Page 98 of Scarred Heir
“I found out some information that I thought could be useful, and I gave it to him in exchange for his protection.”
“Protection from what?”
“Milo.”
“We didn’t need protection from Milo.” I rubbed my arms, trying to create some body heat. “Milo was protecting you from Bello. Why did you have to screw this up for me?”
He blasted the heat, but I wasn’t shivering because I was cold. I was on the verge of a full-blown anxiety attack. A familiar attack that had become routine as a child when my father had become furious with my mother, and then later my brother.
Somewhere along the way, I learned how to channel those bouts into what I thought was something useful. I focused on protecting Chance and being his savior. A lot of good that did me.
“How could you betray Milo?” No wonder Milo couldn’t let this go. Bello was an enemy.
“I was trying to help you.” Chance headed toward the tunnel, glancing in the rearview mirror as he switched lanes. “Milo is a dangerous man. You’re in too deep. I needed to get you out.”
“I told you I didn’t want you to do that.” Milo wanted my loyalty. That was the least I could do for him after everything he had done for me. “We have to fix this. Take me back, and we’ll go to Milo and make him understand that you thought you were helping me.”
“He’s not going to forgive that.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Don’t you see? He is ten times worse than the men you told me to steer clear of. After all your lectures aboutstaying on the right side of the law and being honest, you fell for the kingpin.”
Actually, that was Nico, but…
“I never saw my life going this way either, but being with Milo is the best thing to ever happen to me.”
“That’s great.”
“You’re my brother and I’m always going to love you, no matter how stupid you are, but my life hasn’t been spectacular. We had a rough start and nothing I did put us on the right path. Not until I went to Milo and asked for his help. That was our turning point.”
“At what cost?” Chance gripped the steering wheel. “You’ve already lied to the police for him.”
“I wouldn’t have had to do that if you had minded your business.”
“My plan is already set in motion, and now we have to stick to it.”
“What plan? Where are we going?”
“Bello has a cabin in the woods. We can stay there, but he doesn’t want Milo to find it, so we have to leave once the storm passes.”
“Where do you think you’re going to go?” I asked. “Milo already knows you interfered. He’s going to look for you.”
“That’s why we have to run.”
“Run where? We don’t have any money.”
“You do.” He pointed at my bracelet. “We could sell that. I’m sure it’s worth thousands of dollars.”
“No!” I covered the bracelet with my hand. “This was a gift.”
“From a criminal. It was bought with blood money. Do you know what kinds of acts Milo and his family have to commit to get that money?” He turned onto a desolate road,sliding down it before regaining control of the car. “You have to stop being innocent.”
“I’m not innocent when it comes to Milo,” I said. “I know who he is and what he does.”
I might not have understood everything Milo did in the name of his family, but I knew he was morally corrupt. That didn’t bother me, because when we were together, I saw a man who would burn the world down for me.
Didn’t I owe him that same intensity?
“You are naive when it comes to Milo.”
“No!” I stared at my brother’s profile as he concentrated on the slick road in front of us. “I’m naive when it comes to you. I’ve allowed you to make one dumb mistake after another while I keep cleaning up after you. I can’t fix this one for you.”
