Page 82 of Madness & Mercy
I don’tknow.
The man who pulled the trigger doesn’t even look familiar. But Braga? Braga doesn’t send men out without a reason. If his guy had a bullet with Nico’s name on it, why didIcatch it instead?
Nico steps in close, crowding my space.
“So tell me, Julian. Who the fuck are youreallyworking for?”
I look at the shooter.
I look back at Nico.
And then I realize, I don’t know which I should be more afraid of.
One wrong word, one twitch of my hand, andI’mthe one chained to that chair, fingers snapped like twigs.
Fuck.
Think,Julian.
You’ve lied to men twice as cruel and ten times as paranoid. Talk your way out of it. Use that charm. Make it stick.
I square my shoulders, clearing my throat like I haven’t just walked into my own funeral.
“Braga means nothing to me.”
The shooter coughs, blood bubbling past broken lips.“Bullshit.”
I don’t even look at him.
“Can I kill him yet?”
Nico smirks without humor. “No. Not until I hear something useful.”
Then, without missing a beat, he turns to the man and pulls his gun with all the patience of a man about to snap.
“Andyou,shut the fuck up before I paint the walls with your goddamn brain.”
The guy gets the message. He shuts up, barely breathing.
Nico turns back to me. The weight of his gaze is a trigger against my skull.
“Go on,” he says.
I take a breath. Hold his stare.
Alright, Julian.Sell it.
“I’m working foryou,”I say, the words like glass on my tongue. “Only you.”
I nod at the blood-soaked wreck across from me. “I don’t know why he’d have this guy shoot me. Maybe…”
I let the silence hang, like it’s hard to say.
Nico’s eyes narrow. “Spit it out.”
I drop my voice to a whisper, laced with just enough pain in it to feel real.
“Maybe he did it because he was angry. Braga was a controlling bastard. He always liked his assets…obedient.”
