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Some men dropped, but others? They didn’t give a damn. Instead of listening, they tried to put a bullet in our brains. I glanced around, but there was no backup. Does Sarge even know we’re in here? The warehouse was huge. What if they didn’t know we were inside?

“Enough!” A voice cut through the chaos. “Are we done shooting? Can we talk?”

I froze. That was a voice I would know anywhere. Benito. I glanced around and saw him standing there, staring in our direction.

“We already know there are cars out front, but it’ll be a while before they get in. That door is reinforced, and it’s going to take more than a ram to get through it. So, we can talk, or we can go back to shooting at each other.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Rourke answered. “Get on the ground, lay on your stomach, and get cuffed. I’ve seen enough contraband around here to put all of you away for a long ass time, so do it!”

“I don’t get on my belly for anyone,” Benito shot back.

“Yeah, I think I’m good on that,” Giancarlo chimed in, a grin on his lips. “The only way I’m getting on the ground is if I’m getting fucked.”

I glanced over at them. My eyes landed on Enzo. He was silent, his eyes darting around in the dimness of the warehouse. Is he looking for me?

“I’m not going to tell you again to get down on the ground!” Rourke yelled. “Last chance!”

“Or what?” Benito chuckled. “You shoot me?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely.”

I stared at Rourke. “We need to back down until the others get through.”

“Fuck that,” he sneered. “I’m sick of these pathetic, criminal assholes getting away with shit. We take them down, and we get the fuck out of here.”

“Rourke.”

“Don’t be a pussy, Tex,” he hissed at me. “Who gives a fuck if a couple of scumbag mobsters die?”

I care! I fucking care!

No matter how badly I wanted to be detective, I wasn’t willing to murder them just because of who they were. It didn’t feel right.

“We’re doing this right,” I snapped. “Arrest them.”

“Do they look like they want to be arrested?” he shot back. “These fuckers will put us in the ground!”

“What the hell Rourke? This wasn’t the plan.”

Rourke rolled his eyes. “Stay there and piss your pants, Caster. I’m taking these monsters down.” He shook his head. “Thought you were going to be better than your old man.”

“Fuck you,” I growled.

If Rourke wasn’t going to listen to reason, I had to take care of it myself. The Vitale brothers were criminals, but they were still human. Whatever had gotten into Rourke had made him crazy. He was so eager to kill, and I had never seen that side of him before.

“Put the weapons down,” I called as I stepped out of cover. “Enzo, get them to listen. I don’t want this to end badly.”

Enzo’s dark eyes focused on me. “Tex.”

“Yeah,” I said. “It’s me. Don’t do this. I don’t want to be the reason you die.”

The moment the words left my lips, I felt lighter. What I’d said was a truth that I had buried deep inside of myself for what felt like centuries. I couldn’t be the reason Enzo died. No matter what he and his family had done, I wouldn’t be the person who killed him.

“He’s slaughtered more people than you know,” Rourke spat. “Who gives a fuck if he dies?”

“I do,” I said. “This isn’t how we do this, Rourke.”

“He’s a fucking parasite! Just because you fucked him doesn’t mean he’ll hesitate to kill you.”