I rush toward Max and shove him into the wall. “Fuck you! Don’t you dare talk to me like that! I fucking made you!”
“Yeah, you made me alright…into a fucking peon! You kept me nice and close and turned me into your bitch!” He shoves me backward, and I stumble, tripping over some BDSM prop laying in the middle of the floor.
“You sonofabitch!” I launch a fist at his jaw and he blocks it so fast and so hard, the fist almost flies back at my own face. I take another swing and he ducks out of the way before I can make contact. I leap toward him, backing him against another wall with my chest, and he elbows me in the ribs. I clench my teeth and clutch my side. He stands over me, barely out of breath. I’m smart enough to know I’m out of my element here and that there will be no mercy shown if I launch a full-blown attack on him.
“Don’t mess with me, Nico,” he hisses. “I won’t go easy on you. I will fuck your shit up.”
I drag myself up to face him. His jaw is tight, eyes narrowed. I’ve seen him pummel plenty of people into the ground over the years. He’s always been the muscle. Today is no different. And he might have punctured a lung with that elbow, fucking asshole that he is.
“Get the hell out, Max. I don’t want to see you here again.” I rake a hand through my hair and lean back against the wall, my breathing labored.
“Good, ’cause I’m fucking done with you, asshole. And when the rest of the family figures out the truth, that you’re a big fucking pussy who can’t do shit to keep his people safe, you’re gonna be done, too.”