LAKE
There was that one moment when you wished you could pause your life and return just five seconds. But that fact was impossible- it made you question your purpose in life. You could not even make it worthwhile.
Looking at Maverick so terrified made me question whether I was worth being that man- her husband. I knew she was tough, but even a tough person could break.
And I didn’t know how to make her forget what happened two hours ago. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how terrified she was for her life and her grandmother. But what I was sure of was that whoever these people were behind this atrocity would pay with their lives.
The door swung open. Terzo walked in with his arrogance and overconfident gait. His gaze first found Maverick, and I saw somewhat of a pain, then shifted it at me.
Before I could say something, in the blink of an eye, he grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and punched me in the nose. I heard a sickening crack, and then the intense pain followed.
Maverick yelped, jolted, and then screamed, “Lake!”
“Siciliano!” Linden came between us.
My anger boiled. My heartbeat accelerated. All I felt in my chest was rage like a bull gone mad. I was sure this man was a trained fighter, knew what he was doing, and had anticipated my moves. He had probably broken hundreds of opponents and killed many. He was raised in a tough environment and trained himself to kill, but I would never tolerate his attitude, even if he were my brother-in-law.
I formed my hands into fists and was about to return the favor. Before I could launch, Uncle Moses walked in, freezing me instantly. “Are you two pussies done?”
“Motherfucker.” I grunted in anger and in sheer disappointment that I could not punch him back.
“Babe.” Maverick came to me, cupping my face, trying to wipe off the blood dripping down my jaw and shirt. “Oh, my God.”
I winced in pain, wiping off the blood in my nose. “Fuck.”
“You deserve it, asshole.” Terzo spat out.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Maverick hit him in the chest, but her fist barely made Terzo react. “You saved my life, but that doesn’t give you the right to punch my husband.”
“And that’s where you’re wrong, Maverick,” he answered. His voice was gruff in rage, but his glare was glued at me.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she glared further.
“Why don’t you ask your husband?” he asked irritably. His voice filled with anger. His question suddenly twisted my stomach. He wasn’t on board with the idea of me telling Maverick about his connection to her life, and now he was willing to jeopardize her safety.
“Maybe you’re one of them. Maybe you ordered them to take my grandmother. Why were you suddenly in that place? Every time I was in trouble, you were there. Do you have some hero complex?”
“Stay out of this, Terzo,” said Linden.
“Not a fucking chance. If you want to stop me, call the authorities and lock me up. Otherwise, I’m not letting you all take her safety for granted again.”
“Why do you care so much? What’s your obsession with me?” she barked her question, her face was red.
“Do you want the truth from me or your husband?” He smirked with a flash of mirth in his eyes.
“Stop this nonsense, Siciliano.”
“You were the one who was so adamant to tell your wife. What changed, Winston? Her life was already in danger, and that’s because you’re too busy getting rich while some fucker was stalking her.”
“How do you know all of these?” Maverick pressed for more.
“Honey, take a breath. Sit down, and we’ll talk about this while calm.” Uncle Moses sat down, clearly losing his patience.
Linden slid the box of tissue in my direction and sat, too. “Let’s talk like adults.”
“I’m waiting, Terzo,” she said impatiently.
“You’re just like my sister. Impatient and impulsive.”
“Siciliano, that’s enough,” I ordered another warning, but of course, he was Terzo. He didn’t take orders.
He remained standing. “I thought I would never go to that moment where I saved another person dear to me. Do you know what it feels like while watching your sister with a gun behind her head, and in a millisecond, the bullet went through her skull?”
“Do you think it’s easy for me, Siciliano?”
“I think so, yeah. You just sit there at the back of your luxury vehicle and wait for the people you hire to do the job because you can’t get your hands dirty. Now I know the reason why I don’t like her for you. You don’t deserve my sister.”
That was it. I snapped. I felt my knuckles crack as I punched him in his smug face.
Terzo’s head snapped. Like slow motion, he turned his head in my direction, the intensity of his anger electrified in his eyes, nose flaring.
“Enough!” Uncle just slammed his hand against the table. “I’m so tired of you both whining like dogs. Sit down, or I will throw you both in separate rooms.”
I turned to Maverick, who was still staring at Terzo, not even blinking, as her brother had just dropped the bomb on her.
On the other hand, Terzo chose to sit across from us, next to my uncle, folding his arms over my chest.
“Maverick.” I gripped her shoulder, and she finally blinked, jerking my hand off. “You knew. How long have you known about it, Lake?”
I swallowed hard as I tried to formulate the right words to tell her.
“You knew who my father was, but you kept it to yourself. You told me you found nothing. Why did you lie to me, Lake? Do you think I will just run towards him and welcome him into my life because I finally found my father? Are you even planning on telling me?”
“Yes. I was going to tell you, but the stalking has kept me occupied.”
“When? When did you know?”
“The day you met him.”
Her eyes widened in shock, and then tears streaked down her cheeks. “So it wasn’t accidental. That was weeks ago, Lake.”
“I’ve known your existence since I turned eighteen, but my father, your father, has a lot of enemies. I once approached your grandmother to help you financially, but she somehow knew what kind of job I was in and refused to accept my offer. She said you’re better off without knowing about your father,” Terzo explained softly, and the room went silent.
She sobbed in her chair, and every time I tried to hold her, she pushed me away, swatting my hands off her. “You helped me start up my car. You knew who I was back then.”
“Yes. I looked for you, watched you in a distance, and made sure you were okay. Even though sometimes life was hard on you, I respected your grandma’s wish. So I stayed off your radar.”
“I’m so sorry, Maverick. You have to find out this way.”
Her head snapped in my direction. “If you can keep the most vital information about my life, sure as hell you can hide something more from me.”
When she rose from her seat, I felt like my heart dropped on the floor. “Baby, let’s talk about this. I know you’ve been through hell earlier, and it’s not the right time to make a decision out of anger. You need to clear your head, but please, your ex isn’t in our custody yet.”
“I gave you a chance-”
“I’m not the only one who hid some vital information, Maverick.”
“Oh, now we’re checking the list of who has more secrets, right?” she asked sarcastically.
“That’s not what I mean. We could have prevented this from happening if you were just upfront with me. I asked you many times-”
“And I asked you many times because I knew you were hiding something from me.” Tears rolled down again. “If this thing didn’t happen, are you really going to tell me? Or you will just keep feeding me that Terzo was the bad guy and dangerous, and I should stay away from him.”
“That part. Winston is right,” said Terzo.
“You shut up!” She just pointed a finger at her brother. “We’ve met three times, and I asked about yourself, but you chose not to tell me the truth.” When she started walking away, Terzo and I stood up in unison.
“Don’t ever follow me!”