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“Do you miss her?” Cato sits on the edge of the bed and stares down at Dad. “Do you still love her?”
“No.” Frowning, my brows pinch closer together. “No, it was never like that. But I’m glad he’s dying, because the threat of him doing the same to Minka is just…” I shake my head. “Not acceptable.”
At a thought, I drop my hand on Felix’s head and tug his hair back till he meets my eyes upside down. “You take over the family. You do whatever the fuck you wanna do when this is done. But you won’t be a threat to me or mine, no matter how fucking far I leave this family behind.”
He scoffs and straightens his head again to study our father. “Don’t sweat it. She’s cute, and so is her little sidekick.”
Tim’s eyes flash with challenge.
“I’m not a threat to them,” he pushes. “I’m not in the business of fucking over my family. No matter how much it annoys me that you’re gonna leave again.”
“We’ll be around,” Tim mumbles. His voice turns deep, and the look in his eyes is a promise. “We’re out, Lix. We don’t want to be a part of this. But we’ll be around any time you need it.”
“Like tonight.” He casts a look over to the nurse who watches us. Listens. “We have somewhere to be in the next hour. Micah needs us. Which means we need you to hurry this along.”
“Everyone ready?” Cato asks. He looks to Tim, then to me. To Felix. “Timothy Malone the Second…” he breathes. “Dies tonight.”
“Do it.” I lean on Felix’s chair and meet the nurse’s gaze. “He needs to be gone, and we need to be in the car in ten minutes. I’ve got nothing to say to the prick.”
“Me neither,” Tim adds. “He was dead to me two decades ago.”
“Yeah, I’m good,” Felix says when the nurse looks his way. He shrugs, though I know hefeels. Whatever he has buried deep, he feels this loss. “I want him dead. It’s time the family had a change in management.”
“Alright.” With a nod and quiet steps, the woman makes her way closer with a bag of fluid to be hung.
She steps in front of Tim’s legs, and around Cato’s place on the edge of the bed. She can’t be more than five feet and a bit. Trim, but old, so she’s soft. Lifting the bag and hanging it on the hook high above the bed, her sleeves come down to reveal skinny arms with tiny biceps that somehow make me smile.
“It’ll only take a few minutes.” She hooks up the line and unsnaps the clips that keep the liquid from flowing. “This won’t hurt,” she adds softly. “He won’t even know at this point. He’s simply asleep, and he’ll stay that way until his heart stops.”
“You’re preaching to the wrong choir,” Tim grumbles. Sitting back, his stare remains plastered to the side of the dying man’s face. The same man who named his son for himself. Timothy the Second is dying tonight. And Timothy the Third doesn’t give a fuck. “I can’t speak for the others, but I don’t much care if he’s comfortable. I just care how long this will take, because Micah’s waiting.”
“Just a few minutes.” Unbothered by his blunt tone, she watches the machines and writes notes, like this is a regular person in a regular hospital, and records need to be kept.
This isn’t like that, and she’ll have no one to answer to when the old man is dead. But she’ll have a fresh wad of cash in her pocket, and a warning to keep her mouth shutor else.
She knows whose house she’s in, and she knows who she’s sharing a room with.
I’m not a threat to her. And neither are my brothers. I’ll make sure of it. But the fact is, sheisin a dangerous place right now, with men whoarekillers.
She walks a tightrope that no doubt keeps adrenaline rushing through her veins.
“This will be over in just a minute or two more.” Nervous, her tongue comes out to wet her bottom lip. “I entered this property with a promise of safety from your father.” Swallowing, she looks down at Felix. “I humbly request the same assurances from you.”
“You’ll be fine,” he says before I can. Then he nods to the IV line. “Can you pump that in faster? We’ve got places to be.”
* * *
Adrenaline pulses throughout the car. Hands twitch, and knees bounce to expel excess energy in a way that doesn’t include shooting someone. Darkness is like a curtain all around us as we leave the city and make our way toward Pastore’s beach house.
Four Malones. United, just like Felix wanted in the first damn place, we intend to provide a wall that’s impenetrable to anyone we don’t want to let in.
Micah will be brought home tonight. He’ll be given a minute to mourn the bastard who shit himself and passed into the next world. We’ll set things right in New York, and remind Emilio Pastore who not to fuck with.
And we do it all before Cordoza arrives at eight. Because once he’s there, we’re all dead.
And that’s not in the plan. Tomorrow, I’m going home to my wife. I’m putting my ass on a plane and sleeping in my own bed, with Minka by my side, and a promise between us that I won’t leave again.
My wedding band sits heavy against my chest, the gold a chilling reminder of what I have to lose if we fuck up tonight. The chain, a circle that never ends, and the ring, a promise of eternity.
