Chapter 2

BRYCE

“I remember what it was like when I was your age. I was always running around in the streets and getting in trouble.”

“Where were your parents?”

She gave me a look like it was a stupid question. Truth be told, it was a stupid question.

“My parents were the cops,” she continued. “They were the ones who made sure I didn’t get into any real trouble. Then when things died down, it was back on the streets to cause more mischief. It was like that with me and my friends. Eventually, I got older, like most people do. Got all of that trouble out of my system and settled down with a real job. Thank goodness the people at the docks were hiring because I don’t know where I’d be if it weren’t for them.”

“Judith…”

“Yeah?”

“Why are you telling me this?”

She leaned forward across the bar counter and looked me right in the eye. I always respected her not just because she was older than me but because I knew she’d experienced a lot in her life. All of the wisdom she had was clear in her eyes.

“I’m telling you because you should be out there having fun. You’re still young. You should be having a good time. Being stuck inside working all day isn’t a place for someone like you.”

“That doesn’t sound like a very good idea. Getting into trouble and dealing with the cops—”

“I didn’t say you had to go out and mug people or tag graffiti on the buildings. I’m just saying you shouldn’t be all about working. There’s more to life than that.”

“That’s one idea. But work provides us all with the means I need to have all of the fun a young person like me is supposed to be having.”

“Lemme ask you something, Bryce. How old are you?”

“I’m 23.”

“Good lord, you’re younger than I thought.”

“Ha!”

I burst into laughter at her surprise. She was so taken aback that she almost fell out of her chair. Even though I was amused, Judith just shook her head at me.

“I got another question,” she said.

“Are you going somewhere with this?”

“Just lemme ask you.”

“Okay, okay… What is it?”

She moved closer to me. I couldn’t help but smile at how serious she looked.

“What do you want?”

I paused for a second, going over her question in my head to make sure I’d heard her right.

“…What?”

“What do you want, Bryce? You must want something.”

“There are a lot of things I want—”

“What do you want in life though? You’re still young but you must have some vision of the future for yourself?”

“Right…”

I sighed and searched for the right way to respond. I’d known Judith long enough to know that there was no answer that would satisfy her. I just had to make sure she didn’t get upset.

“…I guess I’m like most people around here,” I said. “I just want to be comfortable. I want to make it to tomorrow. And I want the Brickstone Bar to be successful. Then I can go out there and have some fun like people my age should be.”

“You ever think that maybe Brickstone isn’t where you were meant to be?”

“I don’t see why that would be the case. I’ve been doing okay so far.”

“Okay is one thing. Successful…”

Judith looked around the bar. She didn’t have to say much to get her point across. With just a few patrons around us, I already knew what she was getting at.

“…Successful is another thing,” she said.

“I guess that’s why I’m not having any fun for a person my age. I’ll figure this out. Don’t worry about it.”

“If you say so. Say, Bryce… I’ve had a long day on the docks. What do you think about giving me the first beer on the house?”

I raised an eyebrow at her. All of the wrinkles on her face and those bright blue eyes of hers made her look so innocent even though I knew that was far from the case.

“How can you talk to me about this place not being successful then ask me for a free beer?” I said.

“You know I’ll buy another…”

I sighed a deep breath and looked at the bartender.

“Norman,” I said. “Give Judith a beer. On the house. Make sure she buys another one after this.”

“You’re too kind, Bryce,” Judith said.

She ran a hand over her wet, silver hair then started rubbing her hands together. The way she smacked her lips in anticipation of her drink kept the smile on my face.

“Enjoy your drink, Judith.”

I stepped away from the bar and took a moment to observe the scene. I leaned against the wall and sighed. It was later in the day and most people were getting off work. In the West Bay, the majority of them were busy on the docks. Owning a bar meant that was always a group of men and women looking to relax after a hard day’s work. It was part of the reason I knew this place could be successful. The only problem was everybody else felt the same way.

Brickstone didn’t do anything to stand out too much. The atmosphere was ordinary. Another run-of-the-mill bar where people came to when they just wanted to have a drink and get away from the world. If anything, I could’ve used some money to renovate the place. The building had been around for decades without much change. Despite all that, I loved it all the same. Brickstone wasn’t much of a bar but it was my bar. And I wouldn’t have traded it for anything else in the world.

I turned around to head into my office when I heard the front entrance open behind me. I turned around and saw the man I was used to seeing.

“Bryce…”

He greeted me with a tight hug. I held him tight just the same.

Cade looked like he always did. Jacket disheveled. Shirt dirty. Boots like he’d been running around in the dirt. I guess that’s what happened when you spent all day riding.

Of course, I never cared too much about the clothes. Blond hair slicked back over his head. Beard thick, likely because he was too lazy to shave it. And those brown eyes of his. They always said that he looked like he was up to something. Something about his posture and the way he was always shifting his eyes around. I never noticed it too much.

