Page 74 of Endlessly Raphael
Haven pushes past me. Midnight made sure Joe wasn’t going anywhere and has the man locked in a dumpster when we get outside. Haven marches over to where we can hear the man’s muffled screams and waits for me to pull the lock off. When I lift the lid, Joe stands, gasping for fresh air. The scent of rotten food and urine wafts from the container. Haven scrunches his nose, stepping back. Midnight lifts Joe out easily and sets him down.
“Seriously, Joe? How could you?” Haven asks, his arms folded across his chest. “Are you so fucking desperate you would have your own family harmed?”
Joe doesn’t speak until I shove his shoulder hard enough to slam him into the dumpster. “Fucking talk or I’ll make you.”
Joe flinches but nods. “I didn’t think you’d go inside,” he mumbles.
“What’s that?” I ask, kicking his shin.
Joe yelps, glaring at me. “I hacked Raphael’s phone and spoofed some numbers. I paid some kids to beat you up,” he admits. “But that’s it. I didn’t want you killed.”
“You think that’s better?” Haven asks. “You’re a loser, Joe. I can’t believe you would destroy so much. For what? Money? A business? Did you think I would just walk away with my tail between my legs?”
“Yes.”
Haven scoffs. “You obviously don’t know me.” He walks closer to his uncle. “All I would have to do right now is say the word and Raphael would end your life. Do you understand how powerful I am?” I gesture to Raphael. “You see this blood on his clothes?”
Joe visibly trembles but his eyes harden. “You should kill me. I have no honor left.”
“That’s obvious,” Haven says. “But death is too kind for you. You deserve to face the consequences of what you’ve done. You’ll stand before your family and admit it.”
“I will not,” he says, his tone full of defiance.
“Yeah, you will,” I say. “You’ll do whatever Haven wants you to do. I’ll make sure of it.”
“You don’t have proof I did anything,” Joe says.
Haven chuckles. “I don’t need proof. I have the company. For once, I have my father’s ear. I have everything I need to make sure you pay for what you’ve done, and I have some pretty impressive backup.”
Eros appears next to me. “We should go, Raph. There’s about to be a huge fire.”
“Excellent.”
Thorn comes screeching around the corner in a black SUV. He lowers the driver’s side window, a maniacal smile on his face. “Get in, losers.”
“Where did you get the vehicle?” Midnight asks.
“Borrowed it,” Thorn answers, winking.
Haven watches as Eros shoves Joe toward the car.
“Put him in the back,” Thorn yells. “He stinks.”
Once we’re on the road, Haven squeezes my thigh. “You have a lot of explaining to do, mister.”
“I know.”
“But…” He sighs. “I still trust you.”
Thank the gods. I lift his hand to my mouth and kiss his palm. “I’ll tell you everything.”
“I know.” He glances over his shoulder. “I think I’m still reeling from finding out my uncle was trying to hurt me. My father warned us, but this is unreal.”
I rub his back to comfort him. “Your family does not deserve you.”
He laughs softly, but it has a bitter edge to it. “I’ve tried a million times to figure out how all of this happened. I just don’t get how families turn on each other over money or… I don’t even know. Is it money? Power? It’s not like the family business is some kind of global conglomerate. We aren’t curing cancer.”
“What does the company do?”