LAKE
“What do you mean?” I was already on my feet, facing Terzo.
His head snapped in my direction, eyes hardening, jaw ticking. “Your wife, Maverick, is my baby sister.”
There was a moment of eerily silence upon his revelation.
I, myself, found my jaw on the floor.
What the fuck?
Okay, I was not entirely prepared to hear this but fuck me.
“Does your father know?” Uncle asked Terzo.
“Yes.” He turned to my uncle. “Just the two of us, even my late mother, never knew. My sister doesn’t know. I only knew about this when he prepared me to be his next in line when I turned eighteen. He feared I might bump into her and accidentally sleep with my sister. Jesus.” Then he looked at me and to Linden.
“Shit.” Linden breathed harshly.
“You shouldn’t have stuck your noses and dug into this matter. This could lead to a serious dilemma. My father has kept this secret from her for her own good. Our family has so many enemies, and she’s here with no protection and knowledge of her father’s existence. We keep it that way so our enemies can’t use her against us. Now, you all start digging into her father’s life. You just put her life in grave danger.”
Then, another moment of silence filled the room.
“I will protect my wife.”
He snorted. “You? You didn’t even know me when I walked in. No offense, but you’re maybe a Braddson and Winston, but you never get your hands dirty. Isn’t that right, little Winston?”
“Don’t fucking call me that.” Now I saw some resemblance in the character. They were both stubborn and hard-headed.
Terzo just snorted.
“Then just stay out of it. She doesn’t need your family like she always has. Keep your crime family out of us.”
He shook his head in amusement, but he looked insulted at the same time. “What do you think I had been doing for the past years before you came into her life? And do you think I don’t know about your little arrangement? After that, what are you going to do to her? Dump her as you move on with your life swinging your cock all over the world?”
“Fuck you. I care about her more than you do, asshole!” This was a fucked up rare situation, and I couldn’t control my rage anymore.
“What did you just say?” He came to me so close I could feel his breathing on my face. We were of the same height. He may have blood on his hands, and God knew how many people he harmed, but I would take my chances.
“Fuck you and your family!” I just lost my temper while I was going to fuck up my wife’s life for what I’d done. I should have just kept the secret a secret. People kept it for a reason.
Before he could grab me, Linden came in the middle, pushing us away from each other. Then Kye and Sax rushed inside.
“You, two, calm down.” My uncle stood up. “We’re here to solve the problem, not create one.”
I turned to my uncle. “How did you even get involved with this asshole?”
“This asshole had saved a lot of people around you without you even knowing it. My family has helped yours while you are sleeping around with women, asshole.”
“Enough!” My uncle just lost his patience for us. He looked at me. “I called Terzo here to give us an answer. And honestly, you need him more than he needs you. So whether you like it or not, Terzo is your best chance of protecting Maverick discreetly.” Shit. Admittedly, my uncle had a point.
“His family is also the reason why my wife could be in danger.”
“Well, we can’t choose our family, can we? Just like you can’t choose your own father.”
“At least my father is not a criminal.”
“How can you be sure he hasn’t committed a crime?” Instead of getting offended, he smirked at me, dark and angry. The smug son of a bitch.
“That’s enough!” Linden pointed at me and Terzo. “Whether you like the fact or not, Winston, this man is your brother-in-law.”
“Over my dead body.”
“Then over my dead body, Winston.” He turned darker, dangerous, and deadly. “You could not even give my sister a proper wedding because you’re still hiding yourself under your father’s skirt.” How could it be possible that a man who was so typical was capable of such savagery?
I was about to retort back when my uncle slammed his hand against the desk. “For God’s sake, I’m so sick of hearing you two squabble like children. You’re adults, then like adults.” Uncle blew a breath as he sat back. “Let’s all sit down and talk this like gentlemen. No more curses. Let’s all calm down.”
Linden sat down, leaving me and Terzo with Kye and Sax standing.
“Do you need us to stay, boss?” Sax asked Linden.
“We’re good. You and Kye can leave us,” Linden replied, glaring at me and Terzo.
I sat down, eyeing at Terzo.
“I’m unarmed, Winston.” He showed his jacket. “I left my gun in the entrance.”
“I need to tell Maverick.”
“You can’t,” he replied.
“I don’t and won’t keep secret from Maverick.”
“Maybe you should, Winston,” Linden suggested. “Consider the implications once she knows. She asked me to dig deeper into her father but to keep it between us, and I told her I would do my best.”
“How would you suggest to tell her?” I asked him.
“I will tell her even her mother doesn’t know the man and that she never saw him again.”
I shook my head in disagreement, still baffled and shocked. I didn’t know if everything I found out had already sunk in.
“There’s something you should know,” Terzo specifically told me. “My father met her mother when my parents were separated. Florence was still eighteen, and my father was in his early thirties. She told him that she was pregnant, and my father ordered her to remove her pregnancy because of the life he had. As you know, Siciliano has run a family business for generations, but she didn’t know who my father was. Things got complicated in Italy. Then cops and agencies were after my father for years, and he hadn’t flown to the US for months. When my father thought she got an abortion, a few years later, he saw her with a kid. He threatened Florence never to tell anyone about the child’s father. He intended to protect the child.”
“Florence left her child with her mother. She was not even a good mother to raise a kid,” I spat out my anger.
Terzo nodded, somewhat feeling guilty, but I doubted if he could even feel guilt before he killed or harmed people.
“My father met Augustine to offer help and financial support, but the woman didn’t want to accept money from us. That’s why we have kept our distance for years. Maverick is better without us.”
“That’s good. You keep your distance.”
“But you’re still going to tell her,” Linden said.
“I have to. I can’t lie and hurt her again.”
“What the fuck did you do, Winston?” Terzo let out a growl. His whole attention was fixed on me.
“None of your fucking business.”
“Ladies,” uncle called out.
“I’m sorry, uncle.”
“My apologies, Mr. Braddson,” Terzo followed. “One night, her car broke down. She just came from her work at the Bazz. I was in town for a couple of days and looking out for her. She looked so innocent, and she didn’t even know her ex was cheating on her. I really wanted to cut off that man’s dick. Maverick looked exhausted, so I had to help her. I helped her jump-start her car. I left quickly after she said thank you. I didn’t want her to ask my name because I didn’t want to lie to her. That girl is a survivor. She’s been through a lot, left by her mother, taking care of her grandmother, and her douchebag ex-dumped her.” Terzo looked at me intensely. “And this is not a warning or threat, Winston. Because I will do it without hesitation, and if you ever hurt Maverick, I will put a plastic bag on your head, suffocate you, and kill you.”