Takedown Read Online Free Page A

spread. For all the money we made for Tony, we should’ve been given cars, not pizza and wings.
    By six we were wiping our hands and getting up from thesaggy couches. When we headed upstairs, there were some guys in the living room.
    One of them was Diamond Tony.
    My skin prickled. I’d never seen him up close and never without his sunglasses. I glanced away quickly, but not before I caught a glimpse of his eyes. They were dead, glassy. The eyes of a sociopath. I wondered if that was why he always wore sunglasses—so people wouldn’t see who he really was.
    He didn’t look like the kingpins you saw on TV. He didn’t dress to get attention. He always wore a clean, crisp outfit. Tonight, it was white and blue Enyce with shoes that were brand-new. If you looked closely, you saw the signs of wealth: the diamond in his ear, the diamond-studded infinity symbol around his neck. Some people thought that’s how he got his name. But when you saw Diamond Dust sparkle in the sunlight, you knew that’s where it came from.
    There were two huge guys with him, obviously his security, and two of his executives, Marcus and Donut. Marcus gave off this cold, remote vibe that reminded me of a robot. Programmed to do whatever Tony wanted, no doubt.
    Vinny walked into the living room and gestured for us to follow. “Here they are.”
    Diamond Tony got up. We all stood up straighter, like militaryrecruits waiting for inspection. He looked us over, one by one, and when he got to me, he paused thoughtfully. “Darren Lewis,” he said.
    Blood rushed in my ears. Is he onto me?
    â€œSoldier,” he said, and clapped a hand on my shoulder before moving on to the next guy. I was sure I was pitted with sweat.
    After he’d looked over the last guy, Diamond Tony sat back down. “You told them?” he asked Vinny.
    â€œI told them. You got solid soldiers here, Tony. They’re gonna make you proud.”
    Tony didn’t take his eyes off us. “Of course they will.” In true Diamond style, it was both a vote of confidence and a threat.
    Then Vinny sent us out into the night.

ZOMBIES
    C am and I went to our corner in front of the 17 high-rise. It took a while for my pulse to slow down. How had Tony recognized me? We’d never actually met. I’d seen him a few times, but I hadn’t thought he’d noticed me.
    Obviously I was wrong about that.
    Maybe he didn’t stay as far in the background as I imagined. Who knew how many times he’d driven by our corner, watching through some tinted-windowed SUV?
    I didn’t like it.
    When I was fifteen, I would’ve been excited that Diamond Tony knew who I was. But I wasn’t a dumb kid anymore. NowI knew the game he was playing, and I saw right through him.
    I just hoped he couldn’t see through me.
    Tonight the fiends were out in full force. Reminded me of a zombie movie. They were slow but jittery, dragging themselves toward us. Sometimes I had to remind myself that they weren’t the walking dead.
    Growing up in the projects, I knew what addiction looked like. But selling on the corner night after night really brought the ugly home. I saw normal people become strung-out fiends in a matter of weeks.
    The creepiest zombie was this guy called the Vet. He wore a raggedy green army jacket and told everybody he’d fought in Afghanistan. He was skinny as hell, with sunken eyes and sores.
    The Vet came up to me with mostly change from panhandling. I counted it and put it in my pocket, then gave Cam the signal and he supplied him. We watched the Vet shuffle away. Cam pulled a face. I could tell the Vet freaked him out too.
    â€œYou going to the party later?” Cam asked me.
    â€œYeah.” Smalls had been talking about his party all week, so I figured I’d go.
    â€œTell your sister to come,” Cam said with a grin. “I’m aching to get laid.”
    â€œShe’d help you out, but she’d