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When I round the dusty desert curve and find the smoking wreck, I snap. Fear like I’ve never felt floods into me. Fear for Laura. For the one I value above all others. And behind that fear another emotion wells up. It’s one I know well. Rage. The kind that always ends with bodies on the floor.
The black SUV that rammed Scott’s car comes to a stop. I’m still half a mile away, my car eating up the pavement as my blood boils.
I take a breath when I see her climb from the passenger side. But then she stumbles, and a man grabs her.
My knuckles go white on the steering wheel, and I grit my teeth.
They are going to die. Every last one of them. I count five on this dry stretch of lonely highway. Five graves I won’t bother to dig.
The asshole throws her into a trunk. Motherfuckers.
I reach the smoking car and throw my parking brake as I wrench the wheel to the left. My car goes into a screeching drift, and I take out two Russians easily, each of their thumps against my fender like musical notes.
Righting the car, I slam on the brakes and reach for my gun. It’s already in hand as I throw the door open and start firing. They weren’t expecting me. I can tell from the surprised looks on their faces as I cut them down under the bright sun, their blood soaking into the cracked roadway.
“Xavier!” Gregori calls and throws his hands up.
His other men drop. They didn’t even fire a shot. One writhes on the ground just ahead of me. I stomp on the wound in his stomach, and when he yowls in pain, I shoot him between the eyes.
Gregori shakes his head. “Xavier, let’s talk about this.”
“Talk?” I advance on him. “You steal my most precious asset from me, and now you want to talk?”
The blazing sun is nothing compared to the molten anger that blasts inside me when I see Laura, her eyes closed, her face pale, and blood on her forehead.
“The accident was an …” He swallows. “Accident. We only intended to clip them.” He shrugs. “We can talk this out. If you kill me, you’ll be starting something big. You know this. My family will come for you. The five families, all of them will band together to take Vegas if you—”
“Let them come.” I point my gun at his forehead.
His gaze flicks to my left.
Fuck. I turn but not fast enough to stop his dying goon from firing. The shot hits me in the thigh.
I put a bullet into the asshole’s heart, but when I swing back to Gregori, he’s pulled Laura from the trunk and holds her to him. Her body is limp, and he holds a knife to her side.
“I am getting in my car with the girl, and we’re leaving.” Spittle coats his lips at the terror in his words. “You aren’t going to move, understand? Put the gun down.”
“This gun?” I waggle it.
“Xavier!” He grimaces. “Put it down.”
“Too chickenshit to kill me?” I can feel warm blood trickling down my calf.
“You know what happens if I kill you.” He shakes his head. “I can’t risk it. But I will if I have to.”
“I will go to war for her, Gregori. I will kill as many members of the five families as I can, and I’ll start with yours. Give her to me now, or I will hunt you like a fucking animal and slaughter you like one, too.”
“Drop it or I’ll gut her!” he bellows, the fear invading his voice and making it quake.
I hold the gun up high, pointing it to the blue above. He follows the movement with his gaze.
“The fuck you doing?” he steps back, dragging my Laura with him.
I pull the trigger.
He takes another step back. “What the fuck?”
“You want to know what I’m doing?” I drop the gun and toss it to the side. I shrug. “I’m distracting you, you piece of shit.”