To me, he was just my brother.

“Cade,” I said. “What are you doing here?”

“What do you think I’m doing here? I’m here to see my little brother.”

“No, seriously. What are you doing here?”

“I came here to check on the bar. How are things going around here?”

“See for yourself.”

Cade looked around but there wasn’t much for him to examine outside of the few patrons just trying to enjoy their drinks in peace.

“You know, I think there’d be more customers if you turned the lights on a little bit,” he said.

“Customers don’t want bright lights. Then just want to have their drinks in the dimness they’ve got now.”

“If you say so.”

“It’s not what I say. It’s what they say. You can ask ‘em for yourself if you want.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

Cade gave me a knowing smirk. I laughed back at him and tried my best not to roll my eyes.

“Listen,” he said. “There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

“All right… Let’s talk in the office.”

I never put much weight into it when Cade said he had something to say to me. He always had something to say.

We stepped into the office. I sank into my seat while Cade leaned up against the door, his arms crossed.

“So?” I said with a shrug. “What’s this all about?”

“I’ve got something.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I’ve come up with a way to get you out of here.”

“What makes you think I want to get out of here?”

“I know you, Bryce. You’re trying to do the right thing. But I’ve got something big. Something real big.”

“And what’s this something real big?”

“There’s a guy coming. His name’s Robert Rivera. You ever heard of him?”

I shook my head.

“He’s a major dealer,” Cade explained. “Big-time. He’s moving weight in every big city. And now he’s coming to Snow Falls.”

“What does this have to do with us?”

“I got word that Rivera is setting up a major distribution facility. And he’s doing it right here in the West Bay.”

It shouldn’t have surprised me that a serious drug dealer was thinking about setting up shop in the West Bay. The Northside was where most of the rich folks and middle-class citizens lived. And in the Southern Block, most of the drama came from all of the people struggling to get by. But in the West Bay… the police avoided the West Bay as much as they could because of the gang activity.

“All right,” I said. “This Rivera guy is setting up in the West Bay. That still doesn’t explain what it has to do with us.”

“I think I could get in on the deal.”

“What?”

“Rivera can’t just come to Snow Falls and expect to start moving weight. He’ll need someone. That’s where I come in.”

I could already see where this was going.

“Let me guess,” I said. “You and the Chargers start working for Rivera and distribute his drugs all over the West Bay.”

“Think about it…”

Cade moved away from the wall.

“…The Chargers got as much clout in the West Bay as anybody else. I get in good with Rivera, I’ll be first in line to start working for him. I work for him first, I get first dibs on all of the money that starts coming in.”

Even though Cade was enthusiastic, I couldn’t deny the anxiety I had. My stomach twisted into knots to the point that I had to shift in my seat.

“I don’t know if I like the sound of this,” I said. “Dealing drugs… That’s probably a bad idea.”

“It’s not like I’ll be working for Rivera forever. Just a few deals. Once I make enough cash, I’ll get out.”

“Still… It seems like too big of a risk. I don’t want you to get into any trouble, Cade.”

He smiled at me and shook his head.

“I’m not gonna get into any trouble,” he said. “When’s the last time I got into any trouble?”

“You got arrested for that brawl a few weeks ago.”

“What? That was nothing.”

“The Chargers are always causing trouble. It’s not like your record is spotless…”

“Bryce, listen to me…”

He moved forward and put his hands on my shoulders. Despite what kind of a man everybody else saw, I always saw just my brother when I looked into Cade’s eyes. And my brother was a man who had his heart in the right place.

“…Look at this place,” he said. “It’s a dump. We’re barely making ends meet. You really wanna run this bar for the rest of your life?”

“Why not? I think if I save up enough money, I can make a few changes and improvements. Business will get better.”

“If I do this work for Rivera, Business will get better a lot faster.”

Cade had already made his mind up. There was no way I could talk him out of it.

I sighed a deep breath and looked away from him.

“It’s just you and me, Bryce. That’s how it’s always been. We have to look out for each other. I promise you, once I’m in, I’ll get out as quick as I can. You just have to trust me on this.”

What bothered me more than Cade being so willing to go through with this was there was a part of me that wanted him to do it. The appeal of the kind of money he could make was tempting and I was ashamed that I felt the way I did.

“You hear me, brother?”

He shook me in his grip slightly, forcing me to turn back to him.

“Everything will be all right,” he said. “Hell, we can sell this place and you can stop having to run it if you want. That’s the kind of cash I can make with this deal.”

“…I worry about you, Cade.”

“I know you do. I just need to trust me on this.”

He gave me a half-smirk. Seeing his confidence was enough to make me smile right back.

“All right,” I sighed again. “I trust you.”

“Nothing will go wrong. There’s nothing to worry about. You’ll see.”