Chapter Five
Niko
I couldn’t sleep, replaying the night in my head.
When Becca refused to join me for dinner, I brushed it off as no big deal, like I was doing her a favor by even asking her. Dharma didn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to. We both know I’m a fool.
Most nights I’m meeting shipments or following Becca home from the club, making sure she gets in okay. Obviously, a task for a lower ranking member of the Brotherhood, at least until recently, but Andrei and Sergei know better than to suggest someone else. Every time she brings a man home with her, my chest roars with jealousy.
Other nights I’m with Alek, one of our best enforcers, torturing our enemy for information. I’m use to eating alone, but knowing she was in my home but preferred to eat by herself, it stung.
I should’ve left her to sulk, but on my way to the observatory I found myself in her room.
I don’t have a reason, and I know it was a vulnerable move, but I wanted to share the comet with her. We enjoyed each other, even if it was brief. It almost felt like a date, although our conversation was probably deeper than first dates intend.
My life doesn’t bode well for dating, and I don’t have the patience to deal with women and their many emotions. I have a couple girls on rotation who understand their role and accept my emotional incompetence. They never seem to mind when my dick is buried deep inside them. I even purchased my own personal suite at Casablanca Casino, years ago, ensuring no morning afters. I fuck them, pleasure us both, and then I escape.
Last night, I didn’t even think about fucking Becca. Okay, I did, but I admittedly enjoyed talking with her. It was freeing, not hiding behind our tough exteriors. I didn’t plan on sharing my childhood until it fell out of my mouth, but I don’t regret it.
Holding her in my arms, getting to really know each other. I could kick myself for my snide, demeaning comment about her party habits. It wasn’t intended how it landed, I was trying to lighten the mood, but the damage was done. She ended the night and ran from me.
I thought about going after her, but what would I do if I reached her? Take her into my arms? Kiss her?
Fuck yes.
I want to kiss Becca’s plush pink lips in every way possible. Slow, soft, languid kisses that last for hours. Sensual, exploring, tongue twisting kisses. Hard, lip bruising kisses.
I need to kiss her, taste her.
No. I need to protect her, and getting tangled in emotions I’m unable to navigate won’t help.
Maybe, if I release this pent up sexual energy I’ll be able to focus. Maybe I should call Veronica? Would Becca stay out of trouble if I left to satisfy these cravings she’s embedded in me?
Doubtful.
I try to ignore my raging hard-on and focus on work. I check our business reports, and text our men to confirm upcoming shipments and deliveries, while waiting for Sergei’s call.
He jumps right in, “There was another threat. Anya discovered black roses when she arrived at the distillery, this morning. The card was the same shit szhech' printsessu, burn the princess.
“What about the cameras? Any footage?”
“He hacked into our system, which isn’t easy to do. Ino is reaching out to his contacts, even offering cash for any leads. Someone must’ve heard of this guy, and money talks. We’ll find him, but until then, she’s safe with you.”
Is she safe with me? With me, yes. From me, no.. The longer the asshole is out there, the longer she’s under my watch. The longer I’m walking around with blue balls.
“I’ll pull Max, Art, and Rurik to assist with her security. Max can handpick an additional four or five soldiers to guard the perimeter. This isn’t just a prank anymore. I trust you to keep her safe, but the added security will ease our worries.”
“Agreed.”
“Is she driving you crazy, yet?” He chuckles.
I grunt my answer.
“If you feel comfortable leaving her with Max and his crew, I could really use your help with the Perez’s. They ignored our warnings.”
“What are you thinking?”
“Ino threw out some bogus information about a weapons shipment tonight, and they’ve latched on, hook, line and sinker. I don’t know how much firepower they’re going to bring, so I need you, Foko, Alek, and Isaak there. I could send in some soldiers but this feels personal. I want to make a statement.
“We’re going to ambush their ambush.”
“That’s the plan. I’ll text you when we’re leaving dinner from Mom’s.”
We work out the details before disconnecting, and Max calls confirming he’ll be here within the hour.
