Page 38 of Protecting Charity

“Sounds like you.”

“That is not like me.”

“Don’t deny it. We all know you two were cut from the same cloth. If Uncle Turo hadn’t signed off on her, you would have given him your best man as a sacrifice just to have him say yes.”

He wasn’t wrong there. I knew the moment I looked into her emerald-green eyes; she had a darkness inside of her that rivaled mine. She was perfect for the job. Besides the fact, I couldn’t keep my damn hands off her.

“Just put someone on her, Max. She needs to come back here tonight, but I know full well she is going to test it.”

“Okay, but if she finds out, it’s on you.”

“It’ll give us one more reason for angry fucking. We’re good at that.” I laughed, then forked a piece of steak in my mouth. “Where is Nico?”

“Yeah, you two are nothing alike,” he said, sarcasm dripping from his words. “Dunno, he was at the prison last I heard.”

“Visiting the old man, I assume?”

“I guess.” Max finished his plate, set it aside, and then took his decanter and downed it in one big gulp.

“You got her car fixed?”

“Pssh, who would have thought that Skyride Blue paint would be so fucking expensive? Whoever did it, though, took it right down to the metal. They had to sand it down, which was why it took longer.”

I wracked my brain trying to come up with people or reasons as to why someone would write that specific word on her car—in public, no less. “All the more reason to have someone watching her. Then we can find out if this was a coincidence or if these two things are related.”

I turned to Vito, “How is that incentive coming along with Adelaide?”

His gaze whipped up to meet mine, and I already knew the answer before he spoke.

“Uh… she said, and I quote, ‘go fuck yourself.’ I tried, but she wouldn’t take anything.”

I frowned. Dealing with Charity and her insolence was enough for one man, but dealing with two girls with the same attitude… that was too much. “Did you tell her it was for a good cause?”

He nodded. “Yes, Boss. She said, ‘nothing you do is for a good cause.’”

“I should set Charity on her.”

Max’s eyes bugged out, and he cleared his throat. “Have you lost your mind? They’d become friends, and then where would you be? A killer and a hacker become friends… sounds like the beginning to a bad joke.”

I laughed. I had to agree with him there. That would be a terrible union.

“Escalate the incentive, Vito. Don’t take no for an answer. Cut off her grandma’s toes if you have to.” Vito looked around, uncomfortable by the request. “It was a joke. I’ll have Charity do it. That’ll ensure they never become friends.”

“Like I said: cut from the same cloth.”

“Fuck you, cousin.” I laughed. He knew me pretty well, but I kept most of my demented thought processes inside the chambers of my mind. They were so dark, I hoped they never escaped.

Chewing another bite of medium-rare steak, I flipped through my phone and called Nico. It rang, then finally went to voicemail, causing an uneasy feeling to settle in my stomach. Nico always answered his phone unless he was in court, and well… the court wasn’t in session in the evenings.

“Should I be concerned?”

“About?”

“Nico not answering.”

“Nah, give him a moment. You must’ve caught him at the wrong time.” I hoped he was right. With all the recent developments coming out of the woodwork, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Chapter 16

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