then, Grizz noticed Ginny pull into his driveway next door. How much had she seen? Shit.