My eyes widen. Fuck!
“Whose fucking fingers are these, Mikey?” I yell. My head is spinning like a top and I can’t stop it. I’m scared shitless of what else I’m gonna find when he finally gives me the location I want, and I can’t for the life of me figure out his plan. If he’s not killing me, then…oh, Christ…
“I can see the light,” Mikey hisses. “It’s fucking dim, but at least it’s on. You’re getting there, aren’t you? You have an idea of who you’re gonna find, but you don’t know where to look. And you don’t know what’s coming next, either. That pisses you off more than anything.” Mikey leans back against his truck. “The thing is, if you were just a little smarter, you’d already be where you need to be. But let’s face it. Your fists were always more powerful than your brain. That’s why you’re still up Nico’s ass, trying to figure out how to do shit on your own. Nobody trusts you with anything big. In fact, I’ll bet your pal Nico knows a hell of a lot more than he’s telling you. Know why? He’s a smart guy. He can figure shit out pretty quick. Remember that night at the construction site? The scene you made, trying to prove to your piss ant crew that you’re not a fucking pussy? That was nothing, bitch. That was just a warning.” His smirk deepens. “You still haven’t connected those dots, have you? Well, guess what, dipshit? I bet your pal Nico has. And is it really so surprising he hasn’t told you what’s about to happen? It’s not like you can stop it anyway. Not like any of you assholes can stop it.”
I swing back my arm and crush my fist against Mikey’s eye. “Don’t you ever fucking talk to me like that again!”
He stumbles back against the car, holding a hand to his now-bloody eye. But the bastard still doesn’t stop smiling. “Did that make you feel better? Like more of a man, you know, the way you used to be before they slapped a fucking vagina in place of your dick!”
A deep roar emerges from my throat, and I leap on top of him, pounding my fists against him—his face, his chest, any target close enough for attack. Lucky for him, I’m only able to land a few good punches before his goons pull me off of him and throw me on the ground. I kick my legs around before they take me down to the pavement and manage to knock out a few teeth along the way. I cover my head, trying to protect my face and throat, but it doesn’t matter. There’s too much exposed, and I don’t even wanna think about how busted up my insides will be when Mikey finally calls them off of me.
After a few seconds, he shocks the shit out of me and yells at them to stop…just like I did when my guys were beating the fuck out of his errand boy at the job site that night. Don’t kill the messenger…yet. He serves a purpose. Once he does what we want, then we’ll gut him.
I know the drill. Been there, done that, got the fucking t-shirt.
Mikey bends down to where I lay, clutching my side and assessing my injuries. One of my eyes is almost swollen shut, and I’m pretty sure I have at least one cracked rib. Since I can still breathe, it probably hasn’t punctured a lung.
I’d say I fared pretty damn well considering the pack of thugs that was using me as a crash test dummy for their fists a few minutes ago.
He ruffles my slicked-back hair and snickers, the cocksucker that he is. “Sorry to mess up your outfit. And you looked so pretty, too.”
I shove him away with one hand, but he only laughs. “This is fucking great, Max. I almost feel like we’re getting close to being even. I just need to fuck your shit up a few thousand more times. Wait for it because it’s coming. Fast.”
Blood pools in my mouth, and I spit it at his feet. “Give me what I asked for!”
“And then what? Are you gonna swoop in to save the day? You’re such a fucking Boy Scout now, huh? Always trying to do the right thing, always trying to save someone from their fate. But you couldn’t save Gabe, could you? Someone always ends up getting shanked on your watch.” He fists my hair, his lips right against my ear. “Who’s it gonna be this time? Wanna take a stab at it?” He lets out a sinister chuckle and shoves my head backward, my back slamming against the frozen concrete. “Whose blood will be on your hands tonight, Max?”