Page 55 of I Stop Somewhere Waiting For You

“And all this because why? Because my sister decided to whore herself out to Maverick Bishop?”

I recoil at the harshness of his words.

“Easy, Nicky,” Mav hisses, his words heavy with hostility. “She may be your sister, but she’s the love of my life. Disrespect her again and we’re gonna have problems.”

“Fuck you, Mav,” he spits, his words laced with venom. “I’ll address her however I see fit.”

“Call her a whore again and it’ll be the last thing you ever say to her.”

Nicky waves him off, directing his attention back to Tommy. “So, if the goal was to incite a war, why go the extra mile and rig his car?”

“Because I could tell when you were informed of the heist, even with the evidence pointing toward him, you had doubts. So, I created a backup plan. I called the same contacts who helped pull off the heist and told them you bought it. Said you were interested in retaliation and if they took Mav out, you’d deal them in when we expand as a thank you.”

“Tommy,” Nicky sighs, “who the fuck did you make deals with under my name?”

“The Petrovs.”

My brother’s eyes go wide as he rakes his fingers through his hair. “The Petrovs? You promised a piece of the pie to the fucking Russians?!” Nicky’s voice gets louder with each passing word. “Jesus Christ, Tommy! They’re fucking Bratva, you dumb fuck!”

“Nicky,” Mav’s voice calls him to attention. “The Petrovs work out of New York City. They’re in the middle of a turf war with the Stingone Family… who I just handed my entire gun business to.”

“Motherfucker,” Nicky exhales, pinching the bridge of his nose. “That’s great, Tommy,” his voice spills out, thick with sarcasm. “Thank you. We’re gonna have a fucking hell of a time controlling that blowback. You got us into this mess, you’re gonna get us out. You hear me?”

“What?” Tommy and I both ask simultaneously.

“You’re not mad?” Tommy asks, his tone baring hints of relief.

“Of course I’m fucking mad, Tommy. You fucked with my business and marked up my sister’s face, but I very well can’t have her spreading her legs for this fuck, can I?” He gestures toward Maverick, my heart breaking at what he’s implying.

“Nicky, no!” I shout out. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am serious, Joanna. You have made a mockery out of this family, and you will be dealt with accordingly. Right after I deal with Bishop. Tommy, shoot him please and put her ass in the car.”

“NO!” I start thrashing as Tommy tries to take aim. Maverick’s stance never wavers as he continues to stare Tommy down defiantly. My spastic movements grow more frantic, frustrating Tommy who’s eager to take his shot.

“Tommy, toss her aside and take the fucking shot!” Nicky commands.

Tommy obliges, discarding me to his left as I’m pulled backward. A shot rings out into the night followed by screaming. After several seconds I realize the screaming is my own.

“Shhhh….” a voice soothes into my ear. “J, it’s me. It’s Rico, it’s me.” He spins me in his grasp, his hands gripping the sides of my face, forcing me to look at him. “It’s okay, Baby J. I got you.”

“Maverick.” His name escapes my lips in a state of panic.

“He’s fine, J. Nicky was just trying to get Tommy to let you go so we could get a clear shot. Look.” Rico gestures with his head over my shoulder. I turn to take in the sight before me.

Tommy’s on the ground, gripping his leg and hissing in pain, his knee covered in blood from an apparent gunshot wound. JP and another guy stand overtop with weapons trained on him. Behind them, Mav and Nicky are engaged in a heated stare-down. “Granted, he went a little off script,” Rico continues, “but it did the trick.”

Rico releases me, and I take off running. “Maverick!” I call out, causing his head to snap in my direction. He steps around a clearly pissed Nicky, intercepting me mid jump. I slam into his chest, my legs wrapping around his waist as my lips crash into his. His hand weaves into my hair, pulling me closer into him.

I wince as the pressure of his face against mine causes pain to radiate from where Tommy punched me. Mav pulls back, carefully lowering me to the ground as he takes my face in his hands to examine it.

“I’m gonna fucking kill him,” he seethes. “Finn!” he calls out over my shoulder. I look back just as the guy I previously noticed with JP snaps to attention. “He stays alive. For now. Acknowledge.”

“Heard!” Finn shouts in response.

“Who took the shot?” I watch, as Finn and JP lift and cuff Tommy.

Mav’s head gestures off to the side just as another guy comes wandering out of the darkness with a sniper rifle. “T.”

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