I stomp into the kitchen in search of caffeine, and I’m surprised to find her at the counter eating breakfast. She doesn’t even bother acknowledging me, but there’s no ignoring her. Fuck me, how many fucking short shorts and thin ass tank tops does she own?
“Did Tali pack any actual clothes for you?”
Her scowl would kill a lesser man. “I’ll wear what I want, thank you very much.”
“Go put on sweats, or a fucking burka. I don’t need Max’s crew drooling over you.”
“Why in the fuck would Max or anyone else be here?”
“To guard you.”
She snorts. “That’s hilarious. The Butcher needs a calvary to protect little ole me?”
“I have a job tonight, and I don’t need you fucking it up.” There’s no reason to tell her there was another threat, it’ll only add to her stress.
I leave her to return to my office but she stomps behind me. “Do you honestly think you can just go about living your life while I’m stuck in this ivory tower?”
I sigh but open the office door allowing her to enter. There’s no ignoring her when she’s like this.
I sit at my desk and she stands with her arms crossed. Her pink bra peeks out from under her top, and I wonder if her panties match.
Her voice shakes me from my daydream, “What am I supposed to do out here in the middle of nowhere? If this guy doesn’t kill me, I’ll certainly die of boredom.”
“Dramatic much? There’s plenty to do. Read, swim, shop online.”
“Right, because shopping is the only thing I’m good at?”
My patience is running thin, “Tali packed your laptop, you can work from here, organizing the grand opening.”
“It isn’t the same as being there. I need to fine tune the details.”
“It isn’t safe.”
“But…”
“I said it isn’t safe! Can you just trust me on this?”
Her eyes are filled with fire and rage, but I know her well enough to see the hint of fear.
I sigh, “Take the day off. You could use it and the distillery won’t fall apart. Anya has it covered. Try to relax. Swim, lay out, nap. I’ll make sure Dharma wakes you for dinner.”
“Dinner?” Her voice lifts.
Our weekly family dinner is one I look forward to for multiple reasons. One, I’m grateful for my long lost family. Even though my mother suffered at the hands of Boris Sokolov, I no longer blame his sons, and I will not let bitterness come between me and my father’s sister, Aunt Zoya.
Two, I get to see Becca. She works hard and plays even harder, but she always makes time for our weekly dinner.
“Dinner here . We aren’t going to Aunt Zoya’s. Don’t make it harder than it has to be.”
She glares at me and her plush lips pout. “I have plans to meet friends after dinner.”
“To do what?”
“Anything other than this.”
“What friends?”
“None of your business.”
Jealousy swirls in my stomach. “The kind of friends you fuck?”
“Like I said, none of your business.”
I jump out of my chair, round the desk, grab her waist and jerk her roughly into my chest, discovering how perfectly we mold together. “It is my business. You’re done fucking random guys.”
“So now you’re dictating who I fuck? Why? Because we fooled around yesterday? We agreed it was a mistake. Did you think fifteen-year-old Becca was going to fall madly in love? That’s as believable as you suddenly being interested in me.” She snorts out her disbelief.
“Suddenly?" I shake my head and scoff.
She pushes off of me. “I may be stuck out here with you, but let’s get this straight. You don’t fucking own me, and I’m not one of your soldiers to boss around. Have you forgotten who you’re talking to? I’m a fucking Sokolov!”
“What you are is a spoiled fucking brat!”
I don’t realize it until her hand makes contact, slapping hard against my face. My head snaps to the side in surprise and I palm my cheek, certain it already bears her handprint.
She goes to slap me again, but I wrap my large hand around her tiny wrist, holding it tight enough that she winces in pain.
I loosen my grip but snarl, “I’ve had enough.”
“Good, so have I!” Her rage is palpable. “Let. Go. You fucking animal!”
