Chapter 48
forty-eight
Why does this feel like a fucking set up?” I breathe as we walk into my office at Cataclysm, one of the kinkier clubs I own in Seattle. “We’ve never had a problem with any of our shipments from Maine before, but now three in less than a month? Something is not right.”
“Do you think Ricardo is in on it?” he wonders, passing one of the magazines to Maksim.
That is a fair question. We have been using Ricardo as our supplier for years, and he has never fucked up before, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t be bought.
If someone offers the proper incentive, I wouldn’t be surprised if he turns on me. I just hope I am wrong.
“Anything is possible.”
The door to my office opens, and in walks Nicolai.
“Everyone is ready,” he tells me, strapping on one of the vests from the table. “We have two teams hitting the airport and another hitting a warehouse listed under the name Remus Islandier. Your father found it buried beneath a stack of horribly organized paperwork at the mansion.”
He has taken over the mansion, digging through the piles and piles of paperwork that were left carelessly behind. He will be leaving for Russia in a few weeks and wants to have the place in shape for when he comes back to visit me.
Maksim snickers. “That was too easy to find,” he boasts. “Although I suppose they never expected anyone to find out who either of them truly was.”
Nicolai grunts. “Still could have made it slightly more of a challenge.”
Dima laughs over the comm line. “Seriously?” he crows. “We’ve been looking for these assholes for over a month, and you’re complaining—they didn’t give you a challenge?”
I laugh. Fucker has a point.
“We could let them escape again,” I suggest with a shrug. “Send you after them like a hound on a fox’s trail.”
“I’m good,” Nicolai mumbles. “Promise.” We all roar with laughter. If there is one thing my obshchak hates, it is traveling.
“Dima.” I draw his attention back to me. “You are clear to breach whenever the urge arises.”
Dima chuckles darkly. “Lock and load boys.” I don’t have time to correct him on how to address his men properly before the alarm of the club signals a security breach.
“Hell yeah,” Maksim bellows, shoving his fist in the air. “Ura!”
Vas shakes his head as he follows after Maksim, who bolts out the office door. “Fucking Soviet war cry,” he sneers. “Couldn’t pick something better? More poetic? It’s just a fucking noise. Not even a real word.”
“They are attempting to get in the front door.” Maksim’s smug voice filters through the comm line. Fucker is fast if he has already made it to the front. “Stupid idea, really. The best access point is through the dumpster chute.”
Vas snorts. “Let’s not give them any ideas, hm?”
“I’m getting too old for this,” Nicolai huffs, running a hand through his beard. I jab his side with my elbow.
“Don’t worry,” I tease. “We have a great senior citizen plan.”
He takes a swipe at me. “Fuck you.”
I laugh. There is no heat behind his tone. If he were anyone else, I would have killed him on the spot. This time, I’ll let it slide, I suppose.
“Back. Back. Back.” We reach the bottom of the last set of stairs that lead into the lobby of the club when Maksim and Vas come running toward us. I can’t remember the last time I have seen either of them run like that. It is as if their asses are on fire.
“Grenade!” Maksim and Vas launch themselves over the bar to relative safety. I stare after them for a moment before his words sink in.
“Shit,” I hiss and push Nikolai into the small hallway to the right of the stairs we just exited. The explosion shakes the ground beneath our feet, dust and debris flying every which way. Smart, but now they have given us the perfect cover.
Maksim cackles as he pops up from behind the bar top, opening fire like Rambo on the enemy as they swarm inside.
All hell breaks loose as we take out man after man who breaches through our doors.
Fucking Ricardo better be dead, because if he isn’t, I am going to make his last few breaths utter hell.
Luckily, we have chosen a club I am not too fond of.
“Shit.” I duck behind a concrete pillar as more men come streaming through the door. That fucker is made of steel. Grenade my ass. The fuckers probably used a rocket launcher. “Mark, I need eyes on Cataclysm.”
“Got it, boss.” Mark goes silent for a moment as he works his magic. “I hope you have more men with you because you’ve got a small army coming at you through the parking lot.”
