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Maceo raises his arms. “That’s what I said. Who the fuck knows where they are now? They could be in Denver, out of the state, or back in the motherland.” Maceo points off in the distance. “As long as that prick is out there, Josephine’s in danger. I’ve already got one fuck head I need to worry about—I don’t want to add another to the list.”
Mom’s eyes widen with alarm. “What do you mean ‘another to the list’? How many people do you have coming after you?”
Maceo groans, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.
Before Maceo can respond, my dad waves off my mom. “Stella, not the time or place. The boy is letting off some steam, leave him be.”
Mom isn’t easy to brush off. “If it affects our daughter—”
Maceo’s head whips to mom, his eyes intense and steely. “Stella, I won’t let anyone near Josephine. Not Bianchi, not anyone.”
My mom folds her arms and straights her narrow shoulders, her face deadpan. “Well, considering the circumstances, I believe you shouldhandle it.”
What?!Did I hear my mom correctly? She couldn’t possibly mean…
Maceo quizzically studies my mother, deciding if she’s serious. My dad sits there with his blue eyes bugging and his mouth hanging open. Their thoughts are in sync with mine.
Dad jumps to his feet with a livid harrumph. “Stella! Have you lost your marbles? You don’t egg the boy on when he already has one foot out the door. There’s no turning back from something like this. You can’t ask our future son-in-law to murder someone.”
“Why the hell not?” Mom asks. “If I had the means and the opportunity, I would take the cockroach out myself. No one hurts my family and gets away with it. You saw the look on our little girl’s face when the girls took her upstairs. This dickhead keeps hurting our daughter and causing her problems. Not to mention the horrors done to Candy. The police don’t know where he is or how to find him. Why shouldn’t Maceo use his skills to track him down and finish him?”
My dad grabs my mom by the shoulders and shakes her a little. “Jesus, Stella, because it’s wrong.”
“Not in my eyes. I call it justifiable,” mom states coldly. When she doesn’t get my dad’s approval, she turns to Maceo. “Screw it. I’ll do it. Give me a gun.”
Maceo stares at my mom for a long moment before answering. “Are you shooting straight with me, Stella? You don’t care if he’s taken out with vigilante justice?”
My dad’s voice elevates in pitch. “She’s talking out of her ass. Ignore her. You listen to me—”
“When it comes to my family, I don’t joke,” mom talks over dad. “Now, give me a gun.”
Maceo straightens his shoulders. “No need, Stella. I protect my own.” He stands from the couch and goes to the nearest safe, ready to prepare himself for battle. My mom giving him her blessing is all the motivation he needs to take up arms.
Shit, shit, shit!
“No,” I scream, running down the stairs as fast as my feet will carry me. Hades starts barking, sensing my duress.
Maceo’s looks in my direction. He gulps, realizing I overheard everything. “Pixie?”
I want to run to his arms—God, do I want to. Instead, I throw myself in front of the safe, spread-eagling across the opening. “I forbid you from going on a wild goose chase and risking your life over this asshole.”
Maceo’s face contorts with anguish and burning fury. “Your mom is right. The system isn’t working. The longer we sit back, the deeper he goes to stay hidden. He’s not done coming after you. He’ll come at us again and again until he finally gets a lucky break and grabs you. I won’t let him.”
Maceo shakes his head angrily, taking me by the shoulders and easily moving me to the side to gain access to the safe. “Over my dead body. Nobody takes what’s mine. I can’t risk losing you again.”
Desperate to break his irrational train of thought, I scale his tall frame like a monkey climbing a tree, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. I bury my face into the crook of his neck and plead. “Maceo, no. Don’t do this. Not like this, not without a plan, your brothers, and justifiable homicide on your side. Stop, think, please.”
Maceo’s broad chest rises and falls with adrenaline, but I can start to feel it slow as the seconds tick by. He’s gradually coming down from the high of doing ultimate damage—like Hulk returning to Bruce Banner. His arms encircle me in a crushing embrace, burying his face in my neck. “Baby,” he whimpers.
“I’ve got you,” I whisper. My hands stroke over his back, hoping to calm the beast inside of him. Hades whines at his feet, nudging his big head against Maceo’s tree trunk legs, letting him know he’s there too.
Maceo pivots us and freezes. I follow his line of sight and see Gauge, Chase, and Punk ten feet away. Tony, Reaper, Ziggy, Jared, Eagle, Stage, and Butch all stand on the stairs—waiting for their president’s orders.
Gauge clears his throat. “Chase got an alert on his phone—we know the cops lost Bianchi. We’re ready to ride with you if you go.”
I try to squirm back on my feet, but Maceo isn’t having it. His hand under my ass squeezes while his arm around my back goes on lockdown. With a severe look, he addresses his men. “Ravens.”
“HOOYAH!”