I’m sick of her bullshit. This is a serious situation and she wants to throw a tantrum? I lift her up, turn her around and press her stomach against the top of my desk. I crowd over her body, pressing my hard cock against her ass. I swiftly move her hair from her neck and wrap my hands around her throat, not applying any pressure, but I can tell the act turns her on. She gasps and her breathing quickens. Does my Printsessa want me to fuck her from behind while squeezing her throat? She arches her ass against my straining cock, but somehow I restrain myself from tearing off her clothes and burying my cock into her tight, hot channel.
My lips find her ear lobe, and I suck and growl, “If I’m an animal, does that make you my prey?”
“No,” She gasps.
I taste her as I run my tongue along the slope of her neck, tracing her quickening pulse. What I wouldn’t give to lick and suck every inch of her body.
Instead, I focus on my task and step back.
She abruptly makes space, but it doesn’t take long for her to discover the necklace I’ve fastened around her neck.
She unsuccessfully searches for the clasp.
“It’s a locking clasp, Printsessa .” I proudly hold up a small piece of hardware. “It has a hex-screw locking mechanism and this screwdriver key is the only key that can unlock it.”
She knows this is the same necklace as Tali’s and Summer’s and it also has a tracker embedded in it. She roars towards me, pounding her fists against my chest. “You are an asshole! A cruel asshole.”
I hold her fists against my torso, and fuck if her anger doesn’t stir something inside me. I imagine makeup sex with Becca- her scratching and biting while I pin her hands above her head and rail her against the wall, I’d fuck her so hard pictures would crash down around us. Or ramming her from behind with her bare beasts heaving against the glass of the window. Or me on the couch pinching her nipples as she scratches at my chest and rides my cock.
“A cruel asshole that will keep you safe.” My calm voice only enrages her more.
“This is criminal!”
“Well, I’m a criminal so that tracks.” I wink and she screams her frustration.
“This isn’t funny! I am not a possession!”
“No. You’re a princess who refuses to listen.” Why can’t she get it?
“I’m nobody’s princess and I am certainly noone’s damsel in distress!”
“Princess, damsel, neither, it won’t matter if some crazy fucker harms you! If anything happened to you, I'd.. I'd.”
"What? Lose your ego?" she taunts.
"I'd fucking die, Becca. Jesus Fuck!"
"Andrei and Sergei wouldn't kill you."
"They wouldn't have to. I'd have no reason to live if I was no longer in your orbit."
She suddenly stops fighting the fire fades from her eyes, replaced with something I can't decipher, but it's gone in an instant.
I guess we're ignoring what I just said, but maybe she's doing me a favor.
Her voice cracks, “I’m not trying to be difficult, but I have employees that depend on me. Can’t your calvary guard me at the distillery? There’s a shipment of retail items coming in today.”
Her statement makes me think. I reluctantly let her go and step back. “Did you fire anyone recently?”
“No. In fact, we just had a bunch of interviews. I hired three new people.”
“Did you conduct the interviews, yourself?”
“Of course. You should've seen some of the applicants. They dress like slobs, smack gum when they talk, and blatantly lie about their experience.”
“Were any of them agitated.”
“How would I know?”
“Think about it. Both threats have been through the distillery. They’re connected somehow.”
“Both threats? As in plural?”
I shake my head. “Shit.”
Fear and anger flash across her face. “I don't get it, why me? I just want to work, paint, and let off some steam once in a while.”
I turn away and wave her to join me, “Come with me.”
I can feel her eyeroll but she follows, her curiosity getting the best of her. When I texted Tali to pack Becca’s clothes, she mentioned her painting supplies.
I open the door to her temporary studio and she gasps.
“How did you?”
“Your traitor, Tali.”
She smiles but it’s quickly replaced with a glare and she furrows her eyebrows at me. She gestures haughtily towards the easels. “I know what you’re doing, and it won’t work.”
“What?”
“Keeping me here, entertained. You’re trying to placate me.”
“You don’t want to paint?”
“Of course I do. But I don’t want it held over me as some sort of power trip.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because your middle name is power. You’re ruthless, especially when you don’t get your way.”
I smirk, “Takes one.”
“Right,” she scoffs, “like I ever hold any power. I’m merely a chess piece.”
