Page 49 of Brandishing Balance
Rage roiled within me. “Maybe not for him, but it is for you, motherfucker.” I grabbed Jason by the collar and yanked him forward roughly, tossing him into the ring aggressively, before I got in Marcos’s face. “I’ll deal with you in private,” I vowed, before I turned back to the ring and climbed in after Jason.
Jason had already rolled to his feet and was getting up as I stormed toward him. The surrounding crowd cheered loudly, but I ignored them all. I had a beef to settle with my brother, and I didn’t give a fuck who witnessed it. I was sick and fucking tired of Jason and Marcos leaving Maya alone. She’d only been home a couple days after the most traumatic thing someone could go through—in my mind—and she was home alone.
I hit Jason in the face—hard—without Jason even putting up a fucking arm to stop me. I didn’t go easy on my brother, despitethe man not fighting back, I laid into him like he was a fucking punching bag. “Fight back, motherfucker!” I growled.
“No,” Jason grunted, absorbing another hit—this time to his ribs. “You’re right, absolutely right. We shouldn’t have left. I should have told Marcos to leave without me. He’s president, you’re VP, it makes sense that you’re both here. I can stay back, one of the other guys could have watched Marcos’s back.”
I landed another punch to Jason’s face. “You got that right, motherfucker. Stop. Fucking. Leaving. Her. Alone!” I growled the words, landing a punch with every word I said, emphasizing my point.
Jason was a bloody mess before I finally backed off. Swaying on his feet, blood pouring out of his bruised and battered face, Jason nodded at me. “You’re right.”
I shook my head and walked away. I didn’t give a fuck about being right. I needed to get home to my woman and make sure she was ok, both physically and mentally. I could only imagine the toll this was taking on her.
Marcos
Regretflaredwithinme,not for the first time that night. Ever since I left Maya and Luke back the house, I’d been having second thoughts. I had set up every precaution in place to ensure their safety, but after seeing Nico’s rage, I knew I fucked up. Nico was clearly looking out for her wellbeing and I was only doing further damage.
Jason slid out of the ring, his father Jerry Langford—another patched member of the Devil’s Psychos—helped him down.
I watched them walk over to the locker rooms and sighed. Add another thing to my running list of epic fuck-ups. Nico waswalking toward the door, his cousin Leo walking beside him. They stopped at the door, Leo grabbing Nico into a hug before patting him on the back. Clearly, Seratelli was the better man at this moment.
Johnny Taylor of the Ravager Knights slid up beside me, snapping me out of my daze. “What was that about?” His voice was sharp, the anger evident in his tone. This was not how tonight was supposed to go down. Taylor needed a sit down with Seratelli, and after witnessing the don take sympathy on his cousin, I wondered if Leonardo would still allow anything more to happen tonight.
“I fucked up—again.” There was no point in denying it. Johnny was my fucking brother at this point, both by blood and marriage practically.
“Well, you better make this fucking right. I need this fucking sit down, and you still owe me a fucking turn in the ring,” Johnny snapped.
I nodded. “You’ll get your chance in the ring. Let me go talk to Seratelli.” I walked away, heading for the don.
Johnny followed me and I wondered how this would play out. Before the two of us could even get close to Leonardo though, his men closed ranks. Two of his brothers stepped in front of Leonardo, blocking my path. “I just want to talk,” I said, holding up my hands in surrender.
“I’m getting really sick of you, Candella,” Leo snapped. His brothers moved out of the way so he could step forward, getting into my face.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sick of me too,” I agreed.
“Good. Fucking fix shit with Nicolai.” The order was clear, despite theor elsebeing unsaid, I knew it was there. Leonardo Seratelli would protect his family,allof his family, and I knew without a doubt, Maya and Luke were now considered his family.
Leo looked away from me, clearly disgusted. His eyes landed on Johnny. “Taylor, good. Get your VP and let’s hit my office.” Leo walked away before either of us could say anything.
Johnny turned away, leaving me behind.
Another one of my fuck-ups added to the list.
Marcos
At home, I unlocked the back door, helping Jason stumble in the house. How he had rode home with his eye swollen shut was beyond me, but Jason had.
The house was quiet and dark when we walked in after midnight. We both kicked off our boots and headed straight for the stairs. In Maya’s room, we found Nico curled around her sleeping form.
I sighed and went into my own bedroom, leaving them to their privacy. Jason must have decided the same thing, because his bedroom door closed a moment later. I had no idea how I was going to get any sleep, but I lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling, knowing it was going to be a long sleepless night.
Not even twenty minutes later, Maya’s yells pulled me from my thoughts. I jumped out of bed, my heart racing, wondering what the hell was happening. I burst into her room at the same time as she sat up abruptly in bed.
“What happened?” I demanded.
Nico also sat up in bed. He put his hand on her shoulder and she flinched away.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” Maya snapped.
