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“Ruthless. I love it.”
“Any word on Lev?” Jaxon asks.
Kane shakes his head. “No. They’re still looking, though.” Kane pulls Jaxon into his arms. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I think so. I felt like shit at first, but he didn’t deserve my guilt.”
Kane’s phone rings, and he checks the display. He slides to answer and flips it to speakerphone. “Yeah?”
“I have him,” Dalton says. “I’m pushing him your way.”
We take off toward the boiler room door. I jerk it open, and we skid into the hallway. “Where?” Kane barks.
Several shots are fired, and we run toward the sound. We run into the next room, and someone grabs me from behind. They grab Jaxon next, and Dalton presses a Glock to Kane’s forehead.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Kane grits out.
“Get their weapons,” Dalton orders. “One move, and I’ll blow his head clean off.” They grab my knives, and I have to lock my muscles to keep from lunging at them. Dalton’s face is a hard mask, and I truly believe he’ll pull the trigger on Kane.
“It’s you,” Kane growls. “It’s been you the whole goddamn time.”
“Do you know how hard I’ve worked to take you down? It was almost over until you blew Jaxon’s cover. It ends here, Kane.”
“Why?”
“You’re not asking the questions.” He gestures to the guys with him. “Get them tied up.”
More guys swarm me, and Kane gives me a subtle shake of his head not to fight. I let them drag me into the boiler room, my instincts screaming at me. They shove me against a row of pipes, push me to my ass, and zip-tie my arms behind me. They do the same to Jaxon and step back. Dalton walks Kane into the room backward with his gun to his head. Kane is fuming, but he won’t react until he knows we can all get out of this alive. We’re outnumbered ten to three unless Zuko or Diego heard the shots. Are they in on this, too? None of these guys look familiar, but that doesn’t mean anything. I memorize every face and plan out the hell I’m going to rain down on them.
“I don’t understand,” Jaxon says quietly. “Why would you do this? You’ve been loyal to them for so long.”
“That’s until Vladimir handed it to him.” All guns aim at Kane, and Dalton starts pacing. “This used to be a proud family, and he gave it all to the faggot, disgracing the name.”
“What do you think you did by going to the police? Why didn’t you take me down yourself?” Kane leans forward, bracing his arms on his legs. “Because you couldn’t.”
“All of this because Kane’s gay?” Jaxon asks in confusion.
“Kane’s the best leader this goddamn family has ever had,” I add. The guy in front of me busts me in the mouth with the butt of his gun. I lick the blood from my teeth and spit it on his boots. “I’m going to enjoy cutting you in pieces.”
“Shut up!” Dalton yells. “I told Vlad he was making a mistake, and I was right. You couldn’t sniff me out and let Jaxon crawl past your defenses. You’re weak, Kane, and this proves it. You couldn’t leave well enough alone and let Lev go.”
“Lev knows, doesn’t he?” Kane asks, never taking his eyes off Dalton. I can see him calculating his chances of getting out without being shot full of lead.
“He’d do anything to get rid of you. Lev made a deal with Carls that if he helped take you down, he’d get full immunity. Taking Jaxon was to make you lose focus, so we could finally bring you in, but the dumb little fucker took it too far with his demands and blew everything.”
“You helped save me,” Jaxon replies.
“We had to stick to the fucking plan. Lev would have given me up if you would have caught him anyway, so I took matters into my own hands.”
“You’re talking about killing me, yes?” Kane laughs, but it has an edge to it. I’ve heard that laugh before, and that means he’s fucking pissed. He presses his forehead against Dalton’s gun. “Do it. Go ahead, pull the trigger.”
Dalton checks his watch. “It’s not time yet. I have one more surprise for you.” Seconds later, the door is jerked open, and someone shoves Kira in. She hits the floor hard, making her rainbow beanie fly from her head, and cries out in pain.
“You motherfucker!” Kane roars.
“You actually thought it was her and your father when all along it was me. I have all I need, but now I can add the murder of Captain Carls to that list.”
“Kira,” I whisper. She looks up at me with tears in her eyes. “Are you okay?” She nods and pulls herself to sit up. “Good. There’s a knife in my boot.” Her eyes widen, and she casts a nervous glance at the guys standing around. They are all focused on Kane. “Kira. Focus. Scoot closer. Slowly.”
