Page 77 of Waiting Game

He was precise, tactful, and silent. He could also blend in, but instead of using his mouth to get him out of trouble, he would just disappear without a trace. If he didn’t want you to know that he was there, you would never know. Angel was also a little younger than Toni and I, but had a similar upbringing. He was a sharpshooter, one of the cleanest I had met.

The two boys had moved up the ranks quickly, because of their respective skills and proven loyalty to The Family. When Antoni’s father died, and mine was locked up - the leading of The Family fell swiftly onto our young shoulders. Initially, Toni kept the ranks and roles the same, not wanting to upset the elders who had worked under his father. But they all looked down on him, and were hesitant in following his orders.

It became a dangerous situation fast.

From the moment that Antoni took on the role of Don, I had been by his side.

It felt strange to not be there when something this big was going down.

All I wanted was to get back to normal, not be cooped up in a safehouse like a liability to the war that was happening. The guilt at the thought of what might happen was near unbearable. Sitting alone with my thoughts was the icing on the cake.

I had caused this.

Now, my brothers would have to fight a battle that had only escalated because of my mistakes and my weakness for the girl that I loved.

But I knew that I couldn’t betray Antoni again.

Now that Valerie was gone - The Family was all I had left.

Again.

23

Chapter 23

Valerie

It was my first official day back at work, and I welcomed the distraction. I had sat in my house alone for the last couple of days, ignoring Pete’s phone calls and wallowing in the shower. When I got to the ward, Evelyn smiled up at me.

Tilly appeared from the office, and grabbed me by the arm, yanking me inside and closing the door.

“What happened?” she asked, her eyes wide.

“What do you mean?” I frowned.

“Pete told me that your crazy ex showed up and threatened the both of you, he wanted me to make sure you were okay. I’ve been calling you for days.”

I rolled my eyes and set down my bag on the desk, rubbing my eyes in frustration.

“For fucks sake,” I groaned.

“What?” she frowned.

“That’s not what happened at all,” I sighed, plopping down on the chair.

“So, what did happen?” She sat down in her chair and rolled it closer to me.

“Till,” I groaned, “there’s still so much that you don’t know about me and my family, okay? You don’t know what they’re like, what we’re like. Ren didn’t threaten me, but he did throw Pete around. That’s only because he showed up after he tried to force himself onto me.”

“What?” she yelled, and then clamped a hand over her mouth, “he didn’t!”

“He did. I punched him in the nose and he still wouldn’t leave. He probably would have succeeded if Ren hadn’t showed up,” I said in a hushed tone.

“He made it sound like you were in danger, I’ve been worried sick. That little fucker,” she hissed, slapping her hands onto her knees.

I shook my head, looking down.

“Yeah,” I pressed my lips together, “I really thought he was different, you know.”

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