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His head bobs back and forth, and I yank the tape off with one swift tug. He draws in a deep breath, choking on the air, gasping like a fish out of water.

I look around the floor for something I can use to cut off the tape binding his hands and feet.

“Max,” Dad rasps as I kick crap around on the floor in search of a blade.

“Fuck! I need a knife!” I rake a hand through my hair, afraid to look back at him. My self-control is wavering, and I’m afraid I’ll lose my shit if he says a word. All of the feelings of inadequacy and rejection tumble over me like a crashing wave, and I’m suddenly swept away in a sea of emotions I don’t know how to process.

“Max,” he croaks again, and I fist my hair, spinning to face him.

“Fuck you, Dad! Fuck you for making my life miserable for twenty-seven years! For rejecting every fucking thing I ever did to make you proud!” The fury that had consumed me for years finally erupts out of me like an active volcano. Words spew from my mouth faster than I can formulate thoughts, exploding like bullets. I drop to my knees in front of him. “All I wanted was your approval, but I was never good enough to get so much as a ‘Hey, good job, son’ from you. Nope, it was always, ‘You’re not enough like Nico. You’re not smart enough to make something of yourself. You’re not strong enough to take your rightful place.’ I was never like the son you’d always wanted, and you spent my entire life making sure I knew it. But you know something?” I point a finger at his face. “I always tried to do the right thing. I always tried to protect my friends and my family. You’re a backstabbing scumbag, and you know what else? You fucking deserve everything they did to you tonight! You deserve it all!” I cover my face with my hands, sobbing into them. My shoulders quake and the tears fall.

Weakness. In front of the man I’d always vowed would never break me.

“I’m sorry,” he rasps, a deep, hacking cough making his body shudder. “I’m sorry for everything.”

“Why the fuck did you do it? Joe could’ve been killed that day. But you didn’t care about that, did you? You only cared about how it would benefit you if you helped the Cappodamos, our fucking mortal enemies!” I scream, my eyes narrowed to slits. I rise from the ground, still searching for something to cut my dad out of that tape.

“Max,” he says, his voice weak and tired. “I needed the money. That’s why I did it.”

“For fucking what?” I yell. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have helped you. But instead you…you…” I let out a tortured growl. “Do you know what you did, Dad?” I lean over him. “You fucking killed us. All of us. How the fuck am I supposed to get us out of this? Nico will have you killed for betraying the family! And then he’ll kill me because he’ll assume I knew about it!” I pace in front of him. “And I did. I knew something was up with you. I didn’t say anything to Nico. I ignored it because I knew it would come to this!”

“I don’t care about myself. But Mom and Shaye. They need to be protected. I’ll make sure that they know I acted on my own. I just…” He shakes his head. “I let you all down. I’m so fucking sorry.”

“Sorry? Sorry? How is that gonna save us, Dad? And did you think about Mom and Shaye when you were fucking around with the Cappodamos? When you were selling us all out to them?”

“I couldn’t tell anyone, Max. They told me they’d kill my family if I said a word to anyone. And it’s the only way they’d help me.”

“Help you with what, for fuck’s sake? Tell me why you’re here, Dad!” I find a switchblade behind some cut wood, and I grab it.

“Gambling, Max. I had a debt to pay. Working with them was the only way to settle up.”

“You got in a little over your head with fucking blackjack? That’s why you sold out the Salesis?” I slice the duct tape and free his wrists before attacking the tape wrapped around his ankles.

“It wasn’t a little, Max. It was ten-million dollars.”

My jaw drops along with the knife. “What the fuck is wrong with you? How could you…and all that money you dropped on shit for the house, the cars, the jewelry…where did that come from?”

“More debt. Max, I’m not proud of what I’ve done, but I promised your mother a life. I intended to deliver on that.”

“Two of your fucking fingers are sitting in my goddamn truck right now! Was it really worth it, Dad? Jesus Christ! How the fuck am I going to explain this to Nico? You’re fucking dead! We both are!” I pace again as my father stretches his limbs. My own aching body is an afterthought right now. “I need to get you out of here. You need to get on a plane. Tonight. You can’t talk to anyone. You can’t go home.” I think fast, trying to come up with a solution, any solution, that will keep us alive.

“Max, you know that won’t work.”

“Yes, it will! I can’t stand the fucking sight of you right now for doing this to us, but I can’t have any more blood on my hands! I can’t watch Mom and Shaye deal with this! I need to protect them. I have to find a way—”

“The Bonnaros know, Max. It’s only a matter of time before they come for me.” He pauses. “Let me make things right with the Salesis. I’ll tell them everything, and I’ll deal with the consequences.”

“Don’t, Dad. We can figure this out. It doesn’t need to be this way.” I kick over one of the benches. “Why didn’t you just tell me? I would have helped you! We would have figured it out!”

Dad sighs, cringing as he cradles his hand. “I know I’ve been hard on you all of these years, and it wasn’t right. But I didn’t want you to end up like me. I wanted you to be able to stand on your own two feet so you wouldn’t have to rely on anyone. I messed up, Max. I’ve been messing up my whole life, and I never wanted to see you in that position…making mistakes that you can never recover from. All of this time, you’ve always been such a hot head, always ready to lash out, never thinking through consequences. That’s how I always was and look where it got me?” He shakes his head. “I’d hoped that if I laid into you, you’d eventually find your way. Another way that wouldn’t come back to haunt you.”

“You should have been honest with me,” I grunt.

“I couldn’t. I was embarrassed. Broken. Weak. I was under someone else’s control, and I couldn’t manage to find my way out. I thought once Luca and Frank were out of the picture, I’d be in the clear. But Mikey wasn’t about to let me forget what he lost out on because of me. There’s no shortage of people I fucked over to save my own ass, Max. And I’m sorry. I don’t expect you to forgive me or to understand. But please take care of your mother and Shaye. I don’t want them to know about this. I don’t ever want them to see me for the person I really am. Just do me that one favor and keep this away from them.”

“I will, Dad.” I hoist him up and anchor my arm under his shoulder, helping him sidestep the construction debris scattered across the floor. Using my flashlight, I navigate us out of the job site and toward my truck. My eyes dart left and right, but the lot is still desolate.

Luckily, or unluckily, for us.

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