Page 76 of Full Throttle

“You don’t—”

“That night I packed and left. If I told you to grab your shit, would you have come?”

I ground my molars together, knowing the fucking truth.

A huff of quiet laughter left him again. “She was your fucking world, man. What kind of brother would I have been if I took you away from that?” he asked.

I stared at my brother, knowing that he did take her from me.

In the end, I would never have her.

All because of him.

“No, I wouldn’t have,” I said, anger rolling off my shoulders in waves. “Why didn’t you contact me?”

A shadow fell over his face then, looking away from me. “Needed to make a clean break.”

Ivan groaned from behind me, and I turned to find his eyes opening. With a growl, I walked over to him, shoving my gun into my jeans before cocking my fist back. Once I was in front of him, my fist connected with his nose, bones crunching as I knocked him out again. A lock of hair fell on my forehead as I stared at one of the men who’d made my life a living fucking hell.

“You needed a clean break,” I said in disbelief as I looked at him.

“I’ve made many mistakes in my life, Cain. If I’d known what those mistakes would’ve caused, I would’ve done things differently.”

A sad chuckle left me as I turned away from him, heading back to my seat. “That’s the shitty thing about this life, Xander.” I looked at him over my shoulder, giving him the same look he’d given me the night he left. “There are no second chances.”

St. Louis, MO.

Ivan was tied to a chair, the hook that Victor had been hung from hovering above him.

“Well done, boys,” Collin praised, inspecting the tools on his table, his suit jacket off.

His head and mine snapped over to the far side of the building as a metal door creaked, signaling the arrival of the Oasis drivers, Jeremy coming in first, Leon and Dontell flanking his sides.

Lee’s eyes snapped to mine before he broke away, heading to where I was leaning against one of the stolen cars. “I brought you a present,” I muttered once he was close enough.

He ignored my comment, his face set in stone as he asked, “You good?”

After a moment, I nodded. “Yeah. Tired as shit, but I’m good.”

His eyes flashed, his jaw jumping once as he put his hands into his hoodie pocket. "You don’t have to bullshit with me. You must be tired from holding all those walls up,” he noted.

I said nothing. The last thing I wanted was another emotional conversation. What I really wanted was a fucking shower and to check on Dominique.

Dontell joined us, a scowl present on his face. “I don’t know whether I should hug you or punch you,” he muttered, looking me up and down.

I cocked my head to the side. “It was Jer’s call.”

He shook his head. “Don’t give a shit. You’re our fucking friend—you’re fucking family, Cain.”

Before I could say anything, Collin asked, “Has he told you anything yet?”

My eyes flicked to Ivan, hatred growing inside my gut, poisoning me from the inside out. “No. He put up one hell of a fight, though.”

The Mafia leader’s eyes brightened, a murderous gleam in them. “Did he now?”

“He’ll be out for a while, boss,” Xander said, walking back in.

Collin hummed, his eyes finding his brother-in-law’s. “Your call.”

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