Page 34 of One Wild Night

"It's being taken at the dock—only a few packages at a time, but it adds up quick," Jamie confirmed.

"Do we have a name?"

"Mario Sanchez." The name didn't sound familiar, not that it mattered. I knew what I had to do. We had to set an example so it wouldn't happen again. We also had to find out if Mario was working for anyone else. Carlo knew mafia families all over the world who would kill to get their hands on this deal. He was lucky he had me to make sure that never happened.

"Okay, go and get Mario. I'll meet you in the clearing in half an hour." I couldn't hate this part of my job; it was what I lived for. Violence ran through my veins and had since I was a kid. I never got any peace from killing someone, though. Whether he was a thieving motherfucker or not, he was still someone's son.

"I haven't done anything!" I could hear Mario pleading his case as Bennett and Jamie pulled him into the clearing. I needed to get information out of him before I made an example of him back at the compound.

"You know that isn't true," I called as Mario made eye contact with me.

"Oh, no. Please, no..." Mario dropped to his knees at my feet. "I didn't mean to...please, Mr. Lawson...please!"

"Who are you working for, Mario?" I whispered in his ear before pushing him to the ground. "Tell me and I'll make it quick."

"I don’t know who. All I have is the name of the guy who contacted me!" Mario cried. "Please, Mr. Lawson. I'll tell you anything—anything!"

"Give him the fucking name," Bennett huffed, kicking him hard in the ribs. "We don't have all day."

"Paul, Paul Jenkins," Mario sobbed, digging his hands into the dirt. I'd never heard of that name before. "Please. I've told you all I know."

"Mario, you stole from us. Did you really think I'd let you get away with that?" I laughed, signaling for Bennett and Jamie to help him up.

"No! No...please, I beg you!" Mario was still crying and yelling as we dragged him into the center of the compound.

"Ryan, what is the meaning of this?" Diego asked as he and his men surrounded us.

"This man has been stealing from us." I glared.

"What?" Diego gasped, his eyes darting to Mario. "Why would you do that?"

"I had to—I have a family to support," Mario began to explain, but I was in no mood to hear his sob story. I'd been stuck in this hellhole for a month no thanks to this fucker. I wanted to go home. I needed to see Siena.

"You know what the penalty is for stealing from us!" I roared, turning to punch him in the stomach. Mario winced, crying out at my powerful blow. "You can't expect to walk away from this."

"Please...please," Mario was sobbing into the ground. This was how you sorted the men from the boys. When my time came, I wouldn't hide my face in the dirt and beg for my life. I would stare my killer right in the eyes, and remember his face for when he joined me in hell. Yeah, death didn't scare me at all.

I pulled out my glock. Mario was still sobbing, clawing at the ground.

"Let this be a lesson to everyone here!" I shouted, looking around at the gathered crowd.

Not one person stood up in Mario's defense. I had to admit, I loved the fear these men had for me, and they had every reason to be afraid. I was dangerous. I would kill any motherfucker who stood in the way of me doing my job. "Steal from us and you will be executed." With that, I pulled the trigger. With one shot to the back of the head, Mario’s body went limp.

There was a deadly silence as everyone looked stunned by Mario's lifeless form.

"Diego," I glared, "you need to be more selective with your men. He was robbing us blind."

"I had no idea," Diego gasped. "Is this the real reason you've been here all this time?"

"How about we talk back at your house?"

"Of course. Clean up this mess!" Diego ordered before leading me away. "You should have told me, Ryan. I could have helped."

"I needed to be sure you weren't in on it," I admitted once inside the house.

"You thought...”

"I had to besure," I interrupted. "No hard feelings."

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