Page 49 of Merciless

~Dealer~

“MATTHEW PRIEST.”

I keep my gaze steady, my expression not giving anything away as that name comes growling from Cavalno.

“What about him?”

He and Spartan exchange a withering look.

“We know he’s putting the screws to you,” Cavalno reveals, stepping forward, and taking the lead.

Spartan hangs back, just looking on.

Some people might see that as a sign of weakness, like he’s capitulating to the almighty Don or something. But I know better. I know the guy’s rep real well. It’s what he does. He waits all patient and creepily unaffected as he gathers as much intel, reading the situation carefully, before he makes a move. Fucking smart. And a bitch of a thing to me right now.

“My business either way, ain’t it?” I tell Cavalno.

“If only it were that simple.”

“I got it handled.”

“Like you had Skinner and the Mavs handled?” Spartan comments.

Fucker.

It has me taking an aggressive step forward.

Being the hardass bastards they are, neither of them so much as flinches.

Hell, I’d be reacting the same way if it were one of them coming at me. Too many years, too much dark and gritty bull. It’s numbed us.

“I had him handled for a long time, longer than anybody else could pull off. Him going crazy screwed with that. You can’t predict the actions of a madman.”

“When things go that route, there’s only one option left.”

Cavalno nods in agreement and finishes for him, “To destroy.”

“That what you two stopped me on the road for? To put me up to destroying Priest?”

“Nah, we figured you already decided on that route,” Spartan tells me.

“Now that he’s got your woman,” Cavalno adds. “That’s grounds for a kill without a doubt, for men like us.”

Us?

“There ain’t no us in this. We ain’t friends. Spartan, you might be tight with Ax now, but that don’t make you and me tight. Same for you, Cavalno, and your relationship with Char.”

“Allies don’t need to be friendly,” Cavalno states. “In fact, they don’t even need to trust one another implicitly. They merely need to share the same goal.”

“And you think taking down Priest is the goal that binds all three of us together?” At their nods, I go on, “Cavalno, I can see with your connection to Char. Spartan, I got no clue how this concerns you. So, enlighten me, Prez.”

“The fact you’re asking tells me we were right on. You got no idea what you’re gonna be walking into with that meet you agreed to. You don’t know what Priest wants from you, what he’s caught up in that’s slated to impact you. You’ve got tunnel vision, only focused on getting your woman out of there. Short-sighted as usual. Your greatest weakness. Always has been.”

“And yours is taking way too long to react to something, trying to make everything foolproof and certain. That ain’t the world we live in.”

“I ain’t the one whose approach had him going to ground for years on end, abandoning his daughter, losing his club with the thing nearly falling in the process because you left it in the hands of an unqualified maniac. You lost everything and years of your life that you’ll never get back.” He takes a step closer, just shy of being in my personal space. His eyes bore into mine as he says, “So, tell me again whose approach is better.”

“That ain’t happening this time. I ain’t gonna stop.”

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