Page 115 of Duty

“I—”

“Someone tailed me?”

Yeah, okay.

Now was the time Andino had to step in. His cousin’s gaze had blackened, and that defensive posture of John’s had practically turned to offensive. That all spelled bad news if someone didn’t diffuse the situation, and fast.

“John,” Andino said, moving off the desk. “He thought it would be best considering how the Calabrese are sometimes.”

John’s gaze swung on Andino, and all that rage he knew his cousin was feeling suddenly slammed into him at full force. Maybe stepping in had been the wrong thing to do—if only because John needed to have at least one ally, and right then, he was looking at Andino like he was the fucking enemy.

Well, shit.

This wasn’t good.

Not at all.

That guilt still swam heavily through Andino. He’d fucked up big time—missed his cousin’s spiraling mental health, and now this. There was no denying how bad he messed up here.

It had always been him and John against the world—or that’s how it felt a lot of the time. When the two of them didn’t feel like they could trust anybody else, they could count on one another to do the right thing.

Except, that’s not how this went down.

How could he fix this?

“Because I can’t look out for myself or be trusted, right?” John asked. “That’s funny, boss, considering the Calabrese didn’t make any effort to hide fuck all about their intentions when they invited me to dinner. Except my own family does exactly that instead of just fucking asking me. But they’re the ones I have to watch out for, huh?”

John laughed bitterly.

“It’s not a big deal,” Dante replied, “and it’s not like you’re making it out to be, John.”

“Or is it exactly that, boss? Have you gotten someone to follow me before this time, too?”

No one answered John’s question.

Andino could tell his cousin knew the truth, though.

“Why?” John asked.

“Andi mentioned you had an interest in the Calabrese girl,” Dante said.

John’s gaze flew to Andino in an instant—hatred staring back. “What, you ran to tattle on me like a fucking baby, or something?”

“No, I—”

“Screw you, Andino.”

Andino stepped forward—he needed his cousin to know that what John thought wasn’t actually the case. John’s posture was the only thing that made Andino stay right where he was in that moment.

“John, they cannot be trusted, and you know that,” Lucian said. “Not the men, and certainly not one of their women. No matter who she is.”

“Fuck you all.” John addressed all of them, but he only actually looked at Andino. “Yeah, fuck every single one of you.”

• • •

Andino knew the exact moment when Haven noticed him during her jog—she almost missed a step when she came around the bend in the trail, but like the pro she was, never missed a damn beat. He came to this spot simply because he knew this was her turnaround spot. She always took her break here.

And frankly, he didn’t have any other free time.