“Thank you,” I murmured.
He turned to me, and his gaze softened. “I’m gonna give you their numbers. You ring them first if you need them, but you always ring me after. Yeah?”
It stunned me how much I loved his protective streak. After years of looking out for myself, I hated relying on anyone or needing anyone. Donovan was different. I looked deep into his eyes. “Yeah.”
He keyed their numbers into my phone, inspected the place to make sure we were secure, and then the three of them left.
To take care of Mario.
Deep down, I knew what that meant.
And I had zero problems with it.
Chapter Ten
Blade
I pulled up outside Mario’s place. The motherfucker lived in a dive. Paint peeled from the house, overgrown grass hid the ground, and rubbish littered the footpath. He’d fallen a long way from the place he used to live.
That’s what drugs do to you, asshole.
Slamming the door of the Jag as I exited it, I surveyed the street.
Quiet.
No one around.
Fucking perfect.
“What’s the plan, boss?”
I turned to Ben. I’d brought him and two of my other guys with me. Nash and J, too. “You three take the back. I’ll keep Nash and J with me at the front.”
He nodded his agreement.
“I get to finish the asshole, Ben,” I added.
“I figured,” he said, his face a mask of intent.
I watched the three of them head around the back and then motioned for J and Nash to follow me. A moment later, I banged on the front door.
We stood back and waited.
When Mario opened the door, he looked at J and Nash before smirking at me. “Brought your back-up, I see. Won’t make a difference, though, asshole. Your bitch owes me money, and I fucking want it.”
My fist collided with his cheek so hard he staggered backwards. I stepped inside his house and punched him again. Blood flew at me. I punched him again.
“Motherfucker!” he roared.
I ducked as he tried to get a punch in. “Yeah, I fucking am! You want to pull the shit you pulled today, this is how I fucking deal with it.”
My mind was zeroed in on dealing with Mario, but the sound of glass shattering and yelling from the back of the house grabbed my attention. Nash pushed past me and stalked toward the noise while J stayed with me.
Mario snarled at me. “That bitch isn’t worth the shit this will cause, Blade.”
We stood glaring at each other, sizing the situation up. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, and the desire to end him quickly overwhelmed me. “What fucking shit will this cause, Mario?”
“People won’t like it when I tell them about this. I hope the cunt is worth it.”