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Max
“Why the fuck do I even bother with you?” Nico barrels into my front hall and pokes a finger at my chest. My spine stiffens. “You should have called me, you asshole! How could you think that going in there by yourself was a good move?”
I swing a hand at his finger, knocking it away. “Layla was in trouble. I did what I had to do.”
“Really.” Nico narrows his eyes at me. “Because the way I see it, if you’d have done what you had to do, Gabe might still be alive right now instead of lying in your fucking trunk with half his head blown off!”
“I didn’t ask him to come,” I grumble, my chest tight. The guilt eats away at my insides. This was my play, my move to get back some of the respect I lost. Helping Nico plug Cappodamo last year helped, but I needed to do something on my own. So, great. I saved Layla, but at what cost? “I didn’t need anyone’s help!”
“You’re never going to get the respect from this family if you keep doing stupid reckless shit like this. Bonnaro can’t touch us. He has nothing now that Cappodamo is dead.”
“Don’t you get it? That’s what makes him such a crazy motherfucker! You know how Cappodamo worked. He wanted to put us out of business so he could take over our drug territories. The Salesi family was a threat to him, and he knew it! Mikey was about to move up in that family, and we stole that away from him. He’s not gonna stop until he gets his payback, Nico.”
“Then the head of the Salesi family should make the call about how to handle unrest. Not fucking you! My father will put you through a wall when he finds out!”
“You know what?” I grit my teeth, pushing my chest against Nico’s. “Layla is safe. That’s the important thing. If I’d have told you, you would have drawn the whole thing out to next week, and she’d probably be floating somewhere in the East fucking River by the time you actually made a move!”
Nico shoves me backward, and I leap at him, grabbing the sides of his jacket. “Don’t you lay another finger on me, Nico. I did what I thought was right. I owe her father.”
“You should think twice about who you should be loyal to, Max.”
“Antonio was the only one who gave me a job that didn’t require me to fire a fucking gun!”
“Yeah, until he needed you to collect his bets for him! Why do you think he wanted to take you on as a partner? He knew you’d get his fucking money so he wouldn’t have to!”
I take a sharp breath. “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“Don’t I?” Nico fixes his jacket and narrows his eyes. “Did you really think you were going to be one of the guys sitting at the head table? Sure, he may have roped you in with that promise, but don’t fucking think for a second that he wasn’t going to put you on the streets as his collector. He was a fucking slimy piece of shit who never wanted to get his hands dirty. He used you, Max. So stop fucking telling me that you owe him, especially now that he’s dead! It’s goddamn insulting, especially since I gave you a job at my club to help you get back on your feet after all that shit went down with Rocco. Then you fucking spit in my face with this shit!”
Adrenaline courses through my veins, my breathing labored because my pulse is throbbing so hard against my damn throat. One punch…just one…
Christ, I feel like a crack addict looking for my next fix. My fists clench tight, still stuck to my sides. Blood rushes between my temples, drowning out the protests my mind is screaming. Don’t do it, Max. Keep fighting. You’ll never go anywhere if you keep giving in to it. You’ll never get what you want. Rage bubbles under my skin. I fight it…I’m always fighting…but the urge is so fucking strong. It’s the only way I can grab back control, the only way I can mute the voices that torment me every day.
Nico’s lips stretch into a straight line. “You wanna do it. It’s written all over your face. Just take the fucking punch, Max. Get me right in the fucking jaw! That’s what you’re good at! Fucking do it!”
