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Joe winked. “Oscar’s down the hall, last door on the left. He said to go right in.”
Daisy walked down the hallway, aware of Moose only two steps behind. His silent show of support meant the world to her. He seemed to sense she needed this time to collect her thoughts and plan something to say to the brother who’d betrayed her. But when she reached the door and placed her hand on the knob, she froze.
She wasn’t ready to face him.
What did she say?
What could she say?
He’d given her away like cattle to a man he’d known would hurt her. He’d shot the man she loved. Ricky had turned into a monster she didn’t recognize, and still, she didn’t think she could condone Moose killing him. Did that make her weak? Pathetic?
“Hey?” Moose cupped her shoulders from behind. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her neck. “There’s no pressure. You’re here to get the closure you’ll need. That’s all. And if you don’t want to see him, we can turn around right now.”
Would he always know exactly what to say to her? She hoped so. “Thank you. I need to do this.” And he’d given her the strength.
He kissed her again, then she opened the door and entered the room. Oscar stood off to the side, scrolling on his phone. Ricky sat in a chair with his arms behind his back. As soon as he saw her, he stood.
“Daisy, please. You know they’re going to kill me. You have to stop them. Please! They’re crazy.”
Anger flared in her so fast she nearly choked on it. How dare he beg for his life after what he’d done to her. She rushed forward, cocked her arm back, and slapped him across the face so hard her hand went numb.
“Oh, that’s gotta sting,” Oscar said with a laugh.
“Who the hell do you think you are to ask me for mercy?”
The color drained from his face. “Daisy, I-I’m your brother.”
“My brother?” she shouted. “Were you my brother when you told Buster he could have me and keep me for two fucking weeks? Were you my brother when I begged you to let me go? Were you my brother when you shot Moose? Hell no, you weren’t. You forfeited that title the moment you decided to give me to Buster.”
“Daisy, I had no choice!”
Her chest heaved, and tears of anger prickled the corners of her eyes. “I gave you a place to live. I bought you food. I paid all the bills. And I never asked you for anything in return.”
He snorted. “You gave me a place to live? You mean in the house you got for free?”
She might have inherited that house, but she’d put her blood, sweat, and tears into making it a home. He’d done nothing but leech off her and then throw her to the wolves to save himself.
As she walked up to him again, he flinched, and she couldn’t help but feel a surge of satisfaction. “I’m not going to hit you again,” she said, shaking her hand. “But you’ll get no mercy from me. Goodbye, Ricky.”
She turned and walked over to Moose, laid a hand on his chest, and said, “Do whatever you want with him. He’s not my family anymore.”
Then she walked straight out of the room, even as Ricky screamed for her to stay. She kept going down the hall, past Joe into the lobby, and outside into the night, where she sat on the curb.
To wait for her man.
GODDAMN, MOOSE WAS so fucking proud of Daisy. At some point, everything that had happened over the past few days would come crashing down on her in an exhausting rush of emotions. Moose planned to be by her side, wiping every tear and supporting her through every up and down.
“You heard the woman,” he said with a grin after the door closed behind her. “You’re mine to do with as I please. So what should I do with you?”
“I know where my vote goes,” Oscar announced.
“Fuck you.” Ricky spat at Moose’s feet.
His cheek had a red print from Daisy’s hand. Damn, his woman had given that slap her all. It was another reason to be proud. “Much as I would love to put a bullet between your eyes…” he said, tapping the bandage at his temple, “… and I wouldn’t miss because, well, I can shoot. I won’t do that to Daisy. I won’t make her spend the rest of her life knowing that I’m the one who killed you. But I do hope someone takes care of that in prison.”
Ricky laughed. “Prison? For what? Drugs and theft?” He snorted. “I’ll cut a damn deal within thirty minutes.”
“Nah,” Moose said. He leaned against the wall and folded his arms over his chest. “Unfortunately for you, Buster didn’t make it out alive. And it turns out there is irrefutable evidence at the scene pinpointing you as the murderer. Can you believe that?”
