Chapter 237
Wesley
I watched Arthur's face darken with each word. The fury building there wasn't the hot, explosive kind—it was cold, methodical, the kind of anger that ended careers and destroyed lives.
"Felix!" I shouted. "Shut your goddamn mouth!"
But he just kept smiling at me, blood staining his teeth red.
My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. Everything was spiraling out of control. I'd come here to clean up a mess, to eliminate a threat, to keep my promise to Lance. Now I was standing in the middle of a minefield, and Felix was dancing on the triggers.
"Arthur," I said, forcing my voice to stay level. "Let us leave. Let us take them. Please."
"You dare?" Arthur's voice cracked like a whip. He turned to the man beside him—a stern-faced officer with commander's bars on his uniform. "Captain Morrison. Old friend. I'm grateful you responded to the alarm so quickly."
Morrison nodded once, his expression grim.
"I know this is... unseemly," Arthur continued. "Family business, aired out like dirty laundry. But if they take one more step toward that door?" He looked directly at me. "You have my permission to open fire. Don't worry about hitting me. Just stop them."
The words landed like a physical blow. Around me, I heard my crew shifting nervously.
"Boss," Dante hissed. "We can't get them out. Not with this many cops."
"Boss, we should run," Carlo added, his voice tight with barely controlled panic. "This is the NYPD. We can't fight the police. We'll get buried."
I looked at Felix, saw the smug satisfaction spreading across his bloodied face, and something in me snapped.
"Run?" I repeated, my voice low and dangerous. "I made a promise. I'm not leaving without them."
Before anyone could argue, I shoved Dante aside and grabbed Felix myself, yanking him forward by the collar. I pressed my gun against his temple, feeling him tense under my grip.
"Back off," I said clearly, addressing the officers. "All of you. One more step and I pull the trigger."
I flicked off the safety. The click echoed in the sudden silence.
Felix's smile never wavered. If anything, it grew wider.
"Officer Morrison," he called out, his voice eerily calm for a man with a gun to his head. "Don't let me stop you from doing your job. These thugs need to be arrested. And when you do?" He paused for effect. "Make sure you get the man who sent them. The real mastermind behind all of this."
I pressed the barrel harder against his skull. "You think I won't do it? After everything you've done? All the people you've hurt? I could end you right here, right now, and the world would be better for it."
"Could you?" Felix's voice was soft, almost gentle. "Because from where I'm standing, Wesley, your hand is shaking."
I looked down. He was right. The gun was trembling in my grip.
"Boss!" Miles's voice cut through my focus. "Boss, you need to run! We'll hold them off!"
I hesitated. Every instinct screamed at me to make a decision—fight or flight, now or never.
That hesitation cost me everything.
Felix moved faster than I thought possible for someone who'd just been beaten half to death. One moment my gun was pressed against his temple. The next, he'd twisted away, grabbed my wrist, and yanked the weapon from my grip with a strength that shouldn't have existed.
He jumped backward, putting distance between us, and leveled my own gun at my chest.
"You know what your problem is, Wesley?" he said, and now his smile was genuine. "You hesitate. You always hesitate. And hesitation? That'll get you killed. Or worse—it'll get the people you care about killed."
Behind me, I heard the sound of weapons clattering to the floor. One by one, my crew was giving up. Raising their hands. Stepping aside.
I didn't blame them. We'd lost. We'd lost the moment I didn't pull that trigger.
Thomas straightened up from his theatrical coughing fit, all traces of weakness vanishing like smoke. When he spoke, his voice was strong and clear.
"Put down your weapons now," he commanded, addressing my remaining crew. "Surrender, and you'll face minimal charges. But if you continue to follow Wesley down this path?" He gestured toward the armed officers. "These men will make sure you rot in prison for the rest of your miserable lives."
I watched as Dante exchanged a glance with Carlo. Saw Jax lower his weapon with a muttered curse.