“How small is small?” I ask impatiently, flinging my knife at one of the men sneaking up on Nicolai. It hits him between the eyes. Dead fucker now.
“Well, it’s not quite the Roman Legion…”
“Mark!” I grit my teeth as I take out another two men with my gun.
“Forty or so.” He doesn’t sound so confident in those numbers.
“Or so?” Maksim sneers. “Or so!”
“Well, we’re fucked,” Nicolai laughs dryly. “Wave the white flag, boys. We are going down with the ship.”
“The white flag means surrender, dumbass,” Dima’s voice interrupts through the chatter. “We’re done over here, boss. Nothing special to report.”
Shit.
“No sign of the McDonoughs?”
“Nope,” Dima pops. “Just a whole bunch of now dead men and some cash.”
I grumble.
“Could use some help over here,” Vas grunts as he headbutts a guy in the face. “I’m almost out of ammo.”
“We’re on our way.”
Great. Just great.
“Hey, boss, you’ve got more company rolling in.”
And this is not going the way I plan it.
“How much company?” I honestly do not think I want to know.
“A few trucks full.”
Blyad.
“Well, it was nice knowing you all,” Maksim grunts, shoving a machete straight through a man’s neck. Where the fuck did he get that?
“We’re not dead yet, idiot,” Vas sneers. “Feel free to fall on your sword for us, though.”
That gets a laugh.
“You do know how fucked up you all are, right?” Mark asks, astonished. “Most people don’t have this conversation while fighting for their lives.”
We all give half shrugs. “Eh, you learn to see the humor in things. Even death.”
“Not dying would be great, idiot.” A smooth Italian accent drifts over the comm line.
That is not something I am expecting.
“If fake dying sent Ava on a rampage, I don’t want to know what she would do if you actually died.”
Vas snickers. “Bury him with his balls in his mouth.”
Dante laughs. “We’re coming in,” he tells us. “My men are the ones wearing the striped caps. Don’t shoot them, please.”
“No promises,” I mutter petulantly. Fucking Italian is never going to let me live this down. Within minutes, his men storm the parking lot and pour into the club. Fucking perfect. It doesn’t take long for us to clear out the rest of the enemy combatants.
“Fuck.” Vas wipes at his forehead, trying to keep the blood from pouring down his sweat-covered face and into his eyes. “That was a workout.”
We all stand in the middle of the club, surrounded by a sea of dead men. None of whom I recognize.
“Who the fuck are they?” Maksim voices the question rattling through my brain. “They don’t have any tags. No gang signs or insignia.”
It is disturbing to know that we have no way of identifying who has sent the men. At first, I thought they were sent by Sheila and Remus, but now, I am beginning to question that.
So are my men.
“Can we all agree that these soldiers aren’t McDonough soldiers?
” Vas sighs. We all nod. Even Dante doesn’t believe they could have done this.
There are too many men, and they are too well trained.
The men at the mansion when we rescued Ava were mafioso type.
Most likely those who come with them from Boston.
The men who surround us now are specially trained. Former soldiers and black ops from every nationality lie dead across the floor of my club.
“You think it’s them?” Nicolai asks. “That secret society or whatever.”
Gritting my teeth, I nod, accepting that it is the only thing that makes sense. They have attacked us in broad daylight at a public venue. Whoever they are, they are not messing around.
“Hey, boss,” Mark calls frantically over the comms. “The bar’s silent alarm was just tripped.”
Fuck. If the same people who attack us are also hitting McDonoughs, they won’t stand a chance. We got lucky that Dante had been monitoring our comm frequency like the paranoid Italian don he is. Something we will be talking about in detail later, but for now, I am just grateful for the backup.
“My men will stay here and work on cleanup,” Dante assures me. I nod as we pile into one of the SUVs.
Fuck all if I am going to lose Ava.
Not when things have been going so well.
Taking out my phone, I dial the one person I know can save her if I can’t be there in time.
“Ava’s in trouble, Kenzi.” I don’t bother with pleasantries. “McDonoughs.”
That is all I manage to say, and then the line goes dead.
Hold on, Red. We’re coming for you.