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The sounds of the city surrounded us as we made our way through the back alleys in an effort to avoid as much civilian traffic as possible. When we reached the back of the club, Mark signalled for us to hold our position while Aaron tapped on the back door.
It swung open to reveal Joe standing on the other side. “Hey, guys.”
I pushed forward. “Aria.” That was all I needed to say to Joe.
“She needs you, man. This way.”
We followed him through the shadows, our weapons at the ready, moving as silently as we could. Mark signalled for us to take up positions around the room, but I froze when I saw Jamal had Aria pinned against his black desk, his long, spindly fingers around her throat and a knife resting against her cheek.
“Fuck!” The curse slipped out of my mouth unbidden as I took in the scene before me.
Aaron nudged me and scowled. I don’t think the guy liked me too much, but I didn’t give a shit. That was my lady Jamal was threatening, and I wanted to kill the bastard for touching her.
The lanky creep chuckled. “Do you know what the best thing about you coming here is? Huh, sweet thing? It’s that I can use you as bait to draw out your snitch of a boyfriend. I can use your honeypot to lure in the bear.”Aria yelped when he gripped her crotch.
“Most people are frightened of bears. But not me. Not when I’ve got the might of the Dark Vultures at my beck and call. We fucking own Harlem, and I’m going to own you, sweet thing.” Jamal took in the room at large but didn’t let Aria go. “Do you hear me, snitch? I’m going to use your girl like a whore, and you can’t do anything about it. I’ve never been so turned on by a fat chick before. Mmm, look at these fucking curves.”
He rubbed himself against Aria and I nearly exploded.
“Do you like that, sweet thing?”
All Aria could do was cry.
“I’ll fuck you and torture you for information on your boy, and you’ll squeal like the little piggy you are. Mmm.” He rubbed against her more aggressively.
“That’s enough!” I shouted as I broke my cover.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Aaron snapped under his breath.
I ignored Aaron. “You want me? Here I am, Jamal.”
Jamal grinned. “Looks like the honeypot worked.” He pulled Aria against him as a human shield and pressed the knife to her neck. He eyed off my M16. “Drop it. Drop the fucking gun!”
I unclipped my weapon from my vest and set it onto the cement floor by my feet.
“Along with anything else you’ve got.”
With a sigh, I drew my beretta and my bowie knife and dropped them to the ground as well. I held Aria’s terrified gaze. “It’s going to be okay, baby.”
Her love for me emanated through the fear. Her gaze told me she believed in me and that was enough to buoy my confidence.
“It’s over for you, Jamal. You’re going down and so are the Vultures. Your reign of terror in Harlem is at an end.”
Jamal laughed at me. “You think if you take me out there won’t be someone to replace me straight away? The Dark Vultures stretch farther than you can possibly imagine.”
“Yet you’re the one who’s currently got my girl, so right now, my beef is with you. Because no one hurts the love of my life and gets away with it.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Jamal replied with a sneer. The blade nicked Aria’s skin, drawing blood that trickled down her neck, and I saw red.
“We’ve got company,” Liam murmured through my earwig.
He was right. I could hear the footfalls of half a dozen men entering the room, guns a blazing.
“Fuck!” I hit the ground and crawled for cover, and I scooped up my weapons as my guys returned fire. I saw Jamal drag himself and Aria out of the crossfire. “Aria!”
“I’ve got him in my sights,” Mark announced over our earpieces. Then I heard him growl. “I’m off after him.”
I was, too. Bullets flew around me as I followed Jamal, and one hit home, connecting with my shoulder. I shouted in pain and annoyance—as if that shoulder needed more damage done to it. But I knew I wasn’t going to die from it, so I ignored the pain and powered on. “If we let him out of our sights, Aria’s dead!”
