Page 94 of Rematch
In an instant, Max was between them. He ducked the punch with ease and countered with a sharp right hook to the man’s jaw.
Carter stumbled back, blinking through the pain. “Damn,” he said as he rubbed his jaw. “Your reflexes are quick as shit.”
Unamused, Max gripped him up by his neck and pinned him against the wall. “Didn’t I tell you to stay the fuck away from my girl?” Max demanded. “You trying to get your ass beat again?”
“Just trying to get your attention,” he said with a shrug. “My boss has a bone to pick with you.”
Chapter 38
Max
This asshole’s timing couldn’t have been worse.
For the past two weeks, I’ve walked around unscathed and unbothered. Now, when I’m out with my cousin and my girl, they want to show their faces.
“Go back to the table, ladies,” Adrian commanded.
“Are there eyes out front?” I asked.
“I’ve always got eyes on my wife.” He turned his head to nod at the girls who were still lingering behind us. “Go.”
Audrey was clutching Kiara’s arm and hand, eyes wide with a mix of fear and confusion. Her gaze bounced between the guy pinned to the wall and me, filling with a million questions.
“Come on,” Kiara told her, gently tugging her along.
Audrey followed her lead, but kept looking over her shoulder, likely convincing herself what she was seeing was real.
Adrian pulled the man off the wall and pushed him down the hall towards the back door.
I tightened my grip on Carter and followed him out to the back alley way near the dumpsters.
Adrian tossed his man on the ground. He stepped on the man’s arm, pinning it to the ground, as he pulled his gun out of his waistband. Without hesitation, he aimed the gun and sent a bullet straight through the man’s hand.
The man screamed in agony.
“Shut the fuck up,” Adrian spat as he kicked the man straight in the face. “Be grateful it was your hand and not your stupid ass skull.”
Turning around, he yanked Carter out of my grasp and shoved him up against the wall. He pushed the mouth of the gun up underneath his chin, pushing his gaze to the sky. “And you - the fuck does your boss want with my cousin?”
“I’m only supposed to discuss it with-” He choked on his words as Adrian’s hand tightened around his neck, cutting off his airflow.
“That’s not what I asked you.”
I raised a brow, but I didn’t dare intervene. I always knew my cousin had a short fuse. Back then, we were just too young to see how big of an explosion he could make. Seeing him now, eyes ablaze and gun cocked, helped me understand the eggshells his men usually walked on around him and his siblings.
“My boss…he…he wants to talk…” Carter struggled to speak, gasping for air with every word.
“There’s no ‘talking’ in this world. The fuck does he really want?”
“I’m…I’m serious. Out of…respect…for his father.”
Adrian’s mouth curled in disbelief. “Who’s his boss?” He directed the question at me.
“Elias Blackwell: head of one of the gangs on the south side. His boys run some of our families’ products.”
“Hm.” He finally lowered his gun from the man’s chin. “We’re not on his time. If he wants to talk, he can come to us. Max, you got a place?”
“Warehouse on 60th and Wallard.”
