Page 51 of Devious Lies

I was just a kid then, but it was Nico who helped me avenge her death.

We cleaned up that block. Got rid of the drug dealers who refused to monitor their product.

Now I do it without him. He has other deals to attend. The ports are important.

But I still see it as my personal mission to keep our old neighborhood streets clean.

So, yes, I employ my own guys, my own branch of Vipers to see to that.

Truth is, lately, it’s not enough.

The same motherfucker who burned our warehouse is responsible for the recent influx of heroine laced with too much fucking fentanyl.

Sanchez Junior and his band of fucking morons.

I'm capable of things that maybe they don't even know, but now it seems I'm capable of something else.

Maria.

Virgin.

Mine.

I never knew I had it in me to feel this way about someone. But I feel it. For her.

Obsession.

Affection.

Infatuation.

Desire.

The likes of which I never thought possible.

“Earth to Luc,” Angel persists.

These men are my family.

But I’m like two seconds away from cold cocking that fuck.

“Leave him alone, Angel. Luc has got things on his mind,” Nico says, and he’s grinning wider.

“Shut the fuck up,” I grumble, but then I’m smirking, too.

“Yeah? It’s been a while for you, bro. I think this calls for a drink,” Angel says, getting up to round the small bar next to Nico’s desk.

I roll my eyes but accept the tumbler of Whiskey Neat he holds out to me.

“What are we drinking to?” I ask.

“To the women who drive us wild,” Nico says, and his gaze flicks to Angel who looks pensive at that toast.

Well, that’s interesting.

I sip the dark, rich liquid and I nod.

Nico is definitely a good king.

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