Page 206 of Ripped Veil (Ripped Bratva)

Eiko grins at me as though I’ve just given him a compliment. “The woman was well-placed and well-used,” he continues. It’s almost like he wants to take credit for her role in this master plan. “She turned out to be much more valuable than any of us expected.”

I see Matvei’s nod from my peripheral vision. The subtle clench of his fist.

But I’m not the only one who notices. One of Eiko’s men starts to smell a rat.

“Hey, wait…”

Before he can get the rest of his sentence out, a hail of gunfire slices through the grove. Several of Eiko’s men drop instantly.

Eiko lets out a very unflattering shriek but he’s spared a quick death as his remaining men group around him to shield him from fire.

All hell breaks loose from there.

I’m firing and running and ducking. All around me, my men and Eiko’s are doing the same.

It’s a cacophony of blood and bullets.

Men scream.

Men cry.

Men die.

Then, as if the sea is parting, I raise my gun just in time for one of Eiko’s bodyguards to crumple to the ground with a Bratva bullet in his gut. It’s the perfect window. The Yakuza don’s eyes meet mine and bulge out.

“I can see into the future, too, motherfucker,” I tell him. “And today’s not the day I die.”

I start to pull the trigger. But before I can, a branch from a tree overhead comes crashing down on top of me. A stray shot must’ve severed it from the trunk.

Either that, or a cruel god is looking out for the last living Sakamoto.

It’s the lapse that Eiko needs to get away. Konstantin and a few of my other men come sprinting over to heave the bough off of me but I can only watch helplessly as Eiko and a few of his last guards retreat to a sleek black SUV that comes screeching up just in time.

The door slams shut. The car roars away.

And just like that, Eiko is gone.

But he left a few of his troops behind. With their leader gone, they’ve all dropped their weapons and are holding their hands high overhead.

My men look to me as Konstantin helps me to my feet. Waiting for orders. For me to decide: mercy or murder?

I don’t hesitate for even a moment.

Every man tainted by the Astra Tyrannis poison is going to die.

Starting now.

I nod. A chorus of gunfire rings out at once. The remaining Yakuza slump to the floor as the grass drinks up their spilled blood.

Konstantin turns to me. “What now, don?” he asks quietly as the silence steals back over us.

“Burn their bodies,” I instruct as I spit blood onto the ground. “And finish Vitya’s grave.”

Then I turn and head in the opposite direction, towards my vehicle.

“Phoenix!”

I don’t stop so Matvei is forced to run to catch up to me. I can sense the concern radiating off him but I don’t have the patience for it now.

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