My nerves are getting the best of me. I like Vince. I like the other fuckers sitting in the room--Tommy, Anthony, and Dom. But I know he’s pissed at me. I directly disobeyed him again. He’s fucking pissed. I just got here. And Dom brought me back here without saying a word. We’re in the same office as before. I’m sure they aren’t planning on getting rid of me here, though. Mostly because there’s a nice carpet beneath my feet and not a plastic tarp.

“What are you doing, Kane?” Vince finally asks. His fists are clenched and laying on the table. Pretty sure this isn’t going to come to blows, but if it does, I’m gonna be pissed. He’s the Don, and he has every right to beat the shit out of me. I’m not going to be able to fight back. That’d be a serious infraction. But I won’t fucking like it. Technically I could fight back, but I don’t want to be an enemy of the Valettis. That, and there are three other men in the room that could hold me down. Maybe it’s a compliment that so many men are present.

“I have feelings for her, Vince. She needs me. I’m not going to lose her.” I push the words out. I don’t know if he’ll understand, but he’s going to have to get used to it.

She’s mine. And it’s staying that way.

“And how are you going to take care of her? You’ve got a target on your back, and no family behind you.” He narrows his eyes and leans forward before adding, “What are you going to do about that?”

Is this fucker serious? Is he really questioning my ability to take care of Ava? That motherfucker. I bite my tongue and try real fucking hard not to turn my hands into white-knuckled fists. But I fail miserably.

I watch as his eyes travel to my fists and he smirks. “You don’t like that, do you?”

“No, I don’t fucking like what you’re implying.”

“The fact that she’d be better off without you.” He leans back and shrugs as he says, “All of our women would be better off without us. We know it. They know it.” He points a finger at me. “You know it, too.”

A tightening pain spreads through my chest. I know she would be better off without me. But I’m a fucking bastard, and she said yes. That’s all I need to keep her. I stare back at him with the air between us crackling.

“I’m not letting her go,” I bite out, making sure he knows we’re going to have problems if he tries to take her from me.

“That’s fine.” His eyebrows raise. “But that’s not what I asked. What are you going to do, Kane? Where are you going to go?”

I try to relax some. I take a moment to think of an answer. I could go anywhere, and do anything. But I’m fucking good at being in the mob. I’m damn good at what I do. That, and Vince is right; there’s a huge fucking target on my back. Now I’ve taken out two families that were big names. It’s not good to be too well-known.

People tend to disappear when they reach a certain level of visibility. They’re a threat, they’re also a competitor. I don’t need every fucking guy out there thinking he can prove something by getting the best of me. And that’s a very real possibility at this point.

“I’m asking you what your plan is, because I need someone I can trust, and I'm not sure if that person is you.” The last line comes out hard. His anger is coming back in full force.

“What can I do for you?” For the first time in a long time, hope starts to creep up on me. If I can get into Vince’s good graces, things may turn out to be just fine. People don’t fuck with the Valettis. It’d be a dream come true to get in tight with them. Maybe I could become a made man if I can prove my loyalty to them. My blood spikes with doubt. Ava. I doubt Vince would make me a made man for constantly going rogue.

But I can fucking try.

“Tommy’s being watched. He’s out on bail.”

My eyes dart to Tommy in the corner of the room. I thought the stale air and tension in the room were solely because of me. I hadn’t picked up on the different emotions. Vince and Anthony are pissed. Dom looks anxious as fuck. But Tommy, he just looks defeated.

“What do they have on you?” I ask him.

“My prints at the scene, on one of the women’s shoes...” He pauses and looks at the ceiling before continuing. “And one of them said she recognized me.” Fuck. That’s so fucking bad. But they were all drugged up, so I can’t imagine it’s going to stick.

“So the women, and all of Petrov’s dead men.” His voice is flat.

“They’re pinning all that on you?” Holy fuck! Tommy is screwed.

“The evidence is minimal, which is why he’s out.” Vince cuts in. “Well that, and we have the judge in our pocket.” Even with a judge on their side, those charges aren’t going to be easy to beat.

“They want him to talk more than anything. Those fuckers will pin anything they can on us to fuck us over.” Vince is getting worked up again, so I stop him and get back to the conversation at hand.

“So what do you need, boss?” I ask him, leaning forward in my chair.

He gives me a small, crooked smile. “I’m gonna need for you to take over Tommy’s route in the meantime. I believe you would be a good fit.”

Pride fills my chest and I nod slowly, although I’m eager to take this opportunity.

“I’m happy to help however I can.”

“Good,” Vince says, smacking his hand on the desk.

“I won’t disappoint you guys,” I say, looking at each of them.

“I know you won’t.” Vince smirks. “That’s why I asked you.”

I smile back at him and get ready to take down all the information I’m gonna need from Tommy. But before I can open my mouth Vince adds, “You’re not off the hook just yet, though. We’re watching your girl.”

“Watching?”

“Just to make sure you’re the kind of man I think you are. We don’t tolerate certain things like other families do.”

“I’ve never smacked a woman around before, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

He looks at me for a minute before taking a deep breath and finally answering, “I just wanna make sure you’re the man I think you are.”

I give him a stern nod. I hear the clause in there that’s not said aloud. If I’m not that man, he’s going to have to take me out. I hear it loud and fucking clear. But I’m not worried. Ava and I are solid.

I’m not worried about a damn thing.