Page 56 of Savage Little War

“I wasn’t about to let my best friend lose the love of his life,” Andrei replies with a grin as he nudges me.

I smirk and playfully push him back. “Let’s all agree,” I say, “no more hero shit for a while.”

“We need a damn break.” Luca chuckles.

I worry that we won’t get much of one before another enemy shows his face and tries to make our life hell again, but I think we can somewhat relax for a day. Maybe even two.

Starting tomorrow.

“I’ll see you all soon,” I tell them as I open the door to the backseat for Cara.

Cara waves goodbye to everyone before getting inside, drawing her feet in so that I can close the door behind her.

“Hopefully, not too soon because that means something bad happened,” Luca replies, giving my shoulder a friendly push before lifting his hand in a wave as he heads off.

“Call me if anything comes up,” Andrei says seriously. “We can’t let these problems fester for too long.”

Our enemies are so intent on killing us that our problems don’t even get enough time to sit and fester, but I understand his point. I shouldn’t keep anyone out of the loop if something happens, even if it seems small and unimportant.

There are things happening behind the curtain that I’m not aware of. None of us are.

“I will,” I promise him before giving him a one-arm hug. “Thank you again.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Dmitri,” Andrei says before walking off.

Sean starts to leave too, but I step in his path.

“I need to talk to you really quick,” I tell him as I move away from the car so that we can have this conversation in private.

“What’s wrong?” Sean asks me.

“Will you be free in a few hours?” I reply as I check the time on my watch.

“I can be after a shower and some coffee. Why?” Sean questions me, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

I guess I can’t blame him for that. I spring things on people sometimes, but this is something that’s been a long time coming. I think it’s time to get it done with.

“I need your help getting a point across.”

After making sure that Cara gets settled in the penthouse and texting Victor a location I know he can’t ignore: a public park, I get cleaned up and take one of my cars to that location, my fingers tightening around the steering wheel in determination.

I’m tired of being told what I should do to get back into the Council’s good graces when I couldn’t give less of a fuck about that. Being in their good graces nearly turned me into a lap dog, and I’m not about to let a group of old, closed-minded assholes run my life.

They’ll finally get that through their thick skulls, eventually.

When I arrive at the park, I find an empty spot in the parking lot and shut off my car, heading straight to the large gazebo where events are usually held. Kids laugh and play on a nearby playground, and adults of all ages walk and jog on the path that circles around the large park.

For this meeting, I believe doing it in a public place is for the best. Being alone with the Council in an enclosed office where no one can see me or reach me in the matter of a few minutes doesn’t sound like a smart idea.

I stand in the middle of the gazebo and wait, my pulse quickening as Victor arrives with most of the Council, moving like a small army in expensive coats and cheap arrogance.

It doesn’t matter. They should all hear my message anyway.

“You’re late,” I comment as I loosely join my hands behind my back, standing tall and firm.

“As if you have any respect for authority or rules,” Victor spits out bitterly as they fan out in front of me, looking as pissed as I expected them to be given what I just did in Italy not even twenty-four hours ago.

“I do what’s right. If that doesn’t align with what you want, tough shit,” I state as my eyes lock onto Victor’s.