Chapter 35
Kaiser
In the underground fighting rings, anything goes. Above ground, in legit fights, there’s a referee to make sure there’s no foul play. No hitting the groin. No gouging out eyes.
In the underworld, no one cares if a fighter lives or dies.
I learned to keep moving. To be fast. To figure out my opponent quickly. No one bet on Jaeger and me in the beginning. But that was okay; Maestro rigged the fights. He had a few of his more seasoned fighters train us, and I learned every move I could so Jaeger and I could survive.
When I first started fighting, I was the underdog. By the end, I was the reigning champ.
The Vesuvios have forgotten that. They’ve come for my woman. It’ll be the last thing they ever do.
Finally, I get to kill someone.
I wait until the machine guns go silent. There are a few isolated shots here and there. The Vesuvios are executing our security guards one by one. That’s our first layer of defenses gone.
The first wave of the Vesuvio army hits the door. There’s a heavy thudding sound, too loud and rhythmic to be a fist. They’ve brought a fucking battering ram.
I race through the house, grabbing supplies, setting up a few distractions. Then I head back to the front of the house to greet them because that’s what a good host does. I wait for them at the top of the stairs, out of their line of sight.
They march in wearing goggles and body armor. Pretty good tech for mafia thugs. And they’re well trained—they clear the room expertly before filing in.
“Clear.” The leader radios the boss. “We’re in.”
“Get the girl.”
“Copy. She’ll be in the safe room,” the leader says to his men. “Let’s go.” I’ve set up a few bottles of wine in the hall, so I hear when they knock a few of them over.
“Hit the lights.”
I already told Argos to kill the lights for good. There’s a pause during which I’m sure they all turn on their night vision goggles.
Below me, a few men are standing in the foyer. I toss a flashbang grenade down and cover my eyes. Light flashes, blazing bright between my fingers. A few men scream as the light stabs their eyes.
I take a running leap, vault over the stair railing, and land on an unlucky soldier. I roll and slam my fist into the closest bystander. He sags, and I send his body flying into two more of his buddies. I keep it moving. Chop a jugular. Kick out a knee.
Somebody recovers enough to fire at me, but I’m moving too fast. I take out as many of them as I can and haul one up to use as a body shield to head down the hall.
Gunfire greets me. I toss my human shield one way and dive the other.
I get clear of the line of fire, then reach into my pocket and hit a button that triggers a few small devices I’ve fixed around the house.
Random alarms start blaring to cover up the sound of the bombs beeping.
The gunmen get distracted by all the new noise.
Then the tiny bombs explode. They’re not that dangerous, but the explosion ignites the gasoline I splashed around.
Fire blazes. The flames tear down the trail I’ve left for it and turn a few rugs into an inferno.
One gunman wheels past me, screaming, his whole body on fire.
Smoke fills the air. The safe room has a special air supply and oxygen masks, so Bella will be okay.
I pull out my skull bandana and cover my face, then turn on another fun device Argos invented.
I still need to deal with the rest of the gunmen.
There’s a clicking sound and cursing as the guns nearest me start to jam. Got to love modern technology. The jammer isn’t perfect—a few bullets do fire—but it stalls things long enough for me to run at one of the shooters. I grab his gun and use it to pull him forward into my fist. He goes down.
I use his gun like a club to beat another one’s face in. Three more abandon their guns and attack me. I take the first hit. That’s the secret of fighting. Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. But I let them hit me. I see how they move, how they react.
And what did Bella say? You have to give your opponent a chance. So I do. I give them one. One tries Krav Maga, another Muay Thai, the third a blend of Judo and Jiu-Jitsu. Their kicks and punches thud into my deadened skin. Then it’s all over for them.
They all go down hard. They’re mercenaries, fighting for cash and glory. I’m fighting for my woman. Failure isn’t an option.
I will pile the bodies of her enemies at her feet.
A fourth rushes me from behind. His knife digs into my left side lat with enough force to ignite my dulled nerve endings. The pain almost feels good.
“You’d stab me in the back, motherfucker?” I’m on him before he can move. I break his arm, take his knife, and drive it through his eye. Instant death. “Next time, just shoot me from the door. Idiot.”
I find the team leader among the fallen and stomp on his head until he goes limp, then take his walkie-talkie and find a spot of fresh air.
The radio crackles. “Strike lead, come in.”
I pull down my bandana. “Hey there,” I say as pleasantly as I can. “Is this Dominus?”
There’s a pause. “I’m here.” The head of the Vesuvio family doesn’t sound happy.
“Your men are dead. I hope they weren’t friends of yours. Or family. You only have two sons left, correct?”
Heavy breathing on the line. Dominus is pissed. “You can’t fight all of them.”
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do. And when this is over, Fraternitas will come for you.
” I toss the walkie-talkie away. Blood’s trickling down my back.
Pain screams in the background of my mind.
I twist to check the wound, but it’s not too deep.
Outside, someone’s shooting something. Argos must have activated the drones and the Vesuvios are returning fire.
Bad idea: Argos’ drones tend to explode.
I roll my shoulders and crack my neck. The blood hums under my skin, making me feel alive. As much as I love playing house with Bella, I missed this. Explosions rock the house. Shouts tell me more forces have arrived. They’re pouring in from the front door.
The fight has just begun.
Bella
I stand in the safe room, watching the screen. I was pissed when Kaiser told me to stay put, but I agreed because I didn’t want him to tie me up. But now I have a front row seat to the action.
On screen, Kaiser mows down row after row of armed men like they’re tin soldiers.
My whole body vibrates like leaves in a storm. Watching him is like watching a hurricane destroy a beach or a tornado rip through a cornfield. He’s a force of nature. No one else stands a chance.
But more men are coming. Dominus isn’t holding back. He’s coming to take out the Poisoner’s daughter.
And it’s all going according to plan. I want to decimate his army and then kill all his heirs. I hope his sons come to the fight. I can get it all done in one night. Kaiser has actual grenades now. He tosses them, and they explode, taking out chunks of the floor. We’ll have to remodel after this.
He’s magnificent. But he’s just one man. More armed forces are coming, and they have bigger guns. Bazooka size.
It takes two of them to point the gun at a wall. What are they doing? Boom! There’s a rumble and dust flies, blurring the feed. A few of the cameras go offline. My guess is that part of the house collapsed. They’re willing to bring the house down around their ears to beat one man.
And it’s working. I can’t see Kaiser. He either escaped the destruction or he’s collapsed under some drywall.
I have to go. I have to help him.
I run to the door and hit the button to open it. I’m safe as long as I stay here.
But where’s the fun in that?
I head into the dank, smoky air, straight for my greenhouse. There was a huge fight in the kitchen, but I skip over the blood-smeared tiles and fallen bodies. Once I’m in my greenhouse, I slam the door loud enough to echo through the house.
I hit the lights, but they don’t work, so I turn on the backup lights attached to the generator.
I’ll get it nice and bright in here so I can watch the life bleed from my enemies’ eyes.
They hurt Kaiser. It’s time to make them pay.