“Regardless of what you might think, I don’t want you miserable.”
She bites her lip as she eyes her supplies, and I want to devour her.
“Don’t expect a thank you, and none of this changes the fact that you kidnapped me.”
Before I have a chance to retort, a text chimes on my phone. “It’s from Andrei, he wants us both to call him.”
I put him on speaker and he barks, “Becca, who the fuck did you piss off?”
“Hello to you too, Cousin.” She retorts.
“There was a bomb planted at the distillery.”
Her mouth gapes open.
I ask, “Any injuries?”
“No. It was amateur in nature. Hidden in an unused outside shed. It was meant to scare, not destroy.”
“You promise Anya is okay?”
“Promise. Alek ordered her home and Isaak is keeping an eye on her for the time being.”
“So, he’s proficient in computers and hacking, but bombs not so much.”
“Or, he wanted us to think that, and this was merely a tactic.”
Becca finds her voice, “Three threats in two days? He’s getting desperate. You’d think he’d take his time, enjoy my misery, my fear. It doesn’t make sense.”
“She’s right.”
“Or, he doesn’t know where she is and he’s trying to push her presence.”
She shivers. “Is Pop okay? What about Zoya?”
“Extra security has been added to everyone, Bec.”
“Summer and Tali?”
“Of course.”
I ask, “You still don’t think this has anything to do with Rocco Netti or his death?”
“It’s hard to tell. Becca was an intricate part in saving those girls and getting them the assistance they needed. Maybe some sleazeball sold their girlfriend or daughter and wants revenge because they never got paid.”
I look to Becca, “Do you have all the girls’ information?”
“Most of them. We had a couple who left the very next day. We tried to reassure them, but they were terrified and in the country illegally.”
Andrei orders, “Get Ino all the information you have. Maybe we need to look at this from another angle.”
She nods at the phone, “Okay.”
“Nik, I heard you’re going with Sergei tonight.”
“My knives are sharpened.”
“Becca, can you stay out of trouble?”
“Kind of hard to attempt an escape with Uncle Max and his men guarding me," she grumbles, "and you knew I’d never cause issues for him or Anya. You’re playing on my guilt.”
She’s right, and we were counting on that. Maura, Aunt Zoya’s best friend, is Anya's mother, so Anya and Becca grew up together. Max was a part of Boris’s crew when he married Maura, which was probably the only reason Zoya was allowed to keep her friend. Like many others, Max was thrilled when Andrei became Pakhan.
Her voice changes to a plea, “Andrei, please, I want to go to the distillery. Can’t you make that happen? There’s so much to do before the grand opening.”
“The distillery is the last place I want you.”
“I feel like a grounded teenager,” she huffs.
“The quicker we find the fucker, the quicker you can get back to your life. Instead of whining about it, try thinking of anyone who’s got a beef with you.”
“Believe me, I’ve racked my brain over it. You’re the Pakhan, I’m a nobody. If I had any idea, I would’ve throat punched the loser already.”
“Did you piss off any boyfriends?”
“I don’t do boyfriends. You know that.”
“Maybe if you did and settled down….”
“Stop. Just because you and Sergei are in matrimony bliss doesn’t mean it’s in the cards for me.”
“I could marry you off.”
She gasps, “Don’t even joke about that, Drei. You promised me.”
“I would never. Summer would kill me.”
“How is Summer?”
“Doctor has her on bedrest. Something about high blood pressure. They are going to induce her if she doesn’t deliver soon. She’s enjoying being spoiled.”
“Bedrest?”
“If you think of anyone who might be a threat, text me.”
He lets us go and I watch her immediately fold into herself. Her shoulders slump and she buries her head in her hands, her voice panicked, “The stress isn’t good for Summer and the baby. What if…”
“Don’t think like that.”
“You heard him! She’s on bedrest.”
Distress shadows her face. She could care less about her own safety.
“I’m sure it’s just a formality, and the doctor is being extra cautious, wanting to avoid Andrei’s wrath.”
