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“You fell in love with the kid, didn't you?”
“He's not a kid,” I blurt. “He hasn't been one in a while. Everyone needs to stop viewing him that way.”
He laughs, shaking his head. “I'll take that as a yes. Well, if you're throwing yourself straight into the fire, then you're going to need your big brother with you.”
“No.” I rest my hand on his shoulder. “You're staying here. I have to do this alone.”
He takes a deep breath and nods. “Okay, well at least take this.” He slips something small and black in my hand.
“What is this?”
“A tracking device. I want you to keep it in your pocket.”
I shove it in my back pocket, rolling my eyes. “Happy?”
“No. I won't be until you get your ass back here alive.”
“I will.” I squeeze his arm and walk past him. I can feel his eyes on me all the way to the door. I slip on my shoes and grab my keys, glancing back at Connor. “I'll see you in the morning.”
“If you're not here by eight a.m., I'm coming after your ass,” he shouts as I head out the door. I wave him off before closing it. I don't know what I'm doing or where I'm going. Ignacio could be anywhere. Getting in my car is at least a good place to start. As I'm heading down the sidewalk, rustling comes from the nearby bushes and a man jumps out at me, yanking me to the side of the house.
I fight against him and he grabs my neck, attempting to choke me out. A loud buzzing comes from behind us and the man releases me, falling to the ground. I glance behind me and Ignacio is smiling my way. “Hey, Daddy. Miss me?”
The guy tries to get up and Ignacio slams a gun in his face before shocking him again with a Taser.
My heart speeds up in my chest and my lips turn up. “Yes.” I run toward him, cupping his face in my hands, and I kiss him long and hard. A long groan has us breaking apart. The man on the ground shifts and I step closer, getting a better look at his face, my blood runs cold. “Carl?”
“I—”
“Do you know this clown?” Ignacio asks, pointing his gun at his head.
“Yes. We work together. He was my partner.”
“Evan, I can explain.”
“Please do,” I say, kicking him in the groin. He rolls into himself, whimpering.
“He threatened to hurt my family if I didn't do what he asked,” Carl says.
“Who?”
Carl looks up at me with frightened eyes. “I can't say.”
“If he doesn't go after your family, then I will,” Ignacio says, cocking his head. “So either way they'll be dead.”
I've never seen him be so brutal and cold before. I knew he had it in him. Everyone in his family does, one way or another. It runs in his blood and is ingrained in each one from the very beginning of life. It should scare me but all it does is make me want him more.
He looks so free and alive. Being the good guy all the time gets so damn exhausting after a while. The weight of expectations these last few years had grown heavy, causing me to sink into the ground. Going against the rules the last few weeks has been exhilarating and all the men I've hurt deserved it. But does Carl?
Carl's face twists in pain and his eyes water. “Please…I…” He swallows hard. “He wanted you out of the way. Said you'd make things harder for him.”
“Him?”
“Lennon.”
I freeze, my mind going back to our last phone call. He begged me to stay home because he knew I'd go against his request. I always did. My anger nearly strangles me and I reach my hand forward. Carl cowers into himself, shaking his head and closing his eyes.
“I'm not going to kill you.”
