(Alex P.O.V.)

"Excuse me. Mr. Verone would like for you to join him." A lady says.
"Let's do it," Brian says as we get up and follow the lady. When we get there Enrique and Roberto move in front of the entrance so we can't get in.

"It's all right. Let 'em in." Verone says. Roberto and Enrique move and Monica and I go in and sit down. There are three couches and a table. Monica sits on one couch and I sit on another one.
"Go sit down. I'll talk to you in a second." Verone orders Rome. Rome comes in and sits beside me. Enrique and Roberto sit at the other empty couch.

"How ya doin'?" Brian asks him.
"Good. You enjoying your night?" Verone asks.
"Yeah. I'm havin' a good time." Brian answers.
"Good, good. She's beautiful, isn't she?" Verone asks.
"Hmm?" Brian asks. Verone looks over at me and so does Brian before they go back to looking at each other. "Yeah. She's gorgeous." Brian answers.

"You got balls, kid. I can appreciate that." Verone says smiling. "Women are a very powerful force. You see the blond sitting with the gentleman right there?" Verone says pointing to a couple at the bar. "Five minutes of her time and she can get anything she wants from him. Watch." Verone says. The lady and the man get up and start walking. "I wonder where they're going. Sit down." Verone says then him and Brian sit down. Verone sits next to Monica and Brian sits on the other side of me. "So, you lit my man's car on fire. Is that right?" Verone questions Rome.

"Yeah. I did. You see, I got a problem with authority." Rome explains.
"Hmm. I have the same problem. For me, it's cops in particular." Verone says before getting up. "Let's take a walk," Verone says to us. "Come on," Verone says to Monica when she doesn't move.
"We just got here," Monica complains.
"Now we're leaving. Let's go." Verone says putting on his jacket. We follow Verone into another room. There's a mini bar, a couch, and a table. The table has rope, a blowtorch, and a bucket on it.

"What's all that?" Rome asks seeing the stuff.
"We're gonna have a little fun," Verone says. After a few seconds, the lady and guy Verone was talking about come into the room. The guy is all smiles until he sees Verone.

"Hey, Carter." The guy says.
"Meet, uh, Detective Whitworth. One of Miami's finest." Verone says introducing the guy. "Thank you, sweetheart," Verone says to the lady and she leaves the room. Brian, Rome, and I are just standing there. "Are you enjoying yourself, Detective?" Verone asks him.
"Yeah. I was. I mean, you know me." Whitworth says.
"Yeah, I do know you. You been on payroll a long time." Verone says.
"Verone, that ain't right," Whitworth says.

"Shut up. I got one last job for you, Detective. You hear me?" Verone asks him.
"Look, we've been all through this," Whitworth explains.
"Yeah?" Verone asks.
"Yeah. I said I can't do it." Whitworth answers.
"Hmm. That's the wrong answer. The table." Verone says motioning for Roberto and Enrique to get Whitworth. They grab Whitworth and tie him to the table.

"I'm a detective, Verone! You do anything to me, the whole force is gonna be on your ass in a minute." Whitworth threatens.
"Shut your mouth! You fat piece of shit." Verone tells him. Verone motions for Enrique to grab the bucket.
"You can stop right now. What the hell....What the hell is that?" Whitworth asks as Enrique pulls a rat out of the bucket.
"Sit down," Verone tells Brian, Rome, and I. We sit down on the couch with me in between them. Roberto rips open Whitworth's shirt and Enrique puts the bucket on Whitworth's stomach with the rat under the bucket.

"You're gonna regret this. Just stop right now!" Whitworth threatens. Verone grabs the blow torch turning it on.
"Once the bucket gets hot enough, Detective, the rat is going to want out," Verone explains.
"Get...." Whitworth starts.
"And the only direction it can go is south," Verone explains as he starts heating up the bucket. "Did you know that your average rat can chew through a steel drain pipe? You see, you have nothing to worry about when he's screaming, Detective. It's when he goes quiet that he goes to work." Verone explains as he takes the blowtorch away for a moment.

"Stop it! Stop it! Don't be stupid. Stop it now." Whitworth says. Verone starts heating the bucket again.
"You're in charge of the units that are watching my properties, huh?" Verone asks and Whitworth nods. The rat is still screaming. "What I want is, I want a 15-minute window, where everybody and I mean everybody disappears. You hear me?" Verone asks.
"I can't do it! Stop it. I can't do it. Help." Whitworth yells.

"Okay. Monica, Alex, come here." Verone says.
"Help! Help!" Whitworth yells.
"Shut him up." Verone orders Monica and I. Monica doesn't do anything. I walk over and begin to put my hands on his mouth, but it's not enough. I do it like it's nothing, because I know he's testing us. "Shut him up." Verone orders. Monica helps me cover Whitworth's mouth with her hands.
"Help! Help! He's biting me! Help! Help!" Whitworth's cries for help are muffled by Monica's and my hands.
"What? You got something to say?" Verone asks moving the blowtorch away. Monica and I move our hands.
"He bit me!" Whitworth says. Verone goes to move the blowtorch back. "Yes. I'll do it!" Whitworth says before Verone can go back to heating the bucket.

