Kings of Decay (The Winston Brothers Duet #1)

28. Willow

Chapter twenty-eight

Willow

S omething seemed different at Paydirt tonight.

I glanced around, watching the usually rowdy miners huddled while nursing their beers. Saturdays were normally loud and fun, but not today. Something was definitely off.

"Hey, Todd?" I said as he walked back in from a smoke break.

"What's up, Willow?" He asked.

"Does something seem weird to you?" I asked, tilting my head towards the customers.

Todd glanced at the two guys at the end of the bar, hunched over their drinks. "Willow," he lowered his voice. "Winter is a hard time for folks up here. Things get darker, colder, harder."

There was more to it than that. "It's like someone flipped a switch."

"Snow is coming. Soon, the roads will be unusable," Todd explained as he shined glasses. "Isolation is no joke."

Rose had said the same thing. The feeling was foreboding, like giant jaws coming down, tightening on helpless prey.

A guy waved me over. "Another round here, Missy!"

Todd gave me a tight-lipped smile. "It's our job to keep them hydrated until spring."

Hydrated. Right. More like medicated .

I sighed and filled up a tray with fresh, cold pints.

These miners were friends with that guy the brothers killed. I wondered if they wondered where he was. Did people disappear that often? They seemed totally distracted by something else.

"Here's your beers," I said. "Five Molsons."

"Gotta love Canadian beer," the other said and slipped me the cash.

I hesitated. I wanted to ask them about their friend. I wanted to tell them that I'd seen him die. The Winston Brothers had killed him before my eyes, and it was a terrible slow death.

But I couldn't find the words. If I said anything, Ainsley and Pearce would murder me next.

"Enjoy," I said instead, moving to clean the table beside them.

"So anyway," one of the miners said once he thought I was out of earshot. "Everyone's thinking of putting in a union vote."

I faltered but quickly covered my shock, pretending to scrub an imaginary stain on the table.

"You sure? That's risky as hell," his friend said.

"It's the only way we'll get anything better," the first guy counter.

"Not if that liberal guy gets in as mayor. He and the new governor should be good for us."

Someone else chuckled sarcastically. "Yeah, 'cause the democrats love tearing up the earth and destroying the environment," he mocked. The others laughed.

"Gerald Winston isn't going to let his puppet lose," The first guy said. "A union is our only hope." The first miner's vehemence hung in the air, defiant despite the underlying tremor of fear.

I couldn't stop eavesdropping, holding my breath as they spoke in hushed tones.

"That new team leader, what's-his-name..."

"John Moore?"

My Dad?

"Yeah, he's from Oregon, where people don't get treated like shit," someone said. "Well, not as much." He took a long gulp of beer. "I bet he'd help us."

My insides went cold. If my dad were involved in this, he would be right in the crosshairs of the Winston family. This was getting messy, and I didn't know what to do.

I stiffly walked back to the bar.

"You ok, Willow?" Todd asked. "You look pale."

I jumped, the barstool's worn leather knocking against my thigh. "Jesus, Todd, you scared the shit out of me."

He grinned, wiping down a glass. "Stuck in your own thoughts?" he asked. "Don't let the mood get you down, kid. Winter isn't so bad if you can look on the positive side."

I nodded.

The positive side. Yeah, right, that seemed laughable. But Todd was right. I had to keep my spirits up, especially considering my recent run-ins with the Winston brothers.

Run-ins wasn't even close to the right word to describe it.

But the worst part was that I wanted to see them again. I wanted them to touch me like they did at the Halloween party. My body ached for them just as much as my soul was terrified of them.

I wanted to feel alive again, instead of this hollow shell, I'd become since my mom died. Nothing and no one made my heart beat faster than Pearce and Ainsley.