He ignored me. “I need to call Natalia and tell her everything’s changed. I have you now. She doesn’t need Ari.”
What he needed was to come down to earth and tell me what the fuck he was talking about. I punched him in the gut with my left hand to get his attention. “Youthink you haveme, motherfucker?”
He doubled over, guarding his stomach. “Bones, you don’t get it. You’ll want to hear what she has to say.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, because she knows the truth about what happened to your father.”
Words are funny. I never expected the words of a loser like Matt to affect me, but they did. Too damn old to be chasing after the memory of a father who’d disappeared, I should have been able to ignore him, but I couldn’t. Deep down, I was still that confused kid who wanted to find out why his father had left.
How long had I wondered what happened to him?
How long had it been since I’d given up on him?
And most importantly, after all I’d done to hide my family, how the hell had Matt found out about my dad?
“You’re a fuckin’ liar,” I growled, punching Matt again. “Runnin’ your mouth to save your skin, but your words are worthless. You’re a dead man, Matt.”
“Fine, kill me,” he said, raising his hands in surrender. “But talk to your sister first. Please. She’ll clear this all up. If I had my phone, I’d give you Natalia’s number. She said she has proof. She has everything. Let’s go back and get my phone, and I’ll prove it to you.”
“Fat chance. If this broad has all this proof, why didn’t she just come to me?”
“Because there’s always someone watching you.” He glanced at Angel. “Alwayssomeone watching, ready to report back.”
I glared at him. “Are you accusing Angel of spying on me? Of ratting me out?”
He shrugged. “Everyone knows you can’t trust the families. Hell, you can’t trust anyone in this goddamn town.”
That was probably the first true statement he’d muttered since we picked his ass up. Still, I trusted Angel above anyone. And I was done with Matt’s lies. It was past time to get back on track.
“Who the fuck is your supplier, Matt?”
Angel turned down a dirt road.
Matt’s eyes widened. “My phone. If we could just get my phone, I’ll call Natalia and prove all this to you.”
I put my gloves on, took his switchblade out of my pocket, opened it, and plunged it into his thigh, careful to miss his artery. He screamed, grabbing at the handle. “Who’s your supplier?” I asked again.
“You’re making a big mistake. I have valuable information. I’m valuable.”
Blood welled up around the blade. If I removed it, we’d have one hell of a mess on our hands, but I had no intention of removing it. Matt grabbed at the handle, clearly having other plans.
“You take it out, you’ll probably bleed to death,” I advised.
“Dammit, Bones! I’m trying to tell you something important.”
“Unless it’s the name of your supplier, I don’t give a flying fuck what you’re trying to tell me.”
Angel pulled to a stop. We were secluded on the side of a hill. I couldn’t see nor hear the traffic of the road. The few bunched trees Angel had parked under, hid us from any overhead traffic. I opened my door and got out, dragging Matt with me.
He swore as the movement jostled his leg, but his discomfort was just one more thing I didn’t care about. “How painful do you want me to make this?” I asked him.
Matt looked from me to Angel, searching for an ally or a compassionate ear. Angel laughed, throwing his hands in the air. “I know you don’t think I’m saving your sorry ass. Especially not after insinuating that Bones can’t trust me.”
I reached for the knife, prepared to turn it.
“Wait.” Matt leaped back, then swore again.