"Do what? Say it." Verone says.
"I'll do it. I'll give you your window. Just get it off me! Get it off!" Whitworth says.
"You betray me, and my rat here is gonna visit your wife, Lynn, your son, Clay, and your daughter, Lexi. Do you hear me?" Verone explains.
"Yes. Get it off me." Whitworth says.
"Good. Now you can go." Verone says.
"Get it off me," Whitworth says as Roberto and Enrique untie him and take the rat off of him. He has deep bite marks all over his stomach.
"Get rid of him." Verone orders.
"Let's go," Roberto says as him and Enrique drag Whitworth out.

"You boys enjoy the show?" Verone asks. "Fifteen minutes and every cop in Florida is gonna be on you. Be at Versailles Café, ready to drive. You understand?" Verone asks.
"Yeah." Brian answers.
"Don't play games with me, or you'll be next. All right?" Verone asks. Brian, Rome, and I nod our heads. "Help yourself to a little champagne. Let's go." Verone says before him and Monica go to leave. "Alex, walk with us for a second," Verone says. I get up and walk with them.

(Alex P.O.V.)

"That was a damn rat, man." I hear Rome say before I leave the room. Verone, Monica, and I walk down the hall a little ways before he stops.

"Go wait for me in the car." Verone orders Monica. Monica walks off. Verone pushes me up against the wall holding me there.
"Hey!" I say as he pushes me.
"You ever touch another man again, and I'll kill you. You hear me?" Verone says pointing a finger in my face. I look away from him. He roughly grabs my face making me look at him. "Look at me. You hear me?" Verone asks.
"Yes. I hear you." I say.
"Good," Verone says before roughly kissing me. He then leaves, while I stand there trying not to cry. After I'm sure I'm not going to cry I head back. I walk back to the room to get the guys. I hear the guys talking, so I hide behind the corner and listen to what they are saying.

"Alex was into it, man. What's that about? And you seen the way she grabbed the dude's head." Rome questions.
"She had to, man. Just like Monica. He was testing her. You gotta remember, her ass is on the line, just like ours." Brian explains.
"You feelin' this girl way too much. She just like that crazy-ass trailer-raff from back-in-the-day, Tonya." Rome says.
"Tonya? Man, you went out with her after I did." Brian says.
"I mean, I couldn't let her go to waste," Rome says. They start laughing. So, I walk in as if I hadn't heard that whole conversation.

"So, you both ready?" I ask as I enter the room. They finish laughing.
"Yeah, let's go," Brian says. I ride with Brian again. We are heading back to Tej's garage and we are riding in silence.

"So, what did Verone want?" Brian asks.
"Oh, nothing. He just kinda threatened to kill me." I answer.
"What!?" Brian asks concerned and surprised. "Why?" Brian asks.
"I have a feeling that he was at the club longer than we knew he was. That or he has eyes everywhere." I answer as we pull up to Tej's. I look out the window lost in thought. Brian stops the car while turning and facing me.

"Hey. Look at me." Brian says using one hand to gently grab my face to turn it towards him and the other to grab my hand. "I won't let anything happen to you. Okay?" Brian says rubbing my cheek with his thumb.
"Okay," I say as we both lean in. Brian and I kiss. The kiss is full of passion and it feels like fireworks are going off. We break apart but keep our foreheads touching. We are both smiling like mad people.

(Brian P.O.V.)

We head back to Tej's garage. Alex rode with me again and it looks like something is bothering her.

"So, what did Verone want?" I ask her.
"Oh, nothing. He just kinda threatened to kill me." Alex answers playing it off like it's nothing.
"What!?" I ask concerned and surprised. "Why?" I ask.
"I have a feeling that he was at the club longer than we knew he was. That or he has eyes everywhere." She answers as we pull up to Tej's. She looks out the window lost in thought. I stop the car while turning and facing her.

"Hey. Look at me." I say using one hand to grab her face to turn it towards me and the other to grab her hand. "I won't let anything happen to you. Okay?" I say looking into her eyes and rubbing her cheek with my thumb.
"Okay." She says as we both lean in. Alex and I kiss. The kiss is full of passion. We break apart but keep our foreheads touching. We are both smiling like mad people. "Let's go before they come looking for us." She says.
"Yeah," I say and we get out of the car.
"I'm going to go change." She says and takes off to Tej's boathouse. So, that is where she is staying. I walk over to the garage and see Rome standing behind everyone as they play a game of cards.

"I got you, I got you, I got you." Jimmy chants at Tej.
"Is that right?" Tej asks.
"See, we can race for cash, but when I step on the gas, my nitrous go blast, leave your ass in the past. And, Tej, you about to lose your garage." Jimmy raps.
"Whatever, man," Tej says.
"I'm a low-budget mechanic, but I overcharge," Jimmy says as he lays down his cards thinking he has won. "Pay me! Let's go, man! Pay me my money. I told you, man." Jimmy says as he starts collecting the money.

"You a happy man," Tej says and Jimmy nods. "I'm so glad. This is my garage, boy. Royal flush! Give me this, man. You can't play a player." Tej says taking the money from Jimmy.
"Put that money back on the table. You know it's my next hand." Suki says.
"Jimmy, how you gonna pay me back if you keep losing to Tej?" I ask.

"How ya doin' bro?" Tej asks as we bro hug. Rome sits down to play with them.
"I'm gonna crash, Tej. I'll catch you tomorrow." I say.
"A'ight, boy," Tej says. I head off to find Alex.