Page 4

The sudden ringing of a cell phone ramped up the tension. Even in the poor lighting, I saw how Boris paled when Kenji reached for the burner we’d pulled off him.

“Embalming Bitches Services. Fuck us over, and we fuck you up. How can I help you?” Kenji’s overly chipper tone had me pinching the bridge of my nose. His crazy manifested differently than mine. In all honesty, it made him the deadliest of our merry band of psychos because people often mistook his laid-back demeanor as being friendly…safe. But in moments like this, when his lips turned up in a sinister grin and violence shone in his eyes, the truth was clear. He was dangerous.

“My boy Boris isn’t available at the moment. Can I pass him a message?” His dark eyes narrowed, his smile slipping. Apparently, he was no longer amused with the caller. Bad news for whoever was on the other end of the line.

Kenji’s voice was deadly when he spoke again. “Listen, fucker. You really should be careful of who you talk to in that tone. They might be the kind of person who takes tongues for disrespecting them.” He pulled the phone from his ear, glancing at the screen. “Lock your doors, E. I’m coming to collect.”

Without waiting for a response, he ended the call and stalked forward, crouching before Boris. The man was back to shaking like a leaf and murmuring pleas of mercy or bribery.

“You’re a dumbass, Boris. You aren’t supposed to save numbers on your burner. If we weren’t gonna kill you, whoever this E is sure would’ve.”

Boris’s eyes widened with surprise when I spoke from the dark corner I’d been hiding out in. “What did he want, Kenji?”

“Didn’t say. He wasn’t a fan of the way I answered the phone.” Tattooed fingers lifted Boris’s chin, giving me a better view of his battered face. “Where were we, Boris ole boy? Oh yeah, you were about to tell me when this drop is happening.”

Our rat’s dirty face morphed into a look of relief. “Tonight. In an hour. We can fix this. I’ll go get the file, and this won’t happen again.” He smiled up at Kenji, who continued to look at the man in disgust.

“Naw, Boris. It would. Once a rat, always a fucking rat.” He stood, delivering another punishing blow to his ribs.

The man pulled against his restraints in a last-ditch attempt to escape as I prowled closer. His reaction brought a smirk to my face. He was about to be added to my growing list of lives I’d taken.

“Kenji, call Niko and get him down there,” I said, keeping my gaze trained on the pathetic mess of a man at my feet. “Tell him to wait for us. I don’t want him killing someone before we get what we need.”

The tip of my shoe met his shoulder, rolling him to his back. “Boris, I thought you’d be smarter than this. We’ve been so good to you, and this is how you repay our kindness? It’s a shame.”

My slacks pulled taut over my muscular thighs as I crouched. Even with the swelling, I saw how he flinched.

“Now not only do I have to kill you, but I have to make an example of you. Can’t have assholes thinking we allow this type of behavior.” I leaned in closer, hissing in his face. “We’ve spent years setting up all the pieces so we can fuck over our fathers. Get our pound of flesh for the shit they put us through. You’re not fucking that up, Boris,” I said, sending my fist into his gut.

A sob fell from his mouth, his rancid breath invading my air as tears streaked down his dirty face. The rattle in his chest told me he had a damaged lung, making what would happen next even shittier for him. The knowledge made me smile as I stood.

Kenji pushed a blunt to his spittle crusted lips. “Take a hit. It’s the last happy moment you’re going to have,” he said, chuckling as Boris eyed us warily but followed the suggestion.

“You’re about to be a movie star,” I said, pulling out my phone to record before nodding to Kenji.

Screams filled the night air when Boris realized that the heavy chain he was wrapped in was attached to a concrete block—a concrete block being shoved off the pier. He could yell as loud as he’d like. No one was out here to save him. Splinters lodged into his skin as he was dragged across the weathered dock.

In a few minutes, his lungs would fill with the icy waters of the Atlantic, and his only company would be the fish that fed on his waterlogged flesh. Well, and the others who’d suffered the same fate.

The silence that came when he slipped below the water’s surface was deafening. Kenji sauntered toward me, staring down at the camera. He looked like a demon personified, chest covered in tattoos and blood, with a blunt hanging from his lips as he mussed his black hair with one hand, the other tucked into his black Dickies.

“There a reason you’re staring down the camera and walking like a dick?” I asked, ending the video.

“Of course. I plan on editing that bitch and sending it to chicks. Women think that shit’s hot.” His smile fell when all I gave him was a blank look.

“You haven’t watched any of the videos I sent you, huh? Fuck, Caleb. How are you going to impress the ladies?” he asked.

I shoved the silky material of his shirt into his hands before walking toward our SUV as he grumbled behind me.

“Get in the fucking car. If the call was from the buyer, then they might move their timeline up. And try to wipe that fucking blood off. We don’t want to draw too much attention,” I said hotly, ignoring his earlier question.

“This the same attitude you’re going to have with your new wife? Ignoring her while being all moody and terrifying?” he asked teasingly as he jogged to catch up.

My feet faltered at his words. Tonight’s activities had been an excellent distraction from the latest way Dominick Romano was being a fucking thorn in my side. I couldn’t wait to put the mafioso in a ditch, but until that opportunity arose, we had to stick to the plan. Un-fuckin-fortunately, that plan included taking some sniveling bitch’s hand in holy matrimony.

Fucking archaic.

I yanked the vehicle door open, the need for violence once again flowing through my veins. “Who gives a shit about my attitude with her? I won’t be touching the bitch. You know how Mafia principessas are.” I paused as everything I knew about the don’s daughter flooded back. “Fuck, she’s going to cry at first sight of a gun…or Niko,” I replied, sliding into the driver’s seat.