Page 19 of Full Throttle

“Why am I here instead of at the hospital?” I pressed, looking at Jeremy. “What's the favor?”

“Ah, yes. Xander, if you would,” Collin began, turning to my brother as he flicked his cigarette away.

Fuck, was I going to need one of those today?

“We need you to take out the trash,” Collin continued, looking at me.

“Done.” I moved, following Xander to the back of the SUV

As he opened the trunk, he said, “He’s testing you.”

“I’m not a fucking idiot,” I replied shortly.

“Never said you were,” he muttered.

The back of the SUV opened to reveal a young man with bloodshot eyes and dirt all over him. Collin and Jer joined us. “Who is this?” I asked no one in particular.

“The man who sold the Russian the C-4 that was strapped to Leon’s car,” Collin answered simply.

The darkness inside my soul grinned, leaving me unsettled. I hated that side of me, the tainted side. How I craved a normal fucking life…

“Before I take out this trash,” I began, turning to the men, "shouldn’t Lee get the honors?”

Collin’s head ticked to the side. “Dominique Wells isn’t important to Leon, not in that sense.”

Every muscle in my body tensed at his words—his assumption. “What the—”

“There’s no need to deny it, Cain,” Jer cut in. “Collin is up to speed.”

“For once,” Stevens added, looking at me with a hint of frustration in his eyes. When he brought me on, he didn’t know about my history with the Bratva, and neither did Xander. All they knew was that I could drive and build some of the best engines in the world.

I understood his distrust towards me, and I’d do just about anything to earn it. I wanted a place here.

I wanted it more than the breath in my lungs. For so long, I’d been lost, and Oasis was starting to feel like home.

You protect your home.

With everything you have.

“I’ll take care of it,” I said after a moment, looking the powerful man in the eye.

“I know you will, Cain.” With that, he turned to the man in the truck. I watched at the well-mannered king transformed into the demon everyone on the streets knew him as. He got closer to the SUV, causing the poor man to scramble back, but not by much, his hands and ankles bound together with zip ties.

“You’re too young,” Stevens told the man, who looked like he was fresh out of a college. Jer and I shared a look.

The C-4 dealer whimpered, tears running down his dirty cheeks as he tried to say something behind the strip of black duck tape over his mouth. The Mafia Don held up his hand. “You messed with the wrong people. Xander told me everything you…screamed last night.”

I looked over to my brother, raising a brow.

Xander shrugged a single shoulder, appearing bored. I tried to picture him questioning a man, torturing him to get the answers he needed, but my brain couldn’t comprehend it. Xander was the golden boy. While I was getting into racing, going to parties, and getting into fights, he was taking his anger out on the football field and getting praised for it.

“Watch out,” Jer warned.

The three of us took a step back as Collin yanked the young man from the car, his back hitting the cold concrete with a thud. “We’ll leave you to it,” Stevens said, his eyes swinging to Jer. “Later.”

“Later,” Jer replied.

Less than a minute later, they were gone, leaving me and the Oasis leader standing over a man on death’s doorstep.

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