She gives me a puzzled look. “What?”
“Don’t lie.” I point my gun at her head. “Did you kill my mother?”
“No.”
“I don’t believe you. You must have killed her because you knew she was – ”
I stop talking as a foot knocks my gun out of my hand. I turn my head and find myself staring into a pair of familiar black eyes.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
I swallow as I rub my hand. “What the fuck are you doing here, Cain?”
He stands in front of me. “I could ask you the same thing.”
Great. Another meddler.
“This is none of your business,” I tell him with a glare.
“I’m afraid it is.”
“Because you care about Mom?” I snort. “Yeah, right.”
“Because I know Agent Chandler didn’t kill her,” he answers.
He knows her?
I frown. “You struck a deal with the FBI? Why am I not surprised?”
He doesn’t answer.
I shake my head and click my tongue. “You’re dead, Cain.”
It doesn’t matter how much my father likes Cain. The moment he hears Cain turned his back on the family, Cain is a goner. Surely, he knows that.
But he doesn’t seem worried. He even grins.
“Oh, Leo. You know, I really feel sorry for you.”
What?
“Just go home,” he tells me. “Bring Jodie home.”
“I don’t take orders from you,” I snap back at him. “And I’m not leaving here without that woman.”
I glance at the agent.
Cain sighs. “You still don’t listen, do you?”
“Not to you.”
“Fine, but I’m not letting you get anywhere near her.” His eyes narrow in warning.
My fists clench.
So it’s a fight he wants, isn’t it? Fine by me. In fact, I’ve been waiting for this.
I turn around quickly and aim for the stomach just as Andrea taught me. Cain steps back. He grabs my wrist and pulls, preparing to throw me to the ground. No fucking way.
I punch his arm with my left hand. It’s not my dominant hand, but I give it all I’ve got. Cain mutters a curse as he lets me go. His hand grips his arm.
Just as Andrea said, that arm is his weak spot.
“Cain!” I hear Agent Chandler shout.
I can feel Jodie’s worried gaze on me as well.
I ignore them. This fight is between men.
I try to hit Cain’s arm again but he moves it out of reach. I land my fist in his stomach this time, but a second later, his hits my chin.
Fuck.
Pain spreads across my jaw. I taste blood. My head spins.
As I stagger back, Cain kicks my legs out from under me. My back meets the ground and air rushes out of my lungs. Still, I try to pick myself up as I glare at Cain.
There’s no way I’m going to lose this easily, this quickly.
“That’s enough!”
Agent Chandler stands in front of Cain with her arms extended at her sides. I clench my aching jaw and direct my glare towards her. Why, the…
“Leo.” Jodie stands over me, her eyes pleading.
I feel a sense of deja vu.
Right. I’ve been through this before – me in a fight, Jodie in pain. It doesn’t matter whether I win or lose. I still hurt her. And right now, that knowledge stings more than my face or my ego.
I get up. Jodie tries to help me but I push her away. I walk away without saying another word to Cain or his girlfriend. There’s nothing left to say anyway.
Jodie follows me to the car. “Leo.”
I don’t know what to say to her either.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
Of course not. Isn’t it obvious?
Jodie sighs. “Maybe you shouldn’t have tried to attack her like that. You knew she was an FBI agent, didn’t you? Besides, she’s a woman.”
Just as I thought, Jodie thinks I’m the bad guy again.
“She tried to shoot me,” I remind her.
“Because you attacked her. If only you’d explained calmly…”
“She’s not the kind of woman who listens.”
“Oh, so you’ve met before? Just as I thought. How?”
I don’t answer.
“Is she your ex? Is that why the two of you were so eager to kill each other? That doesn’t explain why you think she killed your mother.”
And I don’t feel like explaining.
“To be honest, I don’t think she did,” Jodie adds.
Great.
“That man you fought? He’s your half-brother, right? You share the same mother? I think Antonio mentioned him once.”
He did?
“He wouldn’t be with a woman who killed your mother, right?”
So now she trusts Cain? Why? Because Antonio did? Look what happened to him.
“You don’t know him,” I tell her.
“Still, you should have tried talking to him instead of picking a fight. He’s the only brother you have left now, and I’m sure Antonio would have wanted you to get along. You could have at least – ”
“It’s always Antonio, isn’t it?” I cut her off as I stop in my tracks.
“What?”
I look into her eyes. “You were always all about Antonio, following him around, trying to get his attention. You adored him even though he didn’t even care about you.”