Spending time in the Ramirez brothers’ office was not one of King’s favorite things to do. He had great respect for the brothers and no shortage of gratitude for the opportunities they had afforded him over the years. After all, they were the only reason he was living his dream, caring for some of the world’s most exotic creatures; however, the brothers could be…unpredictable.

As he steeled his features into an impeccably neutral expression, he had to admit that the atmosphere in the room was even more menacing than usual.

“So. The nurse.” Antonio Wayne Ramirez’s mouth was a tight, angry line. The tick in his jaw did nothing to ease King’s anxiety.

“I’ve got it under control.”

“Good. I’d hate to have to kill her.” Leave it to Antonio Wayne to not pull any punches. If he was deliberately trying to get a rise out of King he was succeeding, although King was careful to keep any physical signs of distress to a minimum.

Instead, he gave a slight smile as his usual boyish good looks hardened with resolve. “Just to be clear, Harley’s my bitch. And, like I said, I’ve got things under control.”

Ricardo Ramirez laughed under his breath. He recognized all the signs. King had it bad for the nurse, which could be a good thing or a bad thing. Time would tell. For now, he would give King a bit of latitude to work things out, so he’d need to rein his brother in. “Relax, Antonio Wayne. We all got our women in unconventional ways. Why should King be any different?”

“You don’t see this as a breach?” Antonio Wayne asked incredulously. But he left it at that; even he had enough sense to know that disrespecting his older brother wasn’t a smart thing to do. He would speak freely after King left.

Ricardo laughed easily at his brother’s horrified expression. “We’re not spies, we’re cartel.” Then his face shifted and lost its previous warmth as he turned his eyes to King. “Besides, King knows we’ll kill him if he fucks up.”

Tony’s knock on the door came right on time. The door opened and he leaned in, looking to his father for permission to speak. Ricardo nodded curtly.

“Sorry to interrupt. You done with him, Dad? I need to talk to him.”

Ricardo tilted his chin at King, who somehow resisted the urge to bolt from the room. Instead, he rose from his chair and reached across the desk to shake Ricardo’s hand and say his goodbyes.

Antonio Wayne waited until King was at the door and then spoke. “Yeah, King will do fine because he knows the cartel’s truth serum is a chain saw.”

The statement was a taunting reminder that the cartel owned him -- as if King needed to be reminded. He didn’t bother to turn around and look at either one of them because he already knew Antonio Wayne was dead serious. What the fuck is it with these guys and their bloody fetishes? Nothing sent a message quite like mailing a finger to a family member, especially the time Antonio Wayne had done it to a man’s wife with the wedding ring still on it. Antonio Wayne had beaten the shit out of a guy who had been part of their old club back in New York. The guy had been getting too handsy with one of the dancers. When the man became all too willing to testify against him, Antonio Wayne did what had to be done. Problem solved.

King waited to speak to Tony until he knew the Ramirez brothers were out of earshot. “Man, thank you for getting me the fuck out of there. Being in the same room with those two is the only time I feel like the walls are closing in and the floor’s going to open up and swallow me.”

“Imagine what it’s like to be the enemy under their watchful eye during a discussion. Yeah. I know how intense my dad and uncle can be when it comes to cartel business. Are they giving you grief about that nurse?”

King just side-eyed him as if to say, ‘You already know the answer to that question’. They’d been friends long enough to read each other well.

Tony plopped down behind his desk. “So, you really like this chick or what?”

King nodded. There was no point in hiding it. “Yeah, I do, man. I don’t want your dad or uncle putting out a contract on her. To be honest, I think I started liking her the first time I laid eyes on her across that nurse’s reception desk.”

Tony’s expression was resigned. “It’s not like you to move on a woman so fast or to want them to stick around once the fucking’s done. Let’s face it, you usually just fuck ‘em and send them on their way.”

“I know. I’m as baffled as you are. But you’re making it sound like I’m an arrogant bastard who goes around using women, and though that might be true on some level it isn’t the complete picture. I’ve always been straight up about any ‘friends with benefits’ arrangements I may have had in the past.” He didn’t know why he suddenly felt the need to defend himself. “Up until now I haven’t wanted the hassle of a relationship. You and I both know there are too many secrets that have to be kept in our line of work. I don’t have to worry about that with Harley. She’s knows I’m a killer.”

 “Well, if you like her you’d better make sure she keeps her damn mouth shut. Keep her at your place so you can watch her. Most importantly, tell her the truth: that she’ll be six feet under if she suddenly develops a conscience. You sure you can handle her?” This time it was Tony side-eyeing King. “I’ll take your lack of an answer as a yes.”

“As well you should.”

“You know how dad and my uncle are; they’ve mastered the art of busting balls. You need to have a serious talk with the woman and let her know she’s dealing with the big boys now.”

“Big boys?”

“Yeah…like Colombian cartel big boys. Look, the girl was raised by bikers. No doubt she’s already seen some serious shit. Get this -- I had her and her parents checked out. Her dad cut her mother’s ring finger off.”

“Damn…”

“No, I’m not even done yet. Her mother’s family is rich. Jewel used to date the Governor. When he hooked up with a hooker -- pun intended -- Jewel kept telling people they were engaged. So he ordered…well, not a hit, exactly, but he hired Roderick to cut off her wedding ring finger. Said if she didn’t have a wedding ring finger, she’d think twice about telling people she was engaged to the Governor.”

“And she married Roderick after he did that shit to her?”

“Yep. What I’m saying is your girl Harley is not some shrinking violet who is going to have a guilt trip and run telling the police anything. That girl grew up knowing how to keep her mouth shut. I can assure you she’s seen as much shit as I grew up seeing.”

“Believe it or not that crazy story you just told me makes me feel better about us. I gotta ask, what did he use to cut off her finger?”

“Pruning shears, no less, and I gotta agree with you, bro; even on our spectrum of crazy that’s some wacked out shit.”

“Do we even know any normal people?” King laughed as he shook his head and contemplated the irony of it all.

“Welcome to the ‘new normal’,” was Tony’s only response, complete with air quotes.

“It’s time for me to go. The sun’s going down and we both know that’s when the wolves come out to play.”

“I’m not too worried about the wolves, my friend. But King…if you need me for anything, and I do mean anything, I’m just a text or a phone call away.”