Page 8 of Full Throttle

Leon was staring at me, waiting for an explanation, the reason why I betrayed him and destroying the brotherhood we’d built in such a short time. He promised me a place in his community down in Houston—a place to fucking settle and get away from everything The Pit in Detroit dragged me into.

My eyes scanned over the other two men. Jer looked pissed off, his arms crossed over his chest, his face set in stone. Dontell was studying me, ready to hear me out, but I knew I couldn’t let my guard down. Dontell Vance Michaelson was the most ruthless of them all. I’d argue he was even crazier than the damn Mafia King.

“Alright,” Jer said, breaking the silence. “Let’s get one thing out of the way: if it wasn’t for me and your brother, you’d be dead right now.”

I knew that.

Xander nearly killed me when I told him the truth. He looked at me as if I was stranger to him, and hell, maybe I fucking was. We hadn’t really been brothers since childhood.

Jer continued, “Collin wanted you dead the other night, Cain. You get that, right? The second you mentioned your history with the Bratva, he wanted to put a bullet between your eyes.”

“Jesus,” Dontell muttered.

I remained silent, only nodding once.

“But you’re Oasis. You’ve proven yourself to me,” Jer said, dropping his arms and putting his hands into his coat pockets. “I don’t take that shit lightly.”

His words rocked me, but I didn’t let it show.

You’re Oasis.

“Agreed,” Dontell said.

I nodded once more. “I know that.”

Leon shifted, gesturing to the space in between us. “Start,” he ordered.

I didn’t hesitate. I was tired of the secrets. I was Oasis, and fuck, that meant so much to me. I looked him in the eyes as I began, “One of the many regrets of my life was leaving you in that prison, Leon.”

The men said nothing, waiting for me to continue.

“The night before everything was supposed to go down, I got a note from another inmate. He had just been admitted, and he had a barbed wire rose tattooed on both hands,” I continued.

Dontell bit off a curse.

Jer’s brows came together.

Leon didn’t move an inch.

“You know that I was inside for running drugs for a gang in Detroit. They were once affiliated with The Pit, but new leaders have run them out since. The run ended in Texas, where we were busted and tried there. I was in the prison for two years before you showed up, Lee.” His eyes flashed, but otherwise, I didn’t get much else.

I leaned back against the hood of my car. “Two years, I heard nothing. Then the night before I’m supposed to start a new life…with a brother,” I said, regret pooling deep in my gut as Leon looked away, “I was cornered by the Bratva. He was a low-level man, an errand boy, sent to Texas to deliver a message to me…about my actual brother.”

The men remained silent, waiting for me say the truth out loud. “The message was about two things,” I began, my jaw tight. “Number one: Xander was on Kavi’s hit list.”

“Why?” Leon asked.

“Does Collin know this?”

I shook my head. “Xander doesn’t even know.”

Dontell’s brow furrowed. “Why was he on Kavi’s radar?”

I looked over to him. “Gambling debt—a fuck ton.”

Jer bit off a curse and looked to the ground.

“Number two: I owed Kavi over half a million.”

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