Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66697 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66697 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
I found myself on the last one. He tried to mouth off but before he could speak, I took him to the ground and broke his hand with a hard stomp. He screamed, so I put my gun to his eye and waited for the shudder of real terror.
“Where is she?” I said.
He spat. One tooth, bloody, hit my shoe. “Don’t know. They rotate the doors. But the boss, he wanted this one special.”
“Who gave you the order?”
“Look, I take a phone call, I do a job.”
Sully, behind me, called out. “Tonio. He’s done. You don’t want to lose this thread until Knight says it’s done.” I stood, breathing hard enough my vision went blurry. I did not want to let this kill go. She had been right here! And this was one of the fucks who’d taken her.
Sully studied me. “Boss. Let’s not make it personal with the help.”
I pointed my gun at the guy anyway. “This is what happens when people touch my family.” I fired, splattering his brains on the pavement. Then I knelt and checked his pockets for the phone he’d mentioned and pocketed it.
Knight’s voice came from someone’s phone on speaker. “You’re two minutes from the loading bay. Watch for a burnout camera on the south side, that’s their override. They’ll be inside by the time you hit the door.”
The run through the back lot was pure adrenaline. My hands shook, but not from fear. From the need to get Tessa back. She was so close I could almost feel her in my arms.
But something shoved into me, solid and unbreaking, a pit bull refusing to be ignored. Carrie stood there, blocking the way, eyes burning, her jaw clenched. Her hands were streaked red with blood, the stuff caked under her nails. She stood her ground and put a palm against my chest, pushing me back.
I stared down at her. “Move aside, Carrie. I mean it.”
She didn’t flinch. “No.”
“Carrie --”
She shoved harder, raw strength when she could look all too fragile when she needed to. “No. You’re wearing Flagg’s face, Antonio. You want to kill for Tessa, fine. I would load the gun myself.” Her eyes were hot, voice a scalpel. “But if you keep on like this, you’ll become the same monster. And before you get all pissy, I do understand the difference. But killing takes a piece of your soul, whether you want to admit it or not. Every. Goddamned. Time. Tessa deserves more from the father of her child.”
“What would you have me do?” I practically yelled at Carrie. I knew I’d regret it later, but I wasn’t following what she meant.
“You want to kill these guys? Fine. We’ll kill them. But not here. Take them back where it’s secure.”
“That might be where we don’t understand each other, Carrie. I’m doing this to make a statement as much as to satisfy my need for blood. I want every motherfucker in this city to know why they cross Antonio Miles at their own peril. That includes selling skin in my backyard right under my nose. For taking my woman, they get to die extra hard. That’s not Flagg, Carrie. That’s the underboss of the Miles family.” I stared at her a long time, letting her see the unyielding resolve hardwired into my being.
“I would never hurt Tessa, and seeing this side of me might hurt her in ways I could never fix. So I understand your concern.” If anyone other than Carrie had confronted me, I might have softened my tone or at least tried to suppress who I was. But Carrie had lived worse than I could ever be. Well, OK, so I was just as bad as that bastard, Flagg, who’d raised her and her brothers. He’d trained them all to kill, to be the leaders of his personal army or something. “But trust me when I tell you everything I’m doing now is to ensure Tessa and her child have any future they want. I have to maintain control in this city or the wolves will eat everyone in my family alive.”
“Fine.” She didn’t stop, just changed tactics. “I killed for her today, too. You want to keep hunting? Do it. But think about this. Tessa doesn’t need another monster at home. She needs you. The father of her child. She needs you, Tonio.”
She let her hand drop. Blood smudged my shirt, but she didn’t seem to notice she had it all over her. Kass stood behind Carrie now, eyes black. Even Veda came close to stand with Carrie. The whole crew, lined up at the mouth of the alley.
I turned to face them. Kicked the dead man’s body to the curb. “I swore to Tessa the night I pulled her from that sewer that I would kill every single fucker who put her there, or paid for it, or looked the other way.” My voice went rough. “I intend to scorch the earth and clear this filth from my city because I absolutely will not allow any more of our women or children to be at risk. As long as any of these bastards are alive, they will keep coming after us. Not just me, but Kiss of Death because of your ties to my family.”