Page 112 of Say I Do

Cleanup had taken longer than we’d thought it would. The sun had started to dip below the clouds, and I knew we wouldn’t get home anytime soon. If this were any other person hacked up into little pieces and stuffed into suitcases in the trunk, we could have called in a cleaning crew and gone about our evenings. However, Lee, being a made man, knocked that idea right out of the stratosphere. I had to keep this shit as contained as possible.

“We haven’t used this dumpsite in a while,” Tony said, breaking up the silence but not the tenseness that laced the air. “It should be good.”

“What’s going on here?” I asked.

“An office building once the foundation is laid. We can pour a little concrete today, and it’ll be fine.”

“Good thinking,” I muttered.

The car pulled to a stop. We moved out quickly. Gin and Enzo joined us as we unloaded the suitcases and got to work. By the time the bodies were safely encased in concrete, sweat covered my brow. I wiped the back of my hand against my face. When I straightened up from examining the new concrete job, I nodded.

“That’s good enough,” I said. “And seeing how it isn’t our site—”

“It’s not our problem,” Gin added. He gave me a timid grin. “So, can you breathe now or what? You’re making my stomach hurt like I gotta take a shit.”

“Disgusting,” Enzo muttered. “But agreed. Are you all right?”

I glanced at Quincy and Harlow. They’d hung back, and I was still surprised Harlow hadn’t insisted on ignoring every word I said. Instead, he maintained his distance and only glanced at me every once in a while. Now, however, he stood beside Quincy, who slung an arm over his shoulders. Their whispered words weren’t loud enough to reach me, but I conjured up every kind of betrayal possible in my mind.

Quincy had already been warned. I’d pushed down my rage the entire time I dealt with the Lee Aceto and Darla problem, but that was done now. I pulled my shirt off as I walked toward them before I pressed it into Harlow’s hands. He stared at me, confused.

“I don’t want to get blood on that,” I informed him.

“What? Why would you get blood on it?”

I cracked my knuckles. “Let’s get this over with, Quincy.”

Quincy blinked at me. “You want to fight me?” A grin tugged at the corner of his lips. “I thought you’d never fucking ask. Harlow should see who he’s stuck with for the next few years.”

I felt no need to answer his ridiculous bullshit with words. Quincy wanted to cross the line again and again? Fine. I would paint the concrete with his blood.

Quincy shrugged off his shirt and held it out to Harlow. I gave Harlow a look. He backed away.

“No fucking way. You’re not getting my ass beat,” he muttered. “I’m already in trouble.”

Smart move.Harlow could be an insane daredevil, but he knew when to pull back as well. If I wasn't so pissed, if rage didn’t curve down my spine and make my fists tighten, I would have admitted how much I admired that about him. Someone who knew how to toe the line without jumping over it was rare. Even Giancarlo didn’t have that ability.

Quincy ran at me without a word. My muscles tensed as I let him think he’d taken me off guard, that I was too slow. His fist crashed into my tightened abs. The shock of knuckle against flesh was never something you got used to, but I’d learned to deal with the pain. Quincy had allowed himself to get close. That was where I excelled.

I brought my knee up. It crashed into his gut and caught him off guard. He choked before he wheeled back and dodged my fist. I smiled as rage whipped up into wrath.

“Why are you running?” I asked. “Come back.”

“This is so stupid,” Harlow snapped. “Will you two knock it off?”

“It’s too late for that,” Gin said as he laced his fingers behind his head and laughed. “Once Benito gets started, nothing can stop him. Let them work it out.” He nudged Harlow with his shoulder. “It’s fine. Next time call your husband first, though, you know?”

My attention to their conversation was snatched away as Quincy came at me once more. His foot connected with my knee. I went down, and my knee slammed against the concrete as pain shot up my entire body. I sucked in a breath and forced myself to my feet. My knee buckled, threatening to knock me on my ass, but I kept moving.

“He called me for a reason,” Quincy said. “Don’t you think so? It’s almost like he knows who—”

I’d had more than enough of his mouth. I stepped forward, invading his space so quickly he blinked in confusion. My fist drove into his chin. Fire broke out against my knuckles as blood decorated my hand. I’d definitely split my knuckles open, but it wasn’t enough to stop me. Quincy tried to recover, but I quickly followed up with a right hook. My rings slammed into his face as blood flew. I’d been fighting since I was a kid, and by the way he attacked, I could guess he had as well. What he didn’t have was the fury that I’d saved up since the moment I walked into the hotel and saw the two of them together.

Harlow wasmine.That man, thatdemon,belonged to me in every single way. I didn’t know when it had happened, when he’d wormed his way underneath my skin and turned my lust to something altogether more, but he had. As much as I wanted to keep distance between us, to save my sanity and the shriveled-up mess that I called a heart, it felt impossible when Harlow was around. He’d started breaking down my walls, and I was the fool left waiting, wanting, desiring too fucking much that I hadn’t even known I needed.

Quincy’s fist to my cheek felt like nothing. Everything blurred as I threw myself into the fight. Trying to sort out what I felt for Harlow was a hell of a lot more terrifying than taking a few punches to the face. I would have to admit so much I’d denied; that I wasn’t heartless, that I cared, that I wasn’tentirelystraight. I could already hear my brother laughing at that last part, right along with Harlow.

As I moved back, sweat dripped down my spine. Droplets threatened to blind me, but I didn’t bother pushing them away. My heart pounded in my chest as Quincy followed me. He’d started picking up speed, but I didn’t give a damn about being fast. I was done fighting.

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