Page 33 of Bratva Beast

Saxon shakes his head. “She can’t be alone.”

Thane throws out his hand. “Why the fuck not?” He turns his annoyed glare at me. “What the fuck do you have that’s so fucking important to my brother?”

Saxon lowers his voice. “His son in her belly.”

Thane’s eyes bug out. “Well, fuck.” He steps back and sighs. “Congrats.”

I wave my hand as I butter the pieces of bread then raise my focus to Saxon. “You should both go. Who’s going to get past the enforcer in the lobby and at the elevator?”

Saxon and Thane stare at each other, having some private brother conversation, and Thane nods. “Don’t leave the penthouse.”

I nod. “I won’t.” Turning back to the stove I grill my sandwich and think about what life’s going to be like with a baby.

CYNRIC

I get out of my car and nod at my driver. “Wait here.”

He nods. He’s one of the many lower-level soldiers trying to move up in our organization. I walk through the warehouse door, stepping into a pool of blood on the floor. “Fuck!”

Aguilar laughs from the far side of the expansive room. “You’re late.”

“You couldn’t wait to slit his throat until after I left?” Show no fear.

“You’re a funny guy.”

I hear feet shuffling around the room. “You don’t want to do this.”

“Oh, but I do. The Ukrainians have made a better offer.”

“Uh, huh. They don’t have the distribution pipeline we do.”

Aguilar steps into the light. “They will after they execute your line.”

My mind scrambles trying to figure out how to get out of this. He can’t be alone. The warehouse is massive, with dark areas along the walls. The guy on the floor is one of ours. He’s in charge of security here at the warehouse. I chuckle in my head. Epic fail. I refocus on my prey. “What’s the plan here?”

“You were stupid enough to come alone. Well, with just a driver. I’m going to take care of you, and my men are entering your condo building as we speak. Your little baby mama arrived home from work with your brother. It’s a shame. I’m going to miss him. He’s the only one that thinks like we do, but he’s too loyal to you and your Papa.” He emphasizes ‘papa,’ with a sarcastic tone. “I’m surprised you came. If I’m being honest.”

He’s moving around the room, taking a long arc to get to me. The gun in my waistband is heavy, calling me to grab it and shoot him. I can’t do that until I handle the other men in the room.

“Why don’t you invite your men out of the shadows?”

Aguilar laughs. “I don’t need men to handle you.” He flicks his head. “They were just here in case you brought more men.”

I grit my teeth. “Your plan is to shoot me from afar? Is that it?”

“No. I’m a man. I’m going to slit your throat, like I did your boy in the doorway. What’s the saying about sending a boy to do a man’s job? Your father is going to realize this before I end him, too.”

“Good luck with that. He’s the devil.”

Aguilar laughs, a promise hanging in the air. “Want to share his location?”

“Is my father playing hide and seek?”

He scoffs. “You really are funny. I’m curious, besides the fact that you’re ugly and scarred, why do they call you the beast?” Aguilar has walked himself about ten feet from me. I’ve got three knives on my body and can’t decide which one to grab first. A cough at the side of the room distinguishes two of his men: the one who coughed and the one who reminded him to be silent. He edges around a table and stands eight feet in front of me. I just need him to move in two more feet.

A phone rings on the opposite side of the room. I want to smile. He’s given himself away as Aguilar gets in position. I grab the wheeled table as I spin to the side. Blocked from the far side of the room by a set of rolling shelves, I draw my gun. A quick pop in both directions before I put a bullet in Aguilar’s shoulder.

He falls to the ground, shouting in Spanish. Two extra men rush from the back of the room, and I withdraw two of my knives. I throw the first at the man on my left, catching him just to the right of his carotid artery. He’s down. The two men from the coughing side of the room have waited to engage, and I smirk. I grab three glass beakers off the table in one hand and toss them to the men coming up to the side of me. Aguilar thrashes on the ground, trying to reach the nearest table to scramble under. I hit the two men from the coughing side with bullets to the foreheads and dive behind the rolling racks. Theother men talk in Spanish. Never assume your opponent doesn’t know your language. I hold my breath, crouching low. I wait until the two men flank the shelving unit on both ends and fire, hitting them both in the hearts. I scream as the door opens and my brothers rush in.

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