The phone rang. Joseph answered it. He sighed. His stomach curled up tight as a snake.
"What's up?" he asked his brother.
"Not much, Joe," Devin said. It wasn't a call for money. He was sure Joseph knew he had plenty and how he got it. "Just checking in with you. It's been a while," he said.
Small talk only goes so far. Tense on both sides. What Devin wanted to ask his older brother seemed ridiculous to him now. Yet it refused to go away since this morning when he found himself in that hotel room. He tried to maneuver the conversation, asked him about the kids.