AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So… I’m a fucking pussy. That’s what you’re tellin’ me!”
Grudge chuckles. “No, you’re anything but. The pain you were in, any one of us would’ve caved, but you took it all without any intervention or help. You are the furthestthing from a pussy, Hoodoo.”
“Any news on the Bratva?” I ask.
“Hurricane is working on a plan. Everything we think of, we believe Anton will see coming. We need it to be something he won’t expect. And… we’re coming up short.”
“You need to think of something different, something we don’t normally do, something out of the box. We always go after him and his Bratva. What if we target Anton and his family specifically? Make this…personal?”
Grudge narrows his eyes on me. “I like where you’re going with this. We dig into who’s closest to his family and makethemsuffer. Hoodoo, you’re a genius!”
“Get Raid to do some digging because you know Anton is gonna have someone hidden somewhere in his ranks he doesn’t want anyone to know about.”
“I’ll go make a call to Hurricane. But before I go, you should know… Maxxy’s here. She’s been sitting outside your room since you told her to get out, and she hasn’t left, not even once. She’s been here for days but hasn’t had the courage to come into your room. I think you broke her.”
Exhaling, I drop my chin to my chest. “Fuck.”
“She could probably hear you if you were to call out to her…”
Nodding, I scrub at my face. “Thanks, Grudge.”
“I’m gonna step out and make some calls. I’ll be gone a while if you need some space.”
I chuckle. “Subtle as a sledgehammer there, old man.”
He grins, slaps me on the shoulder, then walks out of my room, grabbing his cell from his pocket as he goes.
Taking a deep breath, I clear my throat, take another quick sip of water, then prepare myself. “Maxxy?” I call out.
It takes a second, but she hesitantly steps into the doorway, a cautious expression on her face as she looks in on me. “You’re awake?”
I gesture for her to come closer, and I tap the edge of my bed. “Take a seat.”
Maxxy sighs and slumps her body as she walks into my room, then climbs on my bed. She’s still wearing the same clothes she came here in, and I shake my head. Immediately, I reach out and grab her arm as she sits. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
She places her hand on top of mine and weakly smiles. “Pain can make us do things we don’t mean.”
I snort out a laugh. “Oh no, I meant it. I’m sorry I said it in such a fucking asshole way. Just because I was hurting didn’t give me the right to treat you the way I did.”
“I’ve never seen someone in so much pain. It’s no wonder your body shut down for five days. Ishouldsay I was worried about you, but I can’t tell a lie to a man as old as you.” She smiles. “It might give you a heart attack.”
A bright smile lights my face as I let out a chuckle.There she is, andI’m glad she’s back to being her typical sarcastic self.“Wouldn’t want you to burst a blood vessel by pretending to care. Might damage your already disgusting face,” I quip back.
She snorts. “Honestly, I wasted a vital opportunity while you were out… I could have smothered you with a pillow and be done with all this.”
“I mean, technically, you still could try.”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t tempt me.”
Grazing my thumb over her skin, I smile. “It’s kind of tolerable that you don’t hate me,” I tell her.
She giggles and leans forward, taking me into a tight hug. My eyes widen, and I slide my arms up her back, my nose falling against her neck, catching the aroma of her fruity perfume. She smells so fucking good, like she’s just had a shower as I hold her to me. I can’t help but close my eyes, drinking her in as she inhales deeply like she’s enjoying this moment too.
“I’m glad you didn’t die on me, Hoodoo.”
I pull back just a little, and my eyes meet hers with our faces barely apart. Maxxy’s breath whispers over my skin as I bring my hand up, gently caressing her cheek. “Did you just say something that was actually nice?”
Maxxy tries to fight her smile and scrunches up her nose at me in the cutest of ways. “Don’t get used to it…old man!”she teases, slowly backing away from me.
