Page 20 of His Mafia Sunshine

And we need him sloppy. Need him reckless and overconfident, too blinded by his own arrogance to see the trap snapping shut around him.

But God, the thought of using Asher as bait, of dangling him out there like a worm on a hook for my psychotic brother... it makes bile rise in my throat, makes my heart pound with a terror I've never known.

I've spent my whole life armored in violence and apathy, in the cold certainty that caring was a weakness I couldn't afford. But Asher... he slipped past all my defenses like sunshine through a crack in a wall, illuminating all the dark, hungry places I'd thought long dead.

He makes me want things I never thought I could have. A future, a home. A love that isn't measured in blood and bruises.

And the idea of losing him now, of watching Declan snuff out that precious light... it's unthinkable. Unbearable.

As if sensing the dark turn of my thoughts, Asher reaches over and lays his hand on my thigh, his touch warm and grounding even through the denim of my jeans.

"Hey," he says softly, his voice a balm to my fractured nerves. "It's going to be okay, Liam. We've got this, remember? You and me, against the fucking world."

A shudder ripples through me, my throat tightening with a swell of emotion so profound it steals my breath. I take one hand off the wheel, covering his fingers with my own, holding on like he's my only anchor in a raging sea.

"I love you," I rasp, the words raw and honest as a wound. "Asher, if something happens to you tonight..."

"Nothing's going to happen to me," he cuts in, fierce and absolute. "Because you'll be there, watching my back. And I'll be watching yours. We're a team, Liam. In this and everything else."

I bring his hand to my lips, pressing a hard, desperate kiss to his knuckles. I want to argue, to snarl that there are no guarantees in this life, that bullets don't give a fuck about love or loyalty.

But one look at his face, at the steel and fire in his eyes, tells me it would be futile. He's made up his mind, my beautiful, brave boy. Made his choice to stand and fight at my side, come what may.

And God help me, but I love him for it. Love him with a ferocity that borders on madness, that eclipses every instinct for self-preservation and sanity.

We pull up to the warehouse that serves as Declan's base of operations, the hulking building looming against the starless sky. I cut the engine, the sudden silence pressing in like a physical weight.

For a moment, we just sit there, staring out the windshield, our hands clasped between us like a lifeline. Then Asher takes a deep breath, squares his shoulders, and reaches for the door handle.

"Showtime," he says, with a lightness I know he doesn't feel. "Let's go introduce Declan to the concept of fucking around and finding out, shall we?"

Pride and terror war in my chest, a hot, prickling tightness behind my ribs. I lean across the console and capture his mouth in a hard, hungry kiss, pouring everything I can't say into the press of my lips, the sweep of my tongue. He makes a soft, needy sound against my mouth, his fingers curling in the front of my shirt, holding on tight.

"If you die on me, sunshine, I'll fucking kill you," I pant when we break apart, my voice cracking with the effort of holding back the scream building in my throat. "Come back to me, you hear? No matter what goes down in there, you fucking come back to me."

He rests his forehead against mine, his breath warm and sweet on my face. "Always," he whispers, the word a vow, an oath sealed in flesh and blood. "I'll always come back to you, Liam. In this life and the next."

One more fierce, desperate kiss, and then we're moving, out of the car and across the cracked asphalt. I force my mind to clear, my focus to narrow to the mission, the plan we've drilled a thousand times.

Get in. Get Declan. Get out. No hesitation, no mercy. Just cold, brutal efficiency, the only language my brother understands.

But even as I slip into the icy headspace of the Enforcer, the ghost of Asher's touch lingers on my skin, his taste on my tongue. A reminder of what I'm fighting for, of the precious, impossible dream waiting on the other side of this nightmare.

We slip into the warehouse through a side door, the lock giving way under my practiced hands. The space is cavernous and dim, the air thick with the tang of motor oil and stale cigarettes. I move through the shadows like a wraith, Asher a silent presence at my heels.

We're halfway across the floor when the overhead lights flare to life, blinding in their intensity. I throw up a hand to shield my eyes, my other already going for my gun, my heart slamming against my ribs.

"Well, well, well." Declan's voice, cold and mocking, echoes through the vast space. "If it isn't my wayward baby brother, come to call. And look, he brought his pretty little boy-toy with him. Isn't that just precious?"

I blink away the spots dancing in my vision, rage and fear a sick swoop in my gut. Declan stands on the catwalk above us, flanked by a dozen heavily armed men. He's smiling, but there's no humor in it, no warmth. Just a cruel, anticipatory hunger, the look of a predator scenting blood.

"It's over, Declan," I snarl, my voice ringing with a conviction I pray isn't false. "We've got evidence of all your dealings, names and dates and offshore accounts. Enough to put you and your top brass away for a dozen lifetimes. Walk away now, and I'll consider letting you live out your days in a cage instead of a casket."

Declan throws his head back and laughs, the sound as hollow and ugly as the rest of him. "Oh, Liam," he sighs, shaking his head in mock sorrow. "You always were a stupid, sentimental fuck. You really think I'd let you get this close if I didn't have an ace up my sleeve? If I wasn't ten steps ahead of you and your merry little band of traitors?"

Ice slides down my spine, my finger tightening on the trigger of my gun. "The fuck are you talking about?"

Declan smiles, a razor's edge in the dark. "I'm talking about loyalty, little brother. The kind that can't be bought or bargained for. The kind that would follow me into the jaws of Hell, if I asked it."

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