“I don’t know.”
“Did he sound concerned? She’s healthy and the baby is healthy. Andrei will protect her with his life. But that’s why you’re stuck here, with me.”
“I don’t understand. Why is someone after me? What have I done?”
“Nothing, Bec. You know that.”
She snorts sarcastically. “My last name strikes again. I’m so tired of living like this!” She screams.
Her laugh borders on hysteria. “Don’t you get it? I’m cursed. There will always be something or someone. My life will never be my own!”
She yells, throwing anything she can get her hands on. Easels are knocked down, canvases thrown across the room, and paint splatters the walls.
“I have no real friends, except for Anya, and no guy is brave enough to date me, let alone love me. I can’t sell my art, and now because of some asshat, I can’t see my family or even go to work!”
She destroys the room until she’s exhausted herself, falling to her knees, defeated. I scoop her into my arms cradling her against me, leaning against the wall as she sobs into my chest. I hate seeing her like this but I also know Becca. She doesn’t want empty words of comfort.
I caress her until her tears finally slow and her sobs soften to sniffles.
Her throat is dry and scratchy from yelling. “You must think I’m a spoiled rich girl, who doesn’t know how good I have it.”
“No. If I had a choice between love or money, I’d choose love.”
She tilts her head. “You would?”
“Of course.” I honestly don’t know why I said that.
“I’ll never have a choice, that’s the problem.”
“You have friends, Bec.”
“Huh?”
“You said you don’t have real friends, but you do.”
“Anya.”
“And Summer, Tali, Andrei and Sergei.”
“I’m grateful for them.”
“And you have me.”
She smirks, “I’m not sure that’s a good thing.”
Instead of showing her all the good, and bad, things I want to do to her, I ask, “What did you say about your art? You can’t sell it?”
“If I display it locally under my name, I’ll never know if the buyers genuinely appreciate it or if they’re trying to buy their way into the good graces of my family.”
“Ah, I see. Can you sell under a fake name? Like authors who use pen names?”
She hesitates and bites her lip, before deciding to speak. “Only Anya knows, but that’s what I’m doing, trying. I haven’t told anyone, because I’m terrified the harsh truth of my non-existent talent will be revealed, and I’ll have to resort to using my last name for success. I don’t want to be a fraud, a failure.”
“You aren’t a fraud, Becca, you’re really talented.”
She jumps out of my lap and focuses on cleaning up the aftermath of her tantrum. “You’ve never seen my work.”
“Yes, I have. Those pieces you donated to Aunt Zoya’s charity event? You raised a lot of money for a good cause.”
“Did you even look at them?
“I can appreciate great art when I see it.”
She waves me off. “Whatever. Those pieces only went for high dollar because of my name. Case and point,” she scoffs.
I raise an easel from the ground and shrug. “We’ll just have to agree to disagree.”
“That’s not all we disagree on.”
I smirk. “Enlighten me.”
She stares me down, her armor back in place. “I can take care of myself.”
“No doubt.”
“And, I’ll fuck whomever I want.”
Over my dead body. I roll my eyes, pretending her words aren’t a punch to my heart. “Such a mouth on you.”
“Me? What about your colorful comments about fucking two women?”
“Jealous?”
I slowly step towards her but she tries to keep the distance between us.
“As if. I would never!”
I cock my head to the side, amused. “Never what? Share me?”
“I don’t want you period! Alone, shared, in a fucking cult. I’m not like those women you screw.”
“Believe me, I know.”
“You’re so fucking crude. This isn’t the middle ages. You want a sex slave to shut up and take it in every hole.”
I step into her space, crowding her, and her body trembles, sending blood rushing straight to my cock.
“Sex slave. That’s a fantasy I could get into. You, tied to my bed, naked, spread eagle with my cum dripping out of you, as you beg me for more.”
I run a finger along her arm, surprised when she doesn’t move. “I’d punish you with so many orgasms that you’d black out. Hmm?”
Her mouth opens slightly, her eyelids heavy.
