The Devil's Brew Read Online Free PDF Page B

bitch and a half. His knuckles were hurting and scraped raw from being slammed against a doorjamb when the crate went left when it should have gone right, and for some stupid reason, he’d thought a crowbar would help him open the fucking thing.
    All he’d done was jab himself in the balls with its blunt end just as he noticed the handle-and-tie mechanism on one side.
    Once he’d gotten the sides off—he was going to leave the damned thing on its trolley—Miki stood and stared at the tree, wondering what the hell had crawled into his brain and told him what he’d dug up was a good idea.
    “Why the fuck did I buy him a chunk of wood?” It was a very large chunk of wood. Almost as tall as Miki and certainly wider, it sat on its trolley, a sullen sentinel to Miki’s stupidity. Then he remembered the car and Damie’s delight at seeing it in front of the warehouse. “That’s what it needs. A bow. Or something.”
    The red monstrosity he’d shoved into the Cherokee was way too damned big, but he remembered the boxes of Christmas stuff Kane dragged in during the holidays. There were things in there—sparkly things—and they could definitely do something to snazzy up the solid mass of bark and wood taking up residence in the front room.
    He found several plastic bags and spools of ribbon. Sitting on the floor in front of the raw, fragrant wood, Miki opened up the first bag and was immediately covered in a rainbow explosion of bow confetti. They were all different sizes and patterns, a dizzying array of color Miki figured would at least brighten up the dull, dusty brown exterior.
    Even if he had to duct tape them to the surface, because the small sticky tabs on the backs of the bows didn’t seem to be doing the job. He’d remembered the trick of doing tape loops and stuck the bows firmly into the wood’s bark. Surprisingly, the first bow stuck and held, a metallic-green beacon of hope glimmering in Miki’s eyes.
    The rest of the bows went on as quickly as the first, although a few needed extra pushes to hold. He ducked and wove around the thick column until the whole thing sparkled and shone with embellishments. Stepping back, Miki took a good look at what he had done.
    It was a horrible mess. The wood needed something else. Something red or sparkling.
    “Okay, now what?” There was a tangle of white lights sitting in the box, taunting Miki like a poisonous snake rattling in the shadows. The trolley was a short distance from a plug, and Miki shrugged, snatching the strand of lights from its poorly concealed hiding place. “Why the fuck not?”
    By the time he was done, the tall piece of wood was a bright, shining column of lights and bows.
    A very ugly bright, shining column.
    Past five beers drunk ugly.
    “Jesus, what am I doing?” He stepped back, and his knee buckled, weakened from his time on the floor. Miki caught himself before he went down, grabbing at the couch for balance. “Kane’s fucking insane for screwing me.”
    The wood didn’t answer. Instead it sat there on its trolley, blinking and flashing away, quietly mocking Miki.
    His cell phone rang, and Miki grabbed it, falling into the soft confines of the couch. He thumbed the screen and answered, thankful for the break from the downward spiral he’d built for himself.
    “Hey,” Miki sighed. “I’m glad you called. I kind of fucked up, and I really badly need your help.”
     
     
    “W ELL , M IKI boy, why don’t ye tell me what the fine hell it is first?” Donal circled the spazzy tall piece of wood. “Other than something ye’d see at a modern art museum.”
    “It’s koa. From some place called Kaiwiki.” Miki shrugged helplessly. “Some guy named Primo sold it to me. For Kane. It fell. So, he could sell it. Not sure why, but that matters when you get that kind of wood. Kane had some, and Dude stole the one piece he had. It’s kind of how we met.”
    “How much have you had to drink?” Donal eyed him. “Because you’re babbling