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I shake my head as my thoughts go back to my sibling, Rose. “You should have left this life behind. My sister deserves better than a man who works for me.”
His jaw clenches, his hands tightening around the steering wheel. “I tried to leave it behind.”
“It’s disappointing that you failed.”
“Nate,” he grunts. “Put a filter on and keep your blunt comments to yourself.”
“With you?” I snort. “I don’t think so. If you can date my sister, you can take my comments.”
“For fuck’s sake,” he huffs.
“Why don’t you find a good job? Something legal?”
“Because you would be nothing without me,” he snaps back, hard British consonants clipping. “You need someone to keep you in check, so you don’t kill every fucker that gets in your way.”
I cackle, lowering my sleeves that I bunched around my elbow to beat up Campbell. I grab my cufflinks in my pocket and slowly button my cuffs again.
“I was in prison for almost four years, my friend. You had all the time in the world to do something legal without my influence. You didn’t have to take contracts. No one forced you to kill people, especially not me. Now, of course, I’d rather you work for me. But I’m selfish. You shouldn’t want to work for me.”
“Fine,” he snaps. “You want the truth?”
“I know the truth, but I think it’d do you good to voice it.”
“I didn’t even make it past freshman year in high school. I have learned nothing in my life but how to kill and work for selfish criminals like you. Who is going to hire a man who can’t rub two brain cells together unless it’s to figure out the quickest way to off someone?”
“You are very intelligent. Don’t underestimate yourself.”
“But I have no education. I know where my strengths lie and killing pays well. I need money. Who do you think invested in Rachel’s bakery? Who pays for Lik’s lavish lifestyle, when all he wants to do in life is be taken care of?”
Traffic comes to a standstill, and he turns to me, black eyes flaring with anger. “Who do you think pays to put Rose through college? And who will pay for her to go to law school?” He looks me up and down, upper lip curling, and goes for the jugular. “Her family wasn’t exactly there to take care of her.”
It’s not that it upsets me, but I still want to grab the back of his head and bash it against the wheel.
Technically, I understand why. Because when it comes to taking care of my sister, he hit me right in the gut. He went for my ego. He criticized how I take care of something that belongs to me. But while I can understand the reasoning of the fire it starts within me; it doesn’t mean I can muffle the flames.
I smile at him. “It’s going to hurt both of us if we use our fists. You’re big and strong. I’m furious, plus we’re in a car. It’s not exactly practical.”
“You dish it out, but you can’t take it,” he answers, his voice trembling with anger.
I nod, taking in the criticism, thinking of how I can punish my best friend and make him hurt for what he said. He opens his mouth when the phone rings again and Lovebug reappears on the screen.
“You keep quiet,” he orders in his low voice as he presses the green button.
“A bit busy. Anything urgent?”
“Uh, yeah, dinner,” my sister answers in her raspy, no-nonsense voice. “Since when are you too busy to talk to me?” Her unimpressed tone twists something in my stomach.
We’re alike, except she can feel so strongly it almost creates jealousy in me. My sister is a genius. Too smart for her own good, and I’m surprised she still hasn’t figured out that Sam is hiding something. Something being me.
Love made her stupid. She trusts him blindly.
“Where are you?” she asks. “And how long until you’re home? Because Rach made homemade sushi, and she said I can be the serving platter. You’ll be missing out on—”
“I have to go,” he snaps, cutting her off just as I’m about to grab my gun and fire at his head. He hangs up on her, his eyes wildly moving between me and the road.
“I’m going to kill you. I’ll make it hurt too.”
He huffs, running a hand across his face. “Pretend you didn’t hear that.”