“Have you ever been with a man who puts you first? A man that licks every inch of your body?” I brush a strand of her hair out of the way, grazing her collarbone, and she shivers. “My teeth marks would look so good on you.”
Her beautiful breasts heave up and down begging me to suck on them.
I lean in and graze my teeth across her shoulder. “Would you like that?”
“No?” Her voice more a question and holding no conviction whatsoever.
“I’d dine on your soaking wet pussy like I haven’t eaten in weeks.”
Her wide eyes blink rapidly and shakes her head, as if it’ll erase the scene I just painted for her.
“The things I would do to you.”
She abruptly storms to the door. “I don’t want anything from you.”
I close the distance between us in three strides, reaching the threshold and her intoxicating coconut scent wraps a band of tightness around my chest.
“Get out!” She screams.
She's mine no matter how hard she denies it, and I'm a possessive asshole.
“Put some clothes on, Bec. If you let Max’s men see you in these threads, I’ll bury them. You know I will.”
◆◆◆
I didn’t see her for the rest of the day. Max and his crew showed up and we walked the perimeter and went over the security system. He positioned two men at the gate and one near the barn, and two more will walk around the buildings in opposite directions. Him and Rurik will guard her at the house. I trust him explicitly with Becca. He started out as a contract killer, Torpedo , but when he reached a certain age Andrei moved him to one of his trusted Byki .
After they settled in, I went to my gym and worked out, trying to relieve the tension and coiled muscles. I punished myself for hours, but it did nothing to vanquish Becca from my mind.
She acted like I didn’t have an effect on her, but I saw through the smoke screen. I was hard as fuck watching her blush from my dirty words.
I shower and dress, telling myself to just leave without saying good-bye, but I find myself walking the house looking for her. I reach the kitchen and she’s not there either.
I raise my eyebrows to Dharma and she answers, “art studio, all day, hasn’t come out, not even to eat.”
I pull up the application on my phone and access the studio’s cameras, and my chest expands. She’s wearing a paint splattered sports bra and leggings. Her hair is pulled up haphazardly into a ponytail and her soft skin is marked with paint. The easel in front of her holds a large canvas depicting the dark skies, immediately transporting me back to last night. She dips a paintbrush into her palette of color and bites her lip as she flicks her wrist across the canvas. The Devil Comet comes to life before my eyes.
I shake myself out of the moment and tell Dharma, “Have Dan make her a tray. I guess we should feed the men, too.”
“We’re already on it. Will they be here all night?”
“Probably. Don’t worry, you’re safe with them.”
“I never worry.”
“I’ll be home late.”
She laughs, “So, per usual.”
◆◆◆
The gates open to Sergei’s massive estate, that sits on top of a huge cliff overlooking the valley below. It has six bedrooms, ten bathrooms, and a gourmet kitchen that Olga runs with an iron fist. We all have theatre rooms, gyms, and pools, but his garden is one of a kind and Tali’s favorite place. It’s a mirror image of Alice in Wonderland, with flowers and greenery formed in the images of the Queen, Cheshire Cat and Alice herself. The botanical art is maintained by his large staff of gardeners. I once asked him why Alice in Wonderland, and he said he liked how maddening it was, just like him and this crazy life we survive day after day.
I get out of my truck and nod to one of his men and he opens the extravagant double door entrance. Sergei and Andrei have multiple guards strategically placed throughout their grounds. Someone would be an idiot to attempt an attack, but there are idiots out there, hence the guards.
Tali meets me inside, her green eyes shine with mischief.
“Serg in his office?”
“Yes. With Foko, Isaak and Alek, but don’t rush off just yet.”
I raise my eyebrows, knowing what she’s after. “Don’t even go there.”
She pouts. “When will you guys figure out you’re perfect for each other?”
“I’m protecting her.”
“Right, right. I call bullshit.”
“Believe what you want.”
“You can protect her while also ravaging her.”
“One of us has to take her safety seriously, because she obviously isn’t.”
