Maddox got to his feet slowly, rejecting the help from his men. He straightened and wiped away another river of blood. “Let him go.” His shirt was stained from his wounds, but he continued to smile like this was all a joke. “He’s not gonna be able to focus until he gets this out of his system. Let him do what he wants.” He waved to his men. “Come on, he deserves it.”
After a few seconds of hesitation, his men released me. They slowly backed away and took their time, like they expected Maddox to change his mind.
He should change his mind.
Maddox raised his arms at his sides and beckoned me forward with his fingers. “Take your shot.”
This seemed like a trick, a setup to get me where he wanted me. It seemed too good to be true, but then again, Maddox was unpredictable. It was one of his strengths. There was no way to anticipate any meeting with him because you never knew what to expect.
Damien came to my side and gently placed his hand on my shoulder. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but don’t fall for it.”
I shoved his hand off my shoulder. “Too late.” I lunged at Maddox again and let my fists beat him like a punching bag. I slugged him in the stomach, slammed his face down into my knee, and then punched him in the face so hard, one tooth came loose. His defeated body continued to hit the floor, and I was the one who had to pull him to his feet so I could finish the job. Every hit was an outlet for my agony, a kind of therapy my entire body needed. But I knew the one thing I needed above all was his death.
But I knew he wouldn’t give that to me.
Maddox got to his feet again and stepped back with his hands raised. “All right, enough.” He grabbed the bottom of his shirt and wiped it across his face to get rid of all the blood. He’d taken a serious beating but shrugged it off like nothing happened. He was just as coherent as ever. “We’re even.”
Smoke almost exploded from my ears. “Even? No, asshole. Not even close.”
Maddox walked closer to me, not the least bit afraid because all his cronies were ready to pull me off if I launched another attack. “Well, we need to get down to business. Your little vendetta can wait.”
“Business?” I had no business with this fucking lunatic. The only business we would ever have would be buying a plot to put his body. “The only business I have with you is my vendetta. If you came here expecting me to surrender, I won’t. I will not stop until you pay for what you did.”
He placed his hands on his hips. “Well, I guess I could pay you for your wife’s time.”
Within a single snap, I lost my shit. I sprinted into his frame and grabbed his head so I could snap his neck.
He was lucky his men pulled me off so quickly. If they hadn’t, I would’ve gotten him.
“Will you calm the fuck down now? Do I need to let you wail on me a little longer so you’ll listen?”
Two of his men held me back by the arms because I could no longer be trusted to stay sane. “If you really want me to listen, let me kill you.”
He slowly walked toward me with his hands on his hips. “In my experience, the dead don’t say much, and they listen even less. I’m sure you noticed that after you killed my brother.” He mentioned the murder of his brother like it was no big deal, like he didn’t need vengeance for what I’d done. He was so disassociated from reality. He seemed to operate on a completely different field.
“I hope you aren’t expecting an apology.”
“I hope you aren’t either.”
I tried to free myself from my restraint, but it was no use.
Maddox held up his hand, like the gesture was going to soothe me. “This is what we’re gonna do. You successfully put me out of business.” He brought his hands together and slow clapped. “Congratulations. Now, I need a new partner, someone who has channels all over the world. The Tuscan Rose is really impressive because it’s the perfect place for such a complicated network of distributors. I think it’s the perfect place for me to settle.”
I stared at him with a blank face, unable to process what he was saying because it was so ridiculous. “You really are out of your mind, aren’t you?”
“No, you are. What did you think was going to happen when you stripped everything away? You know what they say, destroy one monster and you make a bigger one.” He raised both arms and gave a shrug. “I think you and I could work well together. I’ve always admired you. Why do you think I’ve kept you alive so long?”
I pushed his men off of me and continued to look Maddox in the eyes. “I’d rather die.” I wouldn’t work with a man who’d raped my wife. I wouldn’t form an alliance with the man who’d nearly beat me to death.
Maddox’s face slowly turned serious. “You know what they say. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. You and I would no longer be enemies, and if we aren’t enemies, we all get along real nicely. Your wife is safe, your kid is safe. Sounds like a win-win to me.”
“I’d. Rather. Die.”
His eyes shifted back and forth as he looked into my face. He held the look for a long time, oscillating between all the different emotions that occupied his body. His hands slid into his front pockets, and his chin tilted toward the ground as he considered my response. “Then I guess I’ll have to kill you and Damien right here…and then have some more fun with your wife.” He lifted his chin to meet my gaze again, this time his look threatening. “After I kill your son, of course.”
I couldn’t process the million shocks of rage that flooded my body. Like being electrocuted with a bolt of lightning, my body could barely handle the voltage. I wanted to kill this man more than anything else in the world. I was so livid, I actually couldn’t speak. My life meant nothing to me, but my wife meant everything. And my son…I couldn’t even go there.
Maddox continued to study me. “Good. You changed your mind.”
Once I was reminded of the stakes, I couldn’t defy him. I had too much to lose. Provoking him like this was another mistake to add to the pile. I had to protect my family above everything else, even if that meant I had to swallow my pride.
Maddox didn’t gloat at his victory. “I think you and I can do great things. We’ll be the most powerful men in the drug world. We’ll be untouchable.” He slowly stepped away from me and motioned for his men to get ready to leave.
I felt like a little bitch that had to listen to his master. I was a free man, but now I was a slave. I was livid when I looked at him, but now I was sick to my stomach. I should’ve spent the last few years hunting him down to kill him. Or I should have walked away from this life a long time ago.
“Hades?”
I turned my gaze back to him.
“I would never cause harm to you, your family, or anyone you care about. But if you try to kill me, you better succeed. Because I’ll take your wife and fuck her in the ass until she begs me to kill her.”
Everyone left, and now it was just the two of us.
Alone. In the lab.
Neither one of us ever spent any extended time in here. I was there on occasion, when lab techs got killed and I had to cook to stay on production. Damien did the same thing when needed, but I was much better at it.