“What the fuck were you thinking?”

Ah, we’re starting already.

I shoved my hands into my pockets. “I asked you—”

“I know what you asked me,” he snapped. He grabbed his cane, pushing himself onto his feet to glare at me. He always did that when he wanted to be intimidating. Had he forgotten I’d grown up since then? “I told you to stay the hell away from the Vitales.”

“Yeah, I know.”

He sneered. “You don’t know jack shit, or you wouldn’t have ignored me and did whatever the hell you wanted to do.”

I stared at him. Did he think I was still a child? Okay, stealing from him wasn’t right, but did he have to talk to me like that?

Rolling my shoulders back, I clenched my jaw tightly until pain shot through it. Sharp pinpricks of pain focused my attention.

“I needed it for my investigation,” I said. “There’s a whole task force revolving around the Vitales, and that wouldn’t have happened without me. I have people watching my back.”

“That doesn’t mean shit,” he grumbled. “You want to be some kind of hot shot, that’s what this is. Wanna play hero? All you’re going to do is get yourself killed.”

I scoffed. “Like you? From what I’ve heard, everyone says you were a hero, but the truth is you were just as bad as me. Charging in head first, getting yourself shot. How can you get on my ass when I’m your exact carbon copy?”

He stared at me. I glanced away, toying with my fingers. Shouldn’t have said that. I hadn’t meant to let it slip free, but the hypocrisy of what he was saying smacked me in the face like a ton of bricks. As the silence grew between us, I shifted from one foot to the other. He stayed silent until I looked up and met his angry gaze.

“What did you say to me?”

I willed myself not to take a step back. My father ran over me backward and forward when we were together, but I wasn’t in the mood for that shit right now.

“I said I clearly got it from you,” I said.

He took a step toward me, but I stayed still. When his eyes narrowed, all I could think about were all the times he’d torn me apart as a child. My father rarely ever put his hands on me, but his ability to rip me to shreds with a few well-placed words was truly a talent.

“You’re nothing like me,” he said slowly.

My stomach dropped, turning into a pit of anxiety as that look came over his face. Turn around and leave. I can get the hell out of here right now and never have to hear another word out of his mouth. I tried to make myself move, but it was like my feet were glued to the floor. Somehow, he still had a hold on me.

“When I was your age, I was following in my father’s footsteps. Every man in this family has been a cop, then a detective, and moved up the ranks. You’ve been fucking around, Tex. Every chance you had straight out of high school, you blew. How many times did I find you strung out upstairs?”