The Brick Yard Read Online Free PDF Page A

himself to give in to his desires.
    He started with the speed bag to warm up. The monotonous rhythm always soothed him, allowing his mind to empty of everything that continued to press down on him. His fucking waste of a mother was up for parole in a week and bad son or not, he prayed she didn’t get it. Pound. Pound. Pound. The sound and movement mesmerized him as he concentrated on the black swinging bag.
    The one and only time he’d tried to visit his mom in prison, she’d refused to see him. Just as well. He’d only gone in the first place because Brick had told him he should. Lucky didn’t remember what had happened after he’d left the prison and met up with Sid. All he knew was that he’d woken in a hotel bed with three women, a hangover and an ashtray of marijuana roaches. Evidently, he’d been quite the stud—or so Sid had told him. By the time he’d arrived at the gym, looking like he’d been run over by the pussy train, Brick had been furious and had refused to speak to him for three days.
    Lucky dropped his hands and took a step back. The speed bag wasn’t doing it for him. He sat on one of the weight benches and removed his shoes and socks before taking his frustration out on the wall mounted heavy bag. With each combination of punches and kicks, he began to feel his anxiety ebb.
    Brick’s health was a problem that Lucky had tried to ignore. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about the old man, just that he didn’t want to face the possibility that something was seriously wrong. Brick was more than a boss, landlord or trainer, he was the only one to ever show him an ounce of love.
    “Fuck!” Lucky yelled to the empty gym as he continued to beat the hell out of the bag.
     

Chapter Two
     
     
     
    Lucky sat across the table from Briley, who was busy trying to decide what to order. He didn’t bother with the menu since he never ordered from it. The cook and owner, Mac, was a sports nut who’d followed the fighters coming out of The Brick Yard for years. It helped that Mac’s Diner was right next door to the gym.
    “The usual?” Trish, the waitress, asked.
    “Yeah.” Lucky pulled his phone out of his pocket while Briley ordered. He still didn’t know why he’d asked her to meet him. Probably something to do with the fact that he didn’t want to be alone. “You mind if I step outside and make a call?”
    Briley picked up her own phone and started scrolling through it, something that usually annoyed him. “Not at all,” she said without looking up.
    Coat in hand, Lucky scooted out of the booth and headed for the door. He retrieved Dray’s number and waited. It wasn’t a call he looked forward to, but one he couldn’t put off any longer.
    “Hey,” Dray answered.
    “You gotta minute?” Lucky walked around the side of the building to shield himself from the brutally cold Chicago wind.
    “I’ve got twenty of them until my next appointment. What’s up?”
    “I took Brick back to the doctor yesterday. According to him, the doc said it was bronchitis, but I’ve been around too many dirt bags to know when someone’s lying to my face. So, I called the doctor this afternoon.”
    “Did you find out anything?” Dray asked.
    “No, something about privacy laws.”
    “Shit.”
    “Yeah,” Lucky agreed. He hadn’t realized how much he needed to talk to Dray. Between the deep raspy timbre of Dray’s voice and his perfectly muscled body, Lucky hadn’t stopped dreaming about Dray since finding him in the shower with Vince.
    “You still there?” Dray asked.
    “Yeah,” Lucky replied. “I don’t think there’s anything I can do but watch him and wait for him to open up.”
    “The food’s ready,” Briley said, rounding the corner.
    Lucky nodded. “Give me a sec.”
    She smiled and disappeared back around the side of the building.
    “You with someone?” Dray asked.
    “Yeah. I’m having dinner at Mac’s with a friend.” Lucky didn’t feel the need to qualify his relationship