Antidote by LC Lehesaho

12

"I'm having a meeting today with Leone, and I'm going to need some of you there with me, and the rest of you will go to meet Pronto Muerte. Ramirez has something he wants to show us, I don't know what, but he said it's important." Leo informs us after he called us to a meeting at his office.

"I'm taking Ramirez," Wolf answers instantly.

Falcon yelps. "I'm going with Wolf."

I don't say shit because I don't care where he wants me. I'll do what he says, and that's it. Puma doesn't say anything either; he just plays with his lighter while sitting next to me. He hasn’t said anything, but I think he knows. About her and me. After that night, he's been glued to my back, even more than usual. Probably thinks that I'm going to kill myself.

There is a point. I've considered that option too.

"Okay, then Wolf, Falcon, and Bear go to meet Ramirez, and the rest of you come with me," Leo states and gets up. "We'll leave in fifteen."

Maybe I should have said something. This didn't go exactly how I wanted it to. Puma rolls his eyes next to me while getting up, muttering something under his breath about Cobra.

Leo turns to him. "What did you say?"

Puma shrugs. "Nothing."

"I don't know what is going on with you two, but you have fifteen minutes to solve it, or I will," he tells them and walks out, shaking his head. Wolf and Falcon start to leave too, but Bear stays on the couch, smirking like he is enjoying the show.

Wolf snaps his fingers at him. "Bear, now. Don't be such a vulture."

"I want to know what's going on here."

Puma looks like he is about to explode. "It's none of your fucking business, you nosy piece of shit."

"Someone is cranky," Bear snickers, stretching his arms and crossing his fingers behind his head. "I'm going to enjoy this. Go on, don't mind me. Do you have something to say to Puma, Cobra?"

Wolf steps closer to Bear. "We are leaving now. Either you get up yourself, or I will drag you out myself. You choose."

All this time, Cobra stays quiet, not even looking at her brothers. I hate this, but I'm not going to intervene. Even if I'm distancing myself from her, it kills me to see her so… lifeless. Part of me enjoys her misery because she makes me feel the same by rejecting me, but the part that still loves her is dying because of this distance.

Bear stands up, eyes on Cobra. "You know, sis. I think you should get laid to crack that bubble you're in."

She doesn't even blink. Puma, on the other hand, lets out a sarcastic laugh. "Oh, she did get laid, on opening night, didn't you, sister? Did you get road rash on your back from the—"

"Shut the fuck up!" Anger flares from my spine and I jump up from the couch, losing my temper over this shit. I turn to Bear, glaring at him. "If Wolf doesn't drag you out now, I swear I'm going to beat the shit out of you, and you will eat through a straw for the next six months."

"Nah, bro, don't ruin the fun," he answers, but Wolf grabs him by his arm.

"That's enough. We are leaving now."

Falcon walks out behind them, leaving the three of us alone with each other. I turn to Puma, forcing myself not to look at Cobra. "We should go too. Leo is waiting."

Puma scowls at Cobra, who still hasn't made a move. "Get your ass off the couch, bitch."

My fist moves faster than my brain thinks, and the cracking sound fills the room when my fist meets Puma's nose. He stumbles backward a couple of steps, holding his nose.

"Please, don't call her that," I say calmly.

Puma stares at his bloody hand and then me. "Christ, you have fast reflexes."

Cobra stands up and walks out without a word. I want to say something to her, but I don't know what. I'm not the one who made the wrong call. It was her. Saying sorry is not enough.

Still, I don't have to accept anyone calling her bitch. If anyone calls her that, it's gonna be me. I turn my eyes back to Puma. "You should know better. I don't like that you're so hard on her."

"Someone has to be, and if you aren't, I will. So, until the day you start to live again and stop thinking of ten different ways to kill yourself, I will be hard on her." Puma claps his non-bloody hand on my shoulder. "I'm your brother and bros before hos."

I can't help but stare at him. "You are one crazy motherfucker."

"I wouldn't have fucked my mother, so jokes on you 'cause you wanna fuck your sister," he says with a steady voice looking straight into my eyes with his bright green ones.

I have to swallow, hard, before I can speak. "I… this is awkward."

"Think so? What’s awkward is that you didn't tell me. I had to put the pieces together like fucking Sherlock, and it was a waste of good weed. Why didn't you tell me, man? I really thought that we were friends, more than just brothers," Puma says, without any anger in his demeanor. It shocks the shit out of me.

"I thought that you'd lose your shit. Kill me or something. She's your sister."

He cocks an eyebrow. "She's your sister too. I know you're not blood relatives, so that's not as kinky, but I suggest that you don't let anyone else know. Bear is a sick fuck, he wouldn't mind, but Wolf and Dad… they'd kill you and burn her after that."

"That's what she said." I sigh.

"How bad is it?" His brows pop up like he’s remembering something. "Fuck, dude… you asked me… oh, hell no. You're in love with her?"

"Do we really have to talk about this?" I turn to leave, but he grabs me by my shoulders—now his bloody hand on my shirt also.

"Does Cobra know that you love her?"

I nod. "Yeah, and she told me that she loves me too. Nice, isn't it?" I say sarcastically.

