Page 128 of Riot

“And like I just told your goons, my club knows everything. It’ll only be a matter of time, then you’ll all be dead.”

She taps the gun on the other side of my cheek. “You say that like you really believe it. It’s so sweet. I haven’t been caught yet, and look what I’ve gotten away with.”

“So you have a vendetta?” I spit again. “With what happened to Carter?”

She freezes, the gun pressing into my flesh. So, that’s it. This is about him.

“Don’t say his name?—”

“Carter?” I say again. “Who was he to you?”

I rack my brain to think about how good this chick must be to take out all those guys in Chicago when I recall a conversation I had with Carter years ago…

“She’s called Shade. She’s the best marksman in the business, aside from you, of course.”

“So where is she based, and why am I just hearin’ about this now?”

“Like all of you, you’re ghosts. And she works out of Chicago. Maybe I’m taken with her because she’s not only elegant but I like her voice.”

“So you still haven’t met her?”

“One day I will.”

“Yeah, in your dreams.”

He scoffs. “Thus the lonely life of a handler…”

“You say his name one more time and I’ll blow your brains out.”

“You’re Shade,” I state. “He told me about you.”

“It’s because of you that he’s dead!” she spits.

“How do you figure that? I barely knew the guy.”

She moves the gun to the back of my head, and for a second, I truly believe this bitch has the guts to do it. She brought me here to kill me herself. “All of you and the men you associated with played a part in his death. When he wanted out, they killed him.”

“Who?” I mouth.And what the fuck does it have to do with me?

“The Russians and the Italians.”

“Mancini’s dead.”

“Not the underworld; the mafia, asshole.”

“So, Bratva and the Italians have always had an understanding. Granted, the mob let the Russians do all the dirty work to save their own hides when the turf war broke out when Mancini took control over the city, but that beef is between them,” I say. “The mob has ties all the way back to the Midwest. What does any of this have to do with Carter?”

“He was being paid by Bratva. He was working for them.”

It’s news to me. “He was independent—” He worked on both sides.He fuckin’ worked both sides.“So he got greedy? Workin’ for the mob and Bratva, then the Bratva found out?”

“You catch on quick.”

“So why come after me? I was devastated when he died. We never met in person, but I liked the guy.”

She still holds the gun to my head, not letting the pressure subside. She has full control and she knows it. “He wanted out. He needed a friend, and you turned your back.”

I shake my head. “I never turned my back, I didn’t know?—”

---