My Brother's Gang

7 - Green is better than red.

I trudged down the stairs, not at all ready to meet the other five gang members, let alone eat with all ten of them.

"So what's the second in commands name?" I asked Jason.

"You met him?" Jason seemed genuinely surprised, and Ryder's face mirrored his brother's.

"Yeah. He came with us in the car." I said as I continued to follow Ryder to the dining room.

"So then why don't you know his name?" Jason asked.

Unlike his brother, he was walking next to me, his steps in rhythm with mine.

"He wouldn't tell me." I admitted sheepishly. "I've been calling him second in command."

"His name is Nicholas." Jason said with a chuckle.

I didn't get a chance to respond because we had entered the dining room, where silence fell over the eight men sitting around the wooden table.

"Hazel. We were waiting for you." Ryan said, his arms open as if we were old friends.

"I'm sure." I crossed my arms.

"Take a seat." Ryan continued, ignoring my comment.

I pulled out the chair nearest to me and seated myself, ignoring the chair Ryan pulled out next to him for me.

"Do you really think I am going to walk all the way around the table just to sit in an identical chair?" I raised an eyebrow at Ryan.

"It seems I overestimated you. You're a lot lazier than your brothers." Ryan pushed the chair back in and seated himself again.

"I also just woke up asshole." I shot back.

Whatever small chatter and side conversations were previously happening stopped and the room fell into silence.

"I wouldn't say that." Jason muttered near me.

"Has nobody ever called you an asshole?" I asked in disbelief.

"Not without the proper consequences." Ryan picked up the knife that sat next to the bowl of strawberries and the cutting board.

"It's a nice knife isn't it?" He asked, his gaze never leaving the knife.

"It's a two and a half inch knife that isn't very sharp. Do none of you bother to sharpen the knives?" I pointed out.

"It can still do some damage though." Ryan said as he weaved the knife through his fingers.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere the knife came flying at me.

"Was that your worst?" I asked as I caught the knife with one hand, studying my nails with the other.

It may have seemed like I had everything under control, but my heart was racing, and my hands were starting to sweat.

A murmur of amazement ran through the gang members, but Ryan still didn't look impressed.

Just then I noticed that there were nine gang members at the table, not ten.

Nicholas was missing.

I clearly remember him being here when I came, he was the only one who wasn't eating when I came in.

I looked Ryan in the eyes, and for a brief moment, they flicked upwards.

"But that was a distraction was it not? Jolly old Saint Nick is behind me, isn't he? You were testing me. Seeing what Quinn taught me." I chuckled. "I haven't learned anything from my idiot of a brother, you don't need to worry about that."