Puma's eyes widen. "Then why the fuck…" Then he realizes something again, brows high. "Right. Our family."

"Yeah."

"Well… fuck. I'm sorry, man." He presses his brows against mine. "You should've told me. We could've figured something out."

"Cobra said no and is very persistent with her decision. She said that she'll do anything to protect me, so here we are, not speaking to each other because I hate that she is so fucking stubborn."

Puma laughs and leans back. "Do you remember when you came here, and the entire first month she sat outside your door reading that story to you even though you didn't say shit to her?"

"Yeah, I do." I swallow the lump in my throat. "She saved my life. Every fucking day I held the gun against my forehead, but I couldn't do it because she always came back. I didn't want to disappoint her by not listening."

Puma wraps me into a bear hug. "I'm so fucking sorry. I know this is hard to hear, but you know this already. She will protect you until the day she dies. She won't give up when it comes to your safety. I should've known better than to expect the worst from her."

"I'm still mad at her for fucking that Aussie," I state, but the reality is that I'm holding back tears. I'm not going to cry, hell no.

"Yeah, well, we all have our coping mechanisms, so…" Puma leans back, stunned. "Wait, you knew that dude?"

"No, not really. She bumped into him in the cafeteria at the university that day. I lost my shit and nearly broke his nose."

"I'm not even surprised. In case you see him at the uni, please, don't kill him." Puma pats my shoulder, nodding toward the door. "Let's go, Dad is waiting. And hey, try not to give him any signs of this or we’ll be neck-deep in shit."

Leone has worked miracles already. Snow's former club is already looking way better than it was when he was in charge—it's cleaner and lighter. I'm sure he will make it classier than his ex-boss, who apparently had a thing for filth. Leo wanted to talk with him behind closed doors, it's his way, and I know why. He is intimidating as fuck, and when you're alone with a guy who has done things that Leo has done… you don't want to make him mad. You listen to every word he says, and you remember those words for the rest of your life. Unless there is something wrong with your brain and you want to play games with your life.

Puma stands between Cobra and me while we wait outside of Leone's office. Usually, he would have to come to Leo, but this time Leo made an exception because of Snow's fuck up. Leone's guys are standing on the other side, and I'm sure one is new because of his behavior.

The way he’s giving Cobra the once-over makes me boil. She doesn't give a shit, just stares in front of her with a blank face. Her lifeless attitude is really starting to get on my nerves. The Cobra I know would tell the guy to at least fuck off. But this? Nothing, and I fucking know she sees him undressing her with his eyes.

When it happens the third time, I lose it.

"If you look at her again, I'll carve your eyes out, newbie. Got it?"

The guard's eyes fly at me. "What? Are you talking to me, hotshot?"

His work buddies shake their heads, cursing under their breath. "Brad, shut up."

"Listen to those who have a brain, maybe you'll learn, Brad," I tell him in a cold voice. My insides are anything but.

"Go fuck yourself, asshole, I watch who the fuck I wanna watch," he retorts, and at that, I push myself from the wall. I grab him before he can blink, and swipe his legs out from under him, taking him down. The anger storms inside me, making my skin prickle and my fists itchy. I help the itch by scratching my knuckles against his face, and I get a couple of hits in before the door opens.

"Ah, I see we have a little disagreement going on here," Leo states, Leone standing pale-faced by his side. I look at the bloody guy under me and then at Leo. Everyone else has stayed where they are, no one making a move to intervene.

"I politely told Brad here." I nod at the newbie. "To keep his filthy eyes off Cobra, but he told me to go fuck myself. I'm just giving him my opinion."

Leo nods slowly and places his hand on Leone's shoulder. "See, I'm not the only one with a quick temper in my family. Do you have children, Brandon?"

"Yes, sir." Leone swallows. "Three-year-old boy."

"Ah, so tiny. Well, one day, you'll watch your son, and be amazed how much he reminds you of yourself." Leo smirks at me before turning back to Leone. "I have six kiddos, and watching them grow up has been the best thing in my life. I suggest that you and your wife get a playmate for your little boy, so he doesn't have to grow up without a sibling. Family is all you need after all. What do you think, Brandon?'

Leone's face drains of color, and he stutters a shaky yes. He doesn't know that Leo would never hurt his family, never, but he doesn’t let them know that. What he did to his father has given Leo a reputation, and of course, all the kills after that, but that is the one he is most known for. How he took this city for himself—everyone knows the rumors, even though there is no one to confirm them.

"Tiger, help Brad up. I'm sure that the message was delivered," Leo says, all cool and composed as he nods to the others. "We can go. I just got a call from the police. Someone burned down one of the clubs."

Oh, fuck.

I do that and get out, walking side by side with Cobra. Puma talks with Leo, but I can't hear what they're saying because they keep their voices down. Cobra doesn't look at me, but she hands me a tissue from her pocket for the blood on my hands. I can't stop myself, when I take it, I also take hold of her fingers. I slide my thumb to the back of her hand and slowly roll it, feeling her smooth skin. She doesn't pull her hand away, but I see the emptiness in her eyes when she looks at me.

It fucking kills me.