Page 48 of The Diávolos: Part One
Dion asks Leon to pour three more glasses of ouzo. He hands them to us, and I point to one of the VIP booths. “Well then, let’s take advantage of this time together, shall we?” I say, begrudgingly.
We walk toward the booth, aware of who is next to us and who is not, and we take a seat. I need to know what Jurian wants so I can send him on his way and get back to Angelica.
He clears his throat and ends the silence. “I heard you’re taking over for Ignatius.” He takes a swig of his drink, studying me.
“You heard correctly,” I reply, and take a sip of my own drink.
“I guess it turned out good for you now that the whole Vasilakis clan is dead, huh?”
I frown, my temples pounding from my rage. “What the fuck did you say?”
I bang my glass down on the table and stand up from my seat. Everyone else at the table rises, too, hands on their weapons. Jurian stays seated and laughs.
“Looks like I hit a nerve.”
“Keep the Vasilakis name out of your fucking mouth,poutánas yos.”Son of a bitch.
“Why do you care? You benefited from their demise,” he says.
“Ignatius was like family to me, and I will not let you slander his name.” Though I’m seeing red, this all confirms that the other families still don’t know I’m blood-related to my uncle.Good. My nostrils flare as I look at him. “Now, tell me what you want and get thefuckout of here.”
Jurian sets his finished glass on the table and rises from his chair. “I just wanted to see an old friend.”
“Fáe skatá karióli.Don’t patronize me.”Eat shit, asshole.
Jurian swings his head back and lets out a loud, menacing laugh. “You were Ignatius’s pet, Evander, and that’s all you’ll ever be. No one in this world is going to take you seriously, especially not Peter. His plans are too big and important to let a minion like you ruin them.”
My rage passes the point of no return, and I reach back to grab my gun. Dion tries to stop me, but I’m too angry to listen. I pull it out of my waistband, cock it, and the other men do the same as I square up to Jurian, pointing the gun to the middle of his forehead, too fast for him to even make a move. His two companions are rendered helpless by Dion and Xander pointing their weapons at them from behind me.
“I will not lose a second of sleep if I let this bullet fly, so don’t fuck with me, Jurian.”
I press the gun into his skin hard enough that he stumbles backwards.
“I came here to inform you that Peter won’t let you get in the way of years of work. Ignatius was nothing but an annoying gnat that had to be dealt with, and I would highly suggest not to follow in his footsteps, because change is coming,” Jurian seethes.
“I don’t give a fuck about what he has planned, and I’m certainly not going to stand down. So, tell your boss that if he has a problem with me, he can deal with it himself. Stay the fuck off my turf. I’m done with this conversation.”
I put my weapon back in my waistband and turn my back on him to walk away when I hear another gun cock.
I don’t have time to make a move before I hear Dion yell at me to take cover. I quickly turn around to see Jurian pointing his gun at me. “I warned you,” he says.
Jurian pulls the trigger and the gun fires. The deafening sound of shots echoes around me, and I reach for my weapon to fight back. The next second, I’m tackled to the ground by Xander, and a pool of blood starts forming under our bodies. I slowly realize I’ve been shot, but I don’t know where.
As the adrenaline starts to dissipate, pain explodes in my shoulder.
The pulse in my gushing wound is intense. The pain is excruciating, and my breaths become erratic. I’m soaked in sweat and numb everywhere but my shoulder.
Xander is still laying on top of me and I can feel his labored breaths, but he doesn’t move. Dion runs over to us with Seb and Greg, and they slowly slip him off me and he groans in pain.
“GAMOTO. They’ve both been shot!” Dion yells. “Leon, call Dr. Pappas. NOW.”
I try to get up and I grimace in pain. I only manage to turn my head toward Xander and see him lying next to me with his eyes closed.Fuck.
Jurian and his companions are nowhere to be found.
If Peter wants a war, he’s going to get one now. No fucking holds barred.
But there’s no way I’m sacrificing Angelica.
