Page 74 of Revenge

They didn’t say anything, but I could feel my men judging me, trying to understand why I hadn’t given the order for Quinn to be killed. But fuck them, if they wanted to fill their meaningless existence with questions that would never be answered so be it. Plot twists kept shit interesting but it also made people question your strength. It was the latter part of that sentence that I had to bear in mind.

I spent the next half an hour smacking the shit out of the punching bags in the gym, trying to focus on my next steps. Everything seemed to be going to shit all at once. As well as the shitshow with Ava and Quinn in the basement, someone had been caught cheating at the gaming tables. I would usually personally involve myself with pricks who tried to steal from me, but I had bigger fish to fry, so I put Hamish on it. That fat lazy fuck. Hopefully keeping him busy would distract him from feeding my father shit.

“How is he?” I asked Nico as he appeared at the doorway to the gym. Palming the back of his neck, he drew a clean towel from the shelves beside the door and threw it over to me.

“What’sthatlook?” I asked, grabbing it in mid-air.

He shrugged, “Why do you give a fuck? That’s not the Kai I know.”

His words were unwelcome, but I had to agree with him. I wiped the sweat off my shoulders and chest before towelling off my hair.

“That’s not the Kai I know either. I feel like I’m losing my shit,” I admitted.

“The men are spooked. They think you're going soft.”

“Fuck them,” I growled. “I answer to no one, you know that.”

A heavy silence settled between us. I had just admitted weakness in front of one of my men. Yes, he was my second and closest friend, but that wasn’t something a mob bosseverdid.

“Remind me why the fuck you took her to see him in the first place?” he questioned. The employee, boss line had lifted in that moment and we were just friends. I allowed Nico to break my balls,occasionally.

I slung the towel over one shoulder and watched him across the space, “I told you. She wanted to see the seedier side of things. When I dropped my wedding plans on her, Ava started saying shit she shouldn’t have been saying.”

My friend's expression clouded, “How so?”

I exhaled, pinching my nose between my thumb and finger. It took me a moment to gather my response.

Dropping my hand, I explained, “Ava accepted my terms but said that she wanted to be involved. She didn’t want to be in the dark like mafia princesses usually are. I think she was suggesting a partnership of sorts.”

Understanding bled into his features, “Fuck that shit.She’s a woman.”

I slowly nodded with the ghost of a smile, “Yep, fuck that shit and yes, Ihadnoticed.”

“What are you going to do now?” Nico asked, looking as puzzled as I did, “About Ava,” he added, leaning against the doorframe.

Her name dragged me back to earth and I threw the towel on the side and drew my discarded T-shirt over my head.

“I need to see her,” I said, striding towards him. Nico held up a hand as I came close, a gesture for me to stop.

“What?”

“Just—go easy on her.”

His words wound me up. Like I would fuck her up any more than I already had. Regret must have lined every part of my face. Read the fucking room, Nico.

I bit my tongue and nodded before moving past him.

As I strode out of the gym and took the stairs, Nico followed, a quiet understanding between us.

When I got to her room, I turned to my most trusted friend who was behind me awaiting instruction. He placed a hand on my shoulder, “Tell me what you need, Kai?” Again, not boss. He could see I was struggling.

I glanced to the side, and looked at his hand, “A time machine?” I replied with a grunt.

He smiled and raised his eyebrows in a no-can-do friend.

Clearing my throat, I said, “Take care of Quinn, watch him. Make sure he has whatever he needs. No other fucker apart from you and Farmer are to enter his room.”

Nico nodded, “What about Ava?”

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