"Don't play fuckin' dumb, Mike. I let you do what you've gotta do, and I'm okay with a lot of fuckin' shit, but it doesn't work if I don't trust that you know what you've got waiting for you at home," I say, struggling to keep my voice pitched low, even though Mack and Flo usually sleep through anything.

"I need to know that you give a shit how this comes back to us, how it affects us. Your fuckin' family, and if you didn't notice, seein' you with bite marks on your goddamn neck that I wasn't fuckin' present for affects me," I hiss, teeth bared angrily.

"I'm not stupid. I know what shit like this means. You go too far down a road like this, and I'm not gonna be able to keep you anchored anymore. And you get that's what I'm doin', right?"