Page 4 of Lethal Lover

“Get in the car.” I say the words through clenched teeth, my spine stiff as if standing still will make me invisible to whoever is in that truck.

An outstretched hand reaches out of the back seat. Before I can blink, gunshots pop into the air, ricocheting off metal, shattering glass.

Niall manages to get inside, and as soon as he unlocks the doors, I dive into the passenger seat.

The back door of the truck slams shut. Smoke kicks up from the tires as the driver stomps on the gas.

“What the hell was that all about?” I rake a hand through my hair. “Go after those fuckers. Don’t lose them.”

Niall lets out a frustrated breath. “The one time we leave our guns in the car.”

“We’d have never gotten past security.” I pull our guns out from under the passenger side seat. “It’s a damn good thing that idiot was a shitty shot or it’d have been us taking those bullets instead of the car next to us.”

“They weren’t trying to kill us. They wanted to keep us away.”

“Yeah, well, they fucking failed. They have a girl in that truck and we’re going after it.” An ice-cold chill slithers through my insides.

“Are you nuts, Q? This isn’t our battle. We’re here to get away from all that shit, remember?”

“Go after the truck or get the fuck in the back seat and I’ll do it myself.”

With a roll of his eyes, Niall slams his foot on the gas and swings the steering wheel around a curve. The truck barrels down the aisles of cars, not slowing down for any of the sharp turns.

“Stay on them.” I clutch the side of my seat, my fingertips digging into the leather.

“Why the hell are you doing this? Do you really think Dad wants our name to be associated with whatever the hell is happening here?”

“Things are so crazy with the crap Conor is stirring up in the city, I doubt he’ll give a damn.” Conor is my oldest brother and the one who’s been promoted to boss of our family. “Besides, he’s broken up enough about Heaven writing him off since she married Villani. Why the hell do you think he agreed to us coming down here? It’s like he doesn’t give a damn about anything anymore.”

There’s more to the story than my sister Heaven just disassociating herself from my father and the Mulligan organization. She and Conor were both underbosses to my father. Conor is a fucknut… the eternal screwup… who put our whole family at risk when he killed a drug cartel lieutenant’s daughter. And even after Heaven iced the cartel kingpin’s ass, Dad still promoted Conor over her. Because he’s a guy. I can’t blame her for making a disappearing act after that shit show.

“You’re not a cop. Or a fucking superhero.”

That’s the fucking understatement of the year. I’m the furthest thing from a superhero. Impulsive, careless, dangerous… that’s all me. But I believe in getting revenge. And justice. It’s the only way for me to self-protect. My family’s notorious reputation always chased me like an attack dog trying to bite me in the ass. Nobody wanted to associate with the mafia boss’s kid. I was reckless, always starting fights because it kept people out of my way.

The guys in that truck may not have my cousin in the back seat, but they have someone’s cousin, sister, or daughter in there. And they pulled a gun on us. As far as I’m concerned, that’s an open invitation for me to fuck shit up.

“Nobody was able to save Molly. Nobody could help her.” Anger bubbles to the surface, the vicious streak that protected me when I was younger lighting up my insides.

They see me as an animal, so I’m going to be that animal.

It’s worked for me so far.

“Yeah, well, Heaven fucked up that night. She was too plastered to do anything about it, and the guys got away with Molly.”

Rage roars through me. “Heaven stabbed one of them with her shoe, for fuck’s sake. She fought like hell and is lucky she didn’t get thrown into that car, too. We could’ve lost them both, asshole.”

We’re on the street now. Niall swerves around cars to keep the truck in sight. His jaw tightens. “Just because we lost Molly doesn’t mean we need to be fucking martyrs for a complete stranger.”

“Tell you what. You stay in the car and I’ll handle the guys in the truck. Okay? That way you don’t get blood on your new Jordans.”

Niall scoffs, taking a sharp right after the truck. The driver tries to lose us but we’re driving a Porsche. Never gonna happen.

The buildings get farther apart. Streets open up and there are fewer cars to dodge as we head out of downtown Miami.

“They’re headed for the port.” I scrub a hand down the front of my face. “This isn’t just a regular kidnapping. This is bigger.”

“Listen, Columbo. I’m not battling a fucking trafficking ring alone in a city where we don’t know anyone. Get it? I know you wanna be the protector, but it’s not happening. Find another cause, Q.”

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