Miles Away (Carrion #1)(11)

“Make it a Jack—straight up,” Landon said with a wicked smirk.

Rita laughed at Landon and then looked at Miles.

Miles quickly replied, “He’ll have a Shirley Temple with an extra maraschino cherry.”

Landon scoffed as Miles winked at him. “I think that’s a little more your speed, kid,” Miles said as he chuckled loudly.

“All right, Miles. Order will be up shortly. I’m glad to see you looking so good.”

With that, Rita walked off, disappearing behind a set of kitchen doors to place their order. Miles looked over at Landon, and he seemed nervous as he sat across from his brother, tapping his fingers on the wood of the table. Clearing his throat, Miles caught his attention as his stark blue eyes peered up at him.

Jesus, he looks like my mother.

“So… what’s been going on?” Miles asked. The kid looked like something was plaguing him. Landon shrugged as he looked up at Miles.

“Just the usual, man,” Landon began.

Miles laughed darkly.

“Your usual and my usual are worlds apart, dude… You are staying out of trouble, right?” Miles asked, giving his younger brother a scorching glare.

The look of pure hostility on Miles’s face caused Landon to recoil from his gaze. Landon stared back at Miles with a nervous look oozing from his eyes.

“Not trying to make you nervous. I have your back. I’m just wonderin’ what I’m coming home to,” Miles explained.

Landon let out a deep sigh. “The focus is on Dad right now. The doctors are saying he’s fading but he’s still a loud, miserable bastard. Sasha’s living at the house again. So is Rainey but she’s rarely home. Dustin comes and goes. We have a nurse that comes to the house during the week, and she’s helping to take care of Dad.”

“What about Knox?” Miles asked with a lethal edge to his voice.

Knox was the one person Miles was most anxious to see. They were tight once. Miles had only heard from him once in over seventeen years. Once was enough.

“Knox is Knox,” Landon explained. “Busy up in New York being DA and all. I haven’t seen him since Christmas.”

Miles let out a breath of relief.

At least I know that I won’t be ambushed the second I stroll through the damn door.

“You let me handle the old man. Just give me a heads up when you hear about Knox coming around. He and I need to have words,” Miles said.

“All right…” Landon said as he tapped his fingers on the table. “What about?”

“That’s between him and me,” Miles said coarsely.

As Miles closed down the conversation, Landon stared at him with a confused look. There were questions in his gaze, but Miles’s lips refused to provide the answers he sought.

Miles’s thoughts began to wander. According to the United States Government, Landon Capadonno is a man. He is old enough to vote for whatever rich, self-serving scumbag he sees fit. Landon could enlist in the military and pop a cap in however many American-hating ISIS *s his little ticker could handle. Shit, despite Landon’s baby face and shy demeanor, he could walk into any bar and demand a beer. But just because he had reached the almighty echelon of twenty-one years of age, it didn’t mean that Landon was ready for the skeletons that would come crawling out of the Capadonnos’ proverbial closet. I can only protect the kid so much—eventually, he’ll find out the truth and he’ll have to decide which side of the fence he wants to stand on… and around here, you don’t have a choice. You have to pick a side.

Then again, maybe things weren’t so cut and dry. Not everyone’s choices were laid out for them like they were for Miles. When it comes to family, the line between right and wrong wavers. There is a grey line that people often walk.

I would kill for my family… and now that some had crossed a line that should never be crossed, I’d kill them, too. Family vendettas create an unstable environment. Foundations liquefy, relationships change, bonds break. Knox Capadonno used to be my best friend. Now I want to kill the f*cker.

And that was just one name on Miles’s list. Landon would need to make up his own mind. Miles’s grudges were not his cross to bear, and Miles wasn’t about to make him, either. This vendetta belonged to Miles. The red fury that burned within him since the troubled days of his youth bubbled up like molten lava. Yeah, you could say Miles was a little pissed off.

As quickly as Rita escaped through the double doors of the kitchen, she swooped back out carrying a pair of drinks and a basket of garlic knots on a tray. Despite the teasing, Rita brought the kid a beer. He was over twenty-one and a paying customer. Miles was the one who was driving, anyway. Although Rita got his order wrong, Landon seemed to be happy enough with his Budweiser.

Nobody lays a hand on my baby, Miles thought, referring to his precious car.

Miles took a bite out of a garlic knot and took a swig of his ice water. The cold drink chased down the savory treat that he had not sampled in over seventeen years. Closing his eyes, you’d think Miles was having an orgasm at the table. Landon stared at his brother with a disgusted look upon his face.

Miles didn’t care, though. “Don’t judge me. Prison food sucks.”

“I believe you,” Landon said with a laugh. “I have no intention of ever visiting.”

“Better not. I’ll beat your ass,” Miles said with a smirk.