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I grabbed his arms and turned him. I kept my gun pressed against his neck, angled up toward his brain. It’d kill him fast and cause a hell of a mess.
He stumbled forward to the back door. I reached around him and pulled it open. Light spilled out.
Inside, eight other men sat around a series of three tables with an assortment of guns stacked all around them. Shotguns, rifles, pistols, even a stack of what looked like legitimate grenades. They were laughing when we walked into the room, but the laughter stopped when they caught sight of Roy with a gun to his throat.
“Okay,” I said, talking loudly and keeping Roy between me and his buddies. “Let’s all stay calm.”
Eight guys jumped to their feet. Chairs scattered back to the floor. Weapons raised and pointed at us.
“Guys,” Roy said. “Calm.”
“Thank you, Roy, but if you talk again I will kill you.”
Roy grunted.
“Who the fuck are you?” a voice called out. “Who the fuck is this? Should we waste the bastard?”
“And kill Roy?” another answered. “Shut the hell up, you idiot.”
“Boys, I’m just looking for your boss,” I said. “Where’s Drago?”
Silence from the peanut gallery.
“Boys, don’t make me ask again,” I said. “Nobody wants blood on their hands today.”
“Tanner?” Drago’s voice came from behind a stack of boxes. He walked toward me, an assault rifle in his hands. “Tanner, is that you?”
“Hey there, Drago,” I said. “Looks like a nice party.”
“Jesus Christ,” he said. “Put that gun down. Everyone stand the fuck down. Guns down right now.”
Nobody moved.
“Listen to your boss,” I said.
“He’s got Roy,” the first voice said.
“Stand the fuck down,” Drago said. “Right now, you morons. That’s Tanner, the hitman. He’ll kill half us before we manage to bring him down.”
“Thank you, Drago,” I said. “That’s very kind.”
The men slowly lowered their guns. I lowered mine, but kept it pressed against Roy’s kidney.
I stepped to the side and look at the group. They were a motley crew, young and old, scarred and clean. I couldn’t tell where Drago found them, but it didn’t matter.
“You’re gearing up,” I said.
“That’s right.”
“What’s the occasion?”
Drago gently put his rifle down on a table and held his hands up. He smiled at me and stepped forward.
“You know what,” he said.
“Let’s have a conversation,” I said. “Come with me. Front room.”
I yanked at Roy and turned my back to the crew. It was a risky maneuver, but a worthwhile one. I couldn’t talk to Drago in front of his guys, not if I wanted results.
I pulled the door open, shoved Roy through. He stumbled, cursed, and let me push him back into the main room. I dragged him over to the stage and stood him next to it. I hopped up and sat on the edge, legs dangling, gun pointed at Roy’s neck again.
“Almost done,” I said. “Don’t worry.”
He stared at me. He didn’t move or respond.
Drago came into the room a second later. He had his hands up.
“All right, Tanner,” he said. “What do you want?”
“I want you to stop this bullshit,” I said.
“Too far for that.”
“You haven’t left. You haven’t fired a shot. It’s not too late.”
“What do I tell those boys back there?” he asked. “They’re all fired up. You want me to just pull the plug?”
“I want you to be smart.”
“You know I can’t back down. You know that’s not how this works.”
I sucked in a breath. I let it out through my teeth. It hissed like a whistle.
“We’re so close,” I said. “We’re so close to finishing this. If you can just keep your dick in your pants for once in your life and abstain from trying to fuck Don Leone, this could be all over, and you might actually profit. But you just refuse to play along, don’t you?”
“You know that’s not how this goes, Tanner,” he said. “We’re not that kind of people. We don’t make arrangements. We don’t make agreements. We take what we want.”
I hopped down off the stage and walked to Drago. He stared at me and I saw the flicker of fear in his eyes. Roy didn’t move, but I kept an eye on him in my peripheral.
“You’re going to be better,” I said. “For your daughter’s sake. You’re going to march back there and tell them that this is all over.”
“No,” he said.
So I punched him in the face.
He staggered back and gasped. I didn’t hit him too hard. Really just a love tap. But I got him right in the mouth and his lip was a bloody mess.
Roy flinched, almost dropped his hands. I looked at him and pointed the gun. “Don’t,” I said.
Drago put his hands to his bloody mouth. “You fucking psycho,” he said. “You realize I’m going to kill you now, right?”
“No, you’re going to go back there and cancel this little trip,” I said. “Do you hear me?”