“It’s kind of hard to worry when we have hot-as-fuck and muscles-for-days crazy killers to take care of us.”
“And we take care of you because we think with our heads, not our dicks.”
“No great tryst started with someone being levelheaded. And , I happen to know for a fact, Sergei thinks with his dick a lot . I’d hate it if he didn’t. He also thinks with his heart.”
“He has one?”
She laughs, “It’s in there.”
Luckily, Foko pokes his head out of the office, but as soon as I enter all four men wear the same smirk Tali just had.
Sergei teases me like I did him not too long ago, “How’s the Mrs?”
“If you're asking about Becca, she’s still Becca. Defiant, rebellious, and dramatic, throwing tantrums because she can’t leave.”
Alek snorts, “You’re living together and nothing has happened?”
“Except for us trying to murder each other.” What happened is none of their business.
“So, when all of this is over, you won’t mind if I ask her out,” Foko taunts.
“You fucking look at her and I’ll kill you.”
Sergei laughs, “Remember when you joked that there was something in the water? What was it you said?” He snaps his fingers dramatically, “That’s right, you said if you catch whatever sickness this is, we should put you out of your misery.”
Isaak pats his gun, “Say the word brother, and I’ll put you down.”
“Why such an asshole? Anya still ignoring you?”
“Anya is none of your business,” Alek retorts.
I snap my annoyance at both of them, “Exactly! I thought we were here to ambush the Peréz’s.”
They gratefully gather around the table and we get down to business. Sergei says, “Oni laid the groundwork so they believe a large shipment of arsenal is arriving at one a.m. I assume their plan is to show up two hours ahead of time, take out our men, and then steal our shipment.”
“How many do you think?”
“Probably two groups of four or five men, maybe more. This is huge to them. If they take out a Sokolov shipment, it makes a statement. And if they kill us, they’ll earn the credibility they desperately need.”
Sergei nods to Foko. “You and Lev will set up in the abandoned building across the street, keep your eyes on the warehouse cameras and tell us where our targets are. If shit goes sideways, you come in as backup.”
“Niko, I want you with me tonight. Alek and Isaak, are your teams ready?”
Alek nods. “Ready and waiting.”
"Let’s try to keep Miguel and Luis alive, long enough for Niko to extract any useful information they might have.”
“We should’ve killed them a long time ago.”
“The cops don’t bother us because we don’t create messes they have to clean up, but unfortunately there is going to be a lot of blood shed, tonight.”
“No clean-up crew?”
“Not tonight. We have our own statement to make. No one fucks with us.”
“Did you call the Chief of Police.”
Alek nods, “Took care of it. He actually thanked us. The Peréz’s’ have been leaning on him pretty hard to look the other way, but he isn’t interested in betraying us.”
“Smart man.”
“They’re sloppy and they don’t care about innocents.”
“Let’s take care of them like we did the Caldera’s.”
Sergei clenches his fists, “Fucking Mu-daks .” We all nod. Andrei’s wife Summer was abused by a low-life Caldera and in the end we killed them all. One thing the Sokolov men have no patience for is abusing woman. Aunt Zoya was abused by their father for years, and they were too young to take any action. Until they grew up and Andrei put a bullet in his head.
We dress in our tactical gear and gather our guns and extra ammunition. “Julio wanted a war and look what happened to him and his gang of goons. Gone, forgotten."
“I guess the world needs another reminder of who we are.”
Although Serg should really stay out of the war zones, he’s always had an insatiable taste for blood. “Be safe tonight, Serg. Tali will kill me if something happens.”
“Always, Brother.”
Alek and Isaak contact their teams and we drive to the warehouse, parking a few blocks away. We do a final check of our weapons. Alek radios his guys at the other end of the block, and Isaak does the same. Serg stays with me and the others take over a neighboring building to climb the roof and make sure there aren’t any snipers
Foko and Lev set up shop in the neighboring warehouse, and we wait for their confirmation.
I screw the silencer on my gun and check my sheath holding my favorite blade. A smile spreads across my face when Serg radios everyone it’s time.