Page 82 of End It All

Wait, what?

I got a hold of Blake, not at all shocked when he tried to hit me again. I dodged one fist only for another to come at me. Blake's knuckles slammed into my nose and my head snapped back as pain flared over my face. I dropped his wrist and instead grabbed him by the throat. I slammed him against the nearest car, not giving a damn if the alarm went off or not.

"Try that shit again and I will break every single bone in your fucking hand."

Blake glared at me. There was something in his eyes I'd seen pointed my way plenty of times by other people. Coming from him, it felt wrong.

Hatred.

"You're not going anywhere." I said.

"I'd rather face jail time then spend another second with you."

Jail time?It didn't escape me that we still had no clue why Blake had come to New York in the first place. I'd assumed Benito would find out sooner or later. Or Blake would tell me when he was ready.

"What did you do?"

"It's none of your goddamn business." Blake went to kick me, and I tightened my hand around his throat.

You are my business.

I grunted at the kick to the balls curling in on myself. I swung and punched Blake in the stomach before he could take a step away from me. He fell to his knees sucking in gasps of air.

"Fucker."

Pain seared through me as I grabbed the back of his collar and dragged his ass back toward the car kicking and shouting.

"Let me go."

I stopped outside my car and opened the passenger door. "Get in or I'll make you."

We'd done more damage to each other than the Russians had. Blake scrambled up and met my gaze, not blinking as he stood his ground. "Go ahead. I've already killed today, why not add you to it?"

I glanced down at his hands, they were still covered in blood and I had the craziest urge to grab them and wipe them clean. Or at least cover them with my own blood.

"Yeah, you want to stab me? Then do it." I stepped closer until our noses were a breath apart. I almost anticipated the cold steel sinking into my flesh. It would be better than whatever the fuck I was feeling right now. “I’ll still drag your ass back into the car. Bleeding out and all.”

The moment stretched on as we stared at each other.

"Is this what Benito has you doing? Hanging out with riffraff?" Cesare's thick Italian accent cut through the tension like a serrated knife.

My back stiffened. I'd let my guard down thinking for a second we were safe. I turned to face Cesare Vitale.

"You look a mess. The ones who did this to you better be in a worse state," Cesare pointedly said to Blake.

I stepped in front of Blake, blocking him. Four of Cesare's men stepped forward with guns in their hands.

Cesare sauntered over toward us; each step was meaningful as he got closer. My stomach twisted in knots, but I didn't dare look away. He didn't stop until he was an arm’s length away.

"I saw you put your hands on my blood," was the only warning I received from him. He nodded and his men moved toward us.

There was no use in denying anything, but if he thought I was going to abandon Blake because of his threats, he was sorely mistaken.

"How did you know we were here?"

Cesare didn't bother looking my way as he pulled out a cigar. "Blake, either you put him in the ground or I will."

"He's not worth the time," Blake said, cutting into me deeper than any blade ever had.