Page 7 of Inferno

He’s down for now.

Straightening my jacket, I reenter the brawl. Keeping my wits about me, but monitoring Conan and Finn as best I can, I make my way to the exit.

I punch my way through to Con, who is using his sheer power to pummel through the crowd.

“Fuck you!” He grabs the guy by the shoulders and smashes his forehead into his, then drops him to the ground.

“Good job, you’ve got no fucking brain cells.” I grin at him.

Before Con can reply, he winces in pain. I cringe seeing the knife shoved in his side.

Blind rage consumes me. Moving swiftly, I grab the slender blond man by his hair and forcefully push my blade beneath hischin. As I slide out my weapon, I drop him to the floor, looking back at Con.

“Let’s fucking go! This way!” Finn shouts.

“Shit, this stings.” Conan moans. He breaks into a jog and I follow towards the side exit.

The freezing air hits my face, stinging my cheeks, and I suck in a sharp breath. Finn and Con jump into the truck, their laughter echoing in the frosty air.

As I take a step forward, I’m stopped by someone clearing their throat to my left.

“Mr. Declan Quinn.”

Arthur-fucking-Bowen.

Clutching my blade tightly, I turn to face him. He’s leaning against the brick wall, slowly dragging on his cigarette.

“Quite the performance. I knew that beast didn’t have the brains to listen.” He pushes himself up and steps in front of me. His dark eyes are full of pain.

“The truce is over.”

“I gathered,” I respond, deadpan.

“I hope you’re ready for war, Declan. I’ve been waiting a long fucking time for you to screw this up. We’re coming for your empire.”

He pauses, taking another drag.

“And we will burn it to the ground and bury you all alongside your whore mother.”

My jaw ticks.

I know better than to react. Their words don’t hurt me.

I know we won’t be defeated, nor will they take shit from us.

Our operations are bigger. We have more men. These assholes are a thorn in our side.

“I look forward to it, Arthur. Just be very careful. You may believe you are larger than life, and you may well be.” I square up to him, flicking the cigarette out of his hand.

“In a single city. But no one outside knows who you are. You are meaningless. You have no allies. Our empire is more secure than yours. Remember that before making threats.”

I brush off the stray ash from my coat and step back.

“Anyway, it’s up to our fathers to decide.”

He grunts in annoyance. I know his game. It wouldn’t surprise me if this sick fucker wanted his own brother dead for power.

“You owe us. We lost a lot of cash from your brother's failure.”

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