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“If you’re going to kill me, get it over with,” Henry spat.

“If I was going to kill you, we’d be somewhere I could have fun.” I stepped closer to him. He was more than likely taller than me in his prime. However, with his hunched-over posture as he fought to stand up, I dwarfed him. “This is personal.”

His eyes flicked around me, and I brought the cane back down. It cut through the air, making a soft whistling sound. The hardwood against flesh echoed around us. Henry crashed to the ground, scrapping the other side of his face.

“Uh, fuck.”

I grabbed a fistful of his hair and held his head up, inspecting it. It mirrored the cut I’d found on Tex’s face perfectly. Killing him would anger Tex. Although I knew Henry Caster deserved it, I couldn’t.

Henry groaned as I helped him up, too dazed to pull away. I handed his cane back. His fingers shook as he took it away from me and leaned heavily on it.

He blinked rapidly as he stared at me. “What makes this personal?”

I tapped his cheek, pressing against the wounds there. He winced. I wiped his blood from my fingers onto his checkered button-up.

“Know any time you hurt him, I will return the favor to you.”

“Who?” Henry asked. His head snapped up before I could speak. “Tex? What does this have to do with my son?”

“He’s mine.”

I could practically see the wheels turning in his head as my words settled in his mind. A look of distraught morphed into one of anger. His face reddened as he bared his teeth at me.

“Being with you, he’s going to end up just like Brycen Grennan.” Henry shook his head. “That boy—”

I took a step closer, and his mouth snapped shut. “Respect him, or I’ll make it so he will never have to hear disrespect come out of your mouth again.” Cutting out his tongue wouldn’t kill him.

“You will stay away—”

I cut off his pathetic attempt at a demand. I needed to wrap things up. I had a date to continue. “This stays between us. I’d hate for you to meet your end in some tragic accident. Freeing your wife and son of the plague that is you.”

The idea sounded more pleasing the longer I thought about it.

“You’re not a cop anymore. Stop with the heroism. We both know you’re no warrior of justice.”

Henry glared at me. “I still have connections.”

“The last time you came after us didn’t work out so well, did it?” I pointed to his leg. “Do I make myself clear?”

Henry ground his teeth. “Crystal.”

There was still a visible fight in his eyes that I planned on snuffing out. I gestured for us to go back toward the cars. He leaned heavily on his cane as he headed toward the parking lot.

“Tex is nothing like Brycen.” I didn’t look at him as I spoke. I owed this man nothing, and neither did Tex. But I found my lips moving on their own. “He is loyal, headstrong, ambitious, and a far better man than you.”

Henry scuffed. “He is a drug addict who made nothing but messes for me to clean up.”

“It’s a shame that is all you see out of him when I see someone who, regardless of their hardships and shortcomings, has made something of themselves. Could you say you’d be able to do the same in his shoes?”

Henry was silent next to me as we approached the cars.

“He still ended up with a murderer.”

I caught his gaze. “Don’t worry. You’re safe from me for now. We’re going to be family.”

“Everyone knows I wouldn’t have anything to do with you or that vile family of yours,” Henry spat.

“It would be a simple task to change that opinion. The headlines would read: Hero cop, crooked and corrupt. All his achievements connected back to the mafia.”