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“Didn’t we already establish you feds don’t know shit?” Zander lifted an eyebrow, holding Vince’s gaze as he sank into the space Vince had made for him on the couch.
Vince stared at him.
Zander stared back.
And Scotty made an amused sound while stroking Vince’s legs.
12
An air of something heavy fell over them. Silence filled with a whole lotta shit Scotty couldn’t have even dreamt up while high off his ass. He’d broken into Zander’s place and entered an entirely different world. It scared him, but he tried not to show it.
Vince didn’t look scared.
Zander for sure wasn’t scared. He looked scary. As if he were thinking up ways to decimate somebody. As long as it wasn’t Scotty. Or Vince. He’d thought his life was fucked up but nope, Vince and Zander tied for that award. Compared to them, dealing with his uncle Don had been freaking paradise.
He stroked Vince’s legs absently as the agent laid his head back on the arm of the couch. Zander sat next to them stiffly, as if he didn’t know what to do with his body, where to put it. Scotty almost felt sorry for him, until he remembered just who Zander was.
Man, he’d really fucked up, hadn’t he? Breaking into a professional killer’s place? A snort left him. Then a chuckle.
Under his touch, Vince’s legs twitched. “What’s so funny down there?”
Scotty glanced at him. “Just thinking about how I fucked up, breaking into this one’s place.” He jerked his chin in Zander’s direction, a laugh spilling past his lips. “Who the fuck did I think I was?”
Vince’s lips twitched, but his gaze was heavy, searching. “Somebody who needed help, that’s who you were. Still are.” He glanced at Zander, who hadn’t said a word. “Zander’s gonna make sure you’re okay.”
Scotty narrowed his eyes, his hand stilling. “What does that mean?”
“When I’m gone, he’s gonna make sure you never have to fear your uncle again.” Vince shrugged as if it were no big deal and he said a lot of shit, but all Scotty could focus on was the first part.
“When you’re gone? So you’re just… You’re just gonna let him do what he plans to do? Give you over to his uncle like some kind of fucked-up gift?”
“Not much I can do in my current position,” Vince told him softly.
And those words hit Scotty in the chest because it was his fault. Vince in pain, incapacitated and unable to mount a defense against Zander’s schemes—that was on Scotty. “What do I do?” He reached for Vince, grabbing his left hand, the one unaffected by the gunshot wound. “How do I fix this?”
“Nothing you can do.” Zander chose that moment to speak up.
“Shut up!” Scotty yelled the words before he even thought them. “Don’t fucking talk to me.”
“Scotty, hey. Chill.” Vince’s fingers tightened painfully around his. “What you can do is calm down. I just told you, don’t provoke him.”
But Scotty barely heard him. It wasn’t fair. Vince was the only good person he knew. He protected Scotty even after what Scotty did. And Zander was just going to hand him over like that? The thought of not ever seeing Vince again made it hurt to breathe. “You can deal with your uncle without using Vince,” he pleaded with Zander who sat between them. It was futile, trying to get a trained killer not to do what he’d been programmed to do, but still, he tried. He begged, grabbing Zander’s forearm. “Please. If anyone can do that, it’s you. Don’t—” His lips trembled. “Don’t take him from me.” Vince wasn’t willing to beg and plead, but Scotty didn’t have those qualms.
Zander’s expression gave nothing away as he stared down at Scotty’s hand on his arm.
“Scotty.” Vince yanked on the hand he was still holding. “Stop it.”
A tear rolled down Scotty’s face as he pleaded with Zander. “Please.”
Gaze inscrutable, Zander swiped a thumb through the wetness on Scotty’s cheek. “You’re pretty when you cry, you know that?”
“Zander.” Vince issued the warning in a growl and Zander’s lips curled.
“Nah, Fed.” He held Scotty’s gaze. “He’s a big boy. Let him say what he wants to say.” There was a threat in there, Scotty heard it clearly, and though it made his pulse race and dried out his mouth, he kept going.
“It’s not Vince’s fault. It’s mine.” He released Zander and thumped his own chest. “I did this. I set it in motion, so blame me. Use me.” His voice trembled, the words trickling down to almost nothing. “Let Vince go.”
“Don’t listen to him,” Vince interjected. “He doesn’t know what he’s saying?—”
