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I crossedto slow and o flat I could taste the need for his blood, for vengeance, burning uptwenty steps ahead, and the fact that he was here and not hiding out, safe in his insulated compound, spoke volumes

“What do you know about what’s on hed and crossed his arms over his massive chest Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nassir take a few steps back and the sauys Benny led the charge, the sh to oing on wasn’t good

“Haven’t you figured out by now I know everything, son?”

I balked and felt my hands curl into fists that hurt atthrough a bucket of rusty nails

“What? This isn’t the family reunion you wanted? I was ready to offer you the entire world, and you spit on it What kind of ungrateful bastard are you, Bax? Not one of h it, tried to get the pressure and the fury to go back intoo hard and too fast to control Before I could stop it, I lunged at hio I was brought up short when Benny suddenly had the barrel of a gun shoved into ue at me

“That’s always been your proble, Bax Really, it’s too bad You have it in you to follow in your old man’s footsteps, to be even ht you how to be a legend”

I felt the bile rise up and I reached down to shove Benny back I wasn’t scared of hiun

“Be like you, Novak? I would rather die”

His black eyes squinted atthat!” I was unhinged My brain was going to break apart

“I should’ve taken you froet behind the wheel of a car You’ve always been able to s run harder and faster than anyone else I could have doubled the size ofto do what? Kill, maim, blackmail, extort, rapeI was already a thief, so as pushing ht? You wanted me to be tied to you in a way I could never escape, because blood was never thick enough to do it I want to fking kill you, but I won’t” I let a breath out and felt s deflate “You can see what it feels like to sit in a cell and watch your life fade from one day to the other It doesn’t matter what you do to hed and took a step closer to me I shoved his hand ahen he reached out to put it on runted when Benny cracked un I felt the skin give and a trickle of blood work its way over my scalp and down into the collar of my shirt

“The video? Come on, Bax, you know better than that Do you really think I would have let Race live this entire time if I was scared of that video? Get real Race is alive because of you, his sister is alive because of you, and your annoying cop brother is alive because of you, Bax You get your stubbornness froet your foolish loyalty to those who care about you despite yourself froh of afactor to keep you where I want you, but theirs is”

Just then, a man in a patrolman’s uniform came down the hallway Some of Novak’s muscle moved to the side and Benny walked over and squatted in front of Titus where he was forced to his knees by the hands of the obviously dirty other cop His blue eyes were blazing as he looked up at the young cop standing behind him I knehat it felt like to want to kill; I had no idea that ht, was capable of that sa ti he held all the cards My jaw clenched shut as Titus’s gaze snapped from his betrayer to the city’s ot on the payroll, Novak?”