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“P-please…please don’t do this!” he blubbers, reeking of sweat and fear.
“You got a compelling reason I shouldn’t splatter your brains for selling us out?” I snarl into his tear-streaked face.
He shakes his head frantically, snot bubbling from his nose. “I didn’t wanna…he made me, said he’d k-kill me if I didn’t…”
“Kill you?” My voice drops to a lethal whisper. “What about Rook, huh?You gothimkilled—Giddy and Nico shot—and we wereallsupposed to die, weren’t we?”
“It wasn’t my fault—I never meant—”
I drop my gun to his knee and pull the trigger. He howls, collapsing.
“That was for Rook. And this,” I aim the barrel at his other leg, “is for every minute you made us chase your sorry ass.”
“Please,” he sobs. “Just fucking kill me.”
“Who was on the phone, Pony? Tell me that and maybe I’ll kill you quick.” But his lips only press tighter, and he shakes his head. “Nowyou find your honor? You might feel different with a bullet in your other kneecap,” I tell him.
But Max’s hand covers mine, staying my aim. “Bricker. Look at him. He’s not worth torturing.” Quiet steel in his tone. “You gonna talk, Pony?” Pony says nothing. He stops crying, even, as though resigned. “Then let the crew decide his fate.”
Reluctantly, I lower my gun. But as my anger recedes a little, I see Max’s point. This isn’t just about revenge for Rook. It’s about restoring faith in the code that binds our whole Family. Pony’s betrayal cut deep, but that wound needs to heal clean for the crew to move forward whole again.
I pick up Pony’s phone and slide it into my pocket. I’m not going to waste time playingWhat’s the Passwordwith Pony. Max is right. This needs to be done fast and clean.
As for Pony, he doesn’t move from the oozing heap he collapsed into.
“Max is right.” I turn to Van, Tank and Jazz, clustered behind us. “He’s yours to judge. Do what you think needs doing.”
Silent looks pass between them. Jazz steps forward, face grave but resolute. “Pony,” she says gently.
He does look up now, a sigh escaping his lips as the barrel of her gun presses into his forehead. He closes his eyes, muttering a quick prayer.
A single shot, and it’s done.
We leave him cooling in a spreading crimson puddle. The dark is making way for the dawn as we exit the warehouse. I sling an arm around Max’s shoulders and pull him close, uncaring about the rest of the crew seeing us, and we make our way back to the fence with a sense of shared peace. Max kept me from tarnishing Rook’s memory in a moment of rage. Justice was done here, not vengeance.
And I saw again how much I need Max’s calm strength to temper me. However it plays out between us in the bigger picture, I know one truth beyond any doubt.
I love this man.
CHAPTER48
MAX
Julian is waitingby the hole in the fence, looking intensely bored until he catches sight of us. “Your large Capo took Chuckles Moran away,” he tells Bricker. “I thought I’d wait to give Pedretti a lift.”
Bricker snorts. “Nice try, but he’s already got a ride, Castellani.”
Julian’s eyes drift to me with a sigh. “Sandro has been very patient with you, Pedretti, but his patience is not endless.”
I know exactly whose patience Julian is really referring to. “I’ll be back soon enough,” I tell him. “And you can tell the Boss I’m very grateful for his forbearance.”
Julian gives a dismissive sniff.
I’ve already let Sandro know I want a little more time off. I want a damn vacation, for one thing. And for another, I want to spend more time with Bricker.
Find out exactly what we could be to each other.
Julian will just have to put up with my absence a little longer.
