Page 142 of Twisted Collide

“My favorite nephew.”

“Youronlynephew.”

“That doesn’t mean you aren’t my favorite.”

“Cut the shit.” I shake my freshly showered hair, flinging droplets all over his cheeks. “Tell me what you want.”

He smears the water off him. “Oh, I thought that would be obvious.”

“And I thought the cigarettes would’ve killed you by now. Unfortunately, we can’t always be right.”

He scowls before it transforms into a smirk, sending ants crawling up my skin. “I’m sure you’ve gotten my letter by now.”

Motherfucker.

He sent me the picture.

I move forward, ready to deal with him how I always wanted to deal with him. I’m not thinking straight. Without fail, he always manages to upend every ounce of my self-control.

He wags his finger, tsking, before he points up at the stadium camera above us. “I’ve always liked a good photo op, but something tells me this isn’t your most flattering angle.”

“I’m not that eighteen-year-old kid anymore, vying for any scrap of money I can to survive.” I step forward, angling my lips down, so they can’t be read. “I have resources to make your life a living hell, and I have absolutely no problem doing so. Cross me again, and I’ll remind you why men five times your size run when they see me coming.”

I don’t know what’s bravado and what’s a promise. Can I do something to him? Sure. But can I do it without facing consequences? Doubt it. I’ve made too many mistakes. Left too manyskeletons. It’s already a miracle that my dirty secrets haven’t been discovered yet.

My uncle smiles widely now, his tobacco-stained teeth showing. “I spoke to your good friend Nick.”

A bomb detonates inside me.

He is not fucking around.

He knows.

“Nick? Good kid. Big imagination.” I keep my face void of all emotion.

Always appear strong. Never show your weakness.

“You can pretend you don’t know what I found out. It won’t change a thing.” He laughs. “You know, if you were a better friend, you’d send him to rehab. All it took was a few too many drinks, and he spilled all his secrets—and better yet, yours. He was a fountain of knowledge.”

I will never understand how anyone can harm their own family.

He’s an unwanted reminder that not all bonds are unbreakable.

I tip my chin up, feigning calm. “What do you want?”

“You know what I want.”

“It always comes down to money for you.”

“You wound me.” He brings a hand to his heart, pretending to keel over. “What if I had cancer treatment I need to pay for.”

“You don’t.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m never that lucky.”

“Touchy, touchy. Fine. Money is the most important thing in the world.” He lifts a brow. “I thought you, of all people, would know that.”

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