CHAPTER 35
NOW
NICKY
We are not fine.
In fact, wherever fine falls on the scale, we’re on the opposite fucking end of it. Taking a pull of the cigarette I nabbed from Mav—after already splitting a blunt with him—I allow the tingling sensation of the menthol to gather in my lungs as I fidget with the jagged, blood-drenched hole in my suit pants.
Once upon a time I wouldn’t be caught dead putting any of this shit in my body, but times change, and, all things considered, there’s worse vices I could have given my line of work. I exhale, the smoke billowing out before dissipating into the surrounding space, leaving me a clear view of the freshly stitched knife wound in my right thigh.
Yuri somehow obtained copies of the same pictures the Feds had given me. The whole situation’s got him convinced that if Mav and my sister are involved, then that must translate to mean Mav and I are collaborating in some way to take him down. While we both maintained the images captured were nothing more than Mav attempting to piss me off by making a play for her, Yuri didn’t seem convinced. The entire notion is ridiculous.
Don’t get me wrong, his suspicions regarding us joining forces are spot on. They just have nothing to do with Mav’s ties to my sister, and everything to do with the fact he’s a fucking psychopath that has to be stopped.
Mav played the whole thing off flawlessly, though has little to show for it other than a matching knife wound to his left thigh. The doctor Rico brought finishes stitching Mav’s leg, tossing him his own bottle of antibiotics as he moves to stand.
“Two a day for ten days to avoid infection.”
“Appreciate you.” Mav bumps elbows with him as a show of thanks while Ty pulls the blood-covered latex gloves from his hands before packing up his medical supplies to leave.
He passes me on his way to the door, his fist bumping mine along the way.
“I’m billing you extra for this ungodly hour.”
“You’re worth every penny.”
“Damn straight, I am. Say hi to JP for me.” I nod, throwing up the peace sign as he continues on toward the exit. “Rico, be good, brother!”
“Likewise, Ty!” he shouts back, though I can feel his eyes still burning into the side of my head.
Mav hobbles around the chair, slinging his leather jacket over his arm before making his way toward the stairs leading to his office.
“Yo!” I call out, bringing his pain-ridden limp to a halt. “There’s still the matter of my sister to discuss.”
Rico straightens from where he’s been leaning against the wall, his gaze briefly flickering between myself and Mav before pinning him with a look of contempt. Bishop scoffs, pulling his own cigarette free from his pack with his teeth as he pats at his pocket in search of his lighter. He’s finally able to locate the small silver rectangle, flicking it open and leaning into the flame.
“I think you should probably stop throwing stones, Nick. That glass house you’re living in probably won’t hold much longer if you don’t.” He exhales, the air growing hazy around him from the smoke. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go upstairs and get some work done since I’m here. Feel free to get the fuck out of my club.”
***
“What the fuck is going on?” Rico whips my car out of the lot of Echo, heading for home.
Scooping the file from the floor, I withdraw one of the images, holding it up for him to see. He snatches it from me, flicking on the interior light as his eyes alternate between the photo and the road.
I watch as the anger fades from his face, his eyes widening in shock.
“He’s already made contact with her? Seriously?! That’s the matter you needed to discuss with him involving J? How are you being so laid back about this?”
“Because we have bigger fish to fry at the moment.” I begin to fill him in, launching into a detailed explanation of my earlier conversation with the Feds. Everything from Valdez resurfacing in-state, to Yuri’s conspiracy theories regarding an alliance between me and Mav. Rico laughs at that last part, given we’ve never clued any of our boys in on the truth.
I cover Yuri’s threats surrounding what will happen if he finds out we’re lying to him. How he’ll disembowel Amber before hanging her like a goddamn windchime from Mav’s porch, while passing J around like a fucking sex toy to his men.
“Jesus Christ, Nick.” He shakes his head as he absorbs the weight of all that’s happened, turning into our driveway on a sigh. “Anything else?”
I briefly debate keeping the last part to myself, but ultimately decide I can’t given her safety’s involved. “He threatened Daph.”
“Daph? Why the fuck would he give a shit about Daphne?” Rico’s nose scrunches up as he looks to me in confusion, only to do a double take when my face must give me away. “Fucking JP. I knew you didn’t leave with some chick. I fucking knew it.”
He pulls up in front of the house, shifting the car into park before thrusting the full weight of his judgmental glare upon me. “Nicky, I have watched you skin a man before like you’re peeling a potato and not even bat an eye. You are possibly the most terrifying son of a bitch I have ever met. That being said, I will pull your ass out of this car right now and beat the ever-loving shit out of you if you even think about lying to me. I kicked your ass once in middle school and, God as my witness, I will do it again if I have to.”
With a deep breath, I finally tell him the truth.
How it started.
How I tried to stay away after Tommy beat her but couldn’t make it past a couple weeks.
Everything right up to tonight when I bailed on the guys after JP realized his fuck-up.
“Yuri knows. Tonight was the first time Daph and I have hooked up since last summer, but Yuri specifically said he knows all about the cute little redhead I sneak off to fuck. The one who belongs to another man. He must have had somebody watching me when we first got involved with him years ago, and he just assumes it’s been going on all this time.”
“Well, considering you and she have resumed your extracurricular activities, he’s not that far off.” He presses the heels of his hands to his eyes with a groan. “It’s no secret Daph’s special to you, Nick. I may not have realized the full extent of your relationship, but the fact that there is one obviously isn’t a shock. I just thought you were working to move past it. This obviously… complicates things.”
Though I typically tend to brush them off, Rico’s reservations regarding the Devoreauxs’ access to our finances are not misplaced. Sure, the Feds would love to nail me for drug distribution or murder, but they’d happily settle for tax evasion or some other form of white-collar crime if that was the only way they could get me. I make Elliot a lot of money, but who knows what he’d do if he felt I’d disrespected his son on a large enough scale. Elliot may be greedy, but he’s also proud. This whole thing could blow up in a lot more faces than just mine. Just one more example of how I don’t think rationally when it comes to her.
“We’ll put guys on her. J, too. Nothing overbearing, just perimeter rounds to make sure no one gets too close. They won’t even know they’re there.”
I nod, agreeing to the suggestion.
“Now, before I go to bed—” He leans back in his chair, his eyes heavy with exhaustion. “—is there anything else we have to tackle?”
My left hand instinctively crosses over my torso, coming to settle upon the spot bearing her tattoo. I rub at it, my fingers tracing phantom lines atop my shirt before fisting the fabric at my side.
“I need to stop this goddamn wedding.”