Page 61 of Gary

“I love you,” he told her huskily.

“I love you, too.”

Hanging up the phone, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He was so mired down in despair that it took him a second to realize that someone was knocking on his window.

His first reaction was an irrational fear which was replaced by a slow boiling anger.

Pressing the knob to roll the window down, he glowered at his long-time nemesis. The years had not been kind to Maurice. His bulk had been replaced by fat and his face had lines runningfrom the light blue eyes to the thin lips. “What the hell are you doing here?”

A hateful smile touched the man’s lips as he managed to spring back in time as Gary shoved the door open.

“I cannot believe we haven’t seen each other since your arrival back in town.” His smirk widened. “But then you have been very busy.” He tutted. “Tearing down buildings, offering a home to an orphan and the big one – getting involved with that beauty from the coffee shop.”

Gary was thirty-one years old and never considered himself a coward or had been afraid of anything. He had been brought up to be tough and was trained in the art of several self-defense, including how to street fight. But this was the first time he ever felt helpless.

“You have been following me?”

Maurice Gotti shrugged his meaty shoulders, a look of hatred covering his rough-hewn features. “You have been back – what? Almost three weeks and already making waves.” He gestured towards the property.

“That right there belongs to my family. We were cheated out of it. And what’s even worse, your old man and uncle pulled out of several lucrative deals we had together. Now, you are trying to clean up your act by building a community center.” His lips curled spitefully.

“You, with your male model appearance think you can waltz back here and just portray this good boy image, just like that.” He snapped his fingers. “Pretend that you are better than my family.” His eyes glowed fiercely. “It doesn’t work that way, pretty boy.”

Mentally shaking off the fear and awful foreboding, he started stalking the man. He had known Maurice Gotti since he was a child and knew for a fact that the man was a bully of the worse kind and often preyed on people’s weaknesses. Gary could not show him any fear or weakness.

“You don’t scare me,” he said coldly, his lips scarcely moving. “I bested you when we were kids, and it is no different now. I am better than you, always have been and that’s what’s killing you, isn’t it?” He flicked scornful eyes over him, lips curling in disgust. “You are washed up and a sorry excuse of a man.

Stay the hell away from me and if you ever, ever go near this building or even breathe in the same vicinity as that coffee shop, I am going to rip off your pathetic balls and shoved them so far down your throat, you are going to need surgery to remove them. Is that clear to you, you pathetic son of a bitch?”

For a few seconds, the man stood there glaring at him, hatred pumping from every pore.

Stepping back, he made his way to his vehicle parked on the soft shoulder a few feet away.

“You have not heard the last of me!” He warned as he yanked the door open. “You should have stayed the hell away, Moretti. It would have been better for you.” Sliding in, he slammed the car door. Spinning the vehicle around, he drove off.

Walking to his vehicle, Gary leaned against the car, his body trembling. The man knew about Sadie. Gary could deal with anything else, a threat to his physical self, but he could not afford to have her hurt because of him. He was going to have to let her go.

Bowing his head, on the top of the vehicle and felt the tension clenching his stomach into knots.

*****

“Easy.” Graham tucked a hand beneath his brother’s thin arm as he stumbled slightly.

“I am not a damn invalid,” he grumbled.

“You are still weak, and the doctors said to make certain you go straight to bed.”

“Where is he?”

Pushing the doors open, he waited until they were inside the hallway before responding.

“He’s at the site.”

“He did not respect his old man enough to pick me up from the hospital?” They made their way across the hallway and into the room that had been redesigned for him. The nurse was already there, ready to do her job as soon as Graham left.

“He is angry.”

“What now?” Grant lowered herself slowly on the edge of the bed.