Page 170 of Brutal Collateral

Connor puts his gun right to the prick’s temple. “Men who hurt women see little mercy from us.”

Miller’s eyes sparkle with sickening malice as he fists the pendant around his neck, holding it up like a shield. “Go ahead, kill me.”

I frown, looking closer at it. My blood goes cold, seeing that dagger amulet with a ruby-eyed snake wrapped around it. The same one worn by the guy who tried to kill Ava.

“Griffin,” Shane’s voice crackles in my ear. “Wait. Don’t kill him.”

What the fuck?

Connor steps forward, nostrils flaring. “Where did you get that?”

“It’s my little insurance policy,” Miller singsongs. “You think you’ve got me. You’re so wrong. Kill me, and there’s a network of very angry, very powerful people who’ll unleash a hell on you that will make your head spin.”

My fucking phone rings, and my throat goes tight seeing it’s Shane. I step away to answer it since Miller is still staring down three guns and one needle to end his life. “What?”

“Get out of there. That pendant, I traced it from the guy who attempted the wedding hit.”

“And you’re telling me this now?”

“I’ve been...digging. Didn’t want to worry you. If Miller is wearing it, he’s a member of a dangerous secret society called the Crimson Vow Masters. Or CVM. They’re all over a 4chan board I’ve infiltrated.”

No wordplay there. “Let me guess, theyvowto spill blood?”

“If they’re messed with, aye.”

“Like I give a fuck!” Cults are psychos who aren’t the best at planning or protecting themselves. “We’re the fucking mob, Shane.”

“We’re one mob family. Two if you count the Greeks,” Shane argues. “CVMs are everywhere. They are cold-blooded and fanatical. Once they set their sights on a target, there’s little that can stop it. Get the fuck out of there. I’ll figure out another way to get to Miller.”

I clench my fists, feeling intense heat on the back of my neck. Miller doesn’t just have his father, an old goat ready to retire. Or the Navy to drum up charges against my wife. Now he’s got this fucking nationwide ring of brainwashed killers behind him, too?

“Where is Ava?” Miller looks around. “Are you here to drop her off to me?”

“You’re not getting Ava. And you’re going to tell your father to vote for the UN project. I don’t care what cult you’re a part of. But now that I know about it, I’ll find your hook and bend it. Break it. I promise you.”

Miller leans back again, oddly comfortable with his nakedness. “If I disappear or get disconnected from them, my associates will get creative.” His eyes flick up to me in a knowing malicious sneer. “And I won’t stop at your wife. I’ll also make sure your sister is taken, too. Congratulations, by the way. It’s always nice to see a family growing. Shame if something happens to Siobhan and her unborn child.”

I see red and punch him in the face. I draw my hand away, his nose bloodied, but he just laughs at me with infuriating smugness.

“You know what? I’ll let that go.” Miller waves me off, wiping his nose. “Any fucker who threatens a pregnant woman deserves a punch in the face. Do you feel better?”

“We’re not even.” I bring my face level with his, speaking in a low, dangerous tone. “If my wife or sister or anyone with my name gets as much as a broken fingernail, you die. And not floating off from some shite Fentanyl high. You will go out like the stuff nightmares are made of. And to sweeten the deal, if your father votes against the project, I’ll kill him and your mother, too.Myself.”

First, I need to find his cult hook and disconnect it. Or make sure Rand Miller’s death never leads back to us.

He annoyingly doesn’t flinch. He just sits there, fingers toying with the pendant, a sly grin twisting his mouth. “Exciting, isn’t it? To see who’s stronger. The mafia or my brotherhood.”

Something halts my thoughts. The guy Ava killed is part of the same cult, so why hasn’t this firestorm burned us yet? “You sent someone in your brotherhood to kill Ava on our wedding day, didn’t you?”

Miller looks pissed for the first time. “You know what they say. If you want something done right, do it yourself. He was supposed to just kidnap her.”

“I killed one of your brothers.” I glance around. “I’m still alive.”

Miller’s cheek ticks. “He owed me a favor. The brothers have him marked as missing. Happens all the time. Families abduct their loved ones back.”

Something else clicks. “You set up Brandon Keller’s mother?”

Miller smiles. “Guilty.”

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