Page 80 of Skin Deep

Someone pushed me forward. I tried to turn, but more hands grabbed me and then I was being shoved to my knees. War went down to his knees next to me with a grunt and it suddenly hit me all at once.This is it. We’re dead men. There’s no way out.

“Not even going to let me die on my feet?” War glared at Aleksi as he came to stand in front of us.

“Did you think you could kill one of us without consequences?” Aleksi said. “Did you think yourself so invincible, Warrick?”

War rolled his eyes. “For fuck’s sake, just shoot me. I don’t want to listen to your fucking speech.”

“But you’re going to listen because I want you to understand something. Both of you.” Aleksi lifted his eyes to the dirty glass windows of the factory off to our right. “I still think of you like a brother. But even brothers fight, and when that happens, someone has to step in and punish badly behaved children. This isn’t personal.” He lifted his gun, pointing it at me.

I closed my eyes and tried to calm my pounding heart. A thousand images raced through my head all at once.

Sitting in prison visitation across from Maya with Lettie’s ultrasound pictures on the table between us. Maya was smiling so big, so happy, despite the news I’d just given her that I was going to enter a guilty plea.

The day I got out and she was right there waiting for me with Scarlett holding her hand. Lettie was so little then, so shy.

The first time I put Scarlett up on my shoulders. God, she’d gotten so big.

The day we found out she was pregnant with Charlie.

Charlie’s birth.

Kisses. Hugs. Heartache and loss.

And then there was War, and all the days we’d had together. There hadn’t been as many, but I’d come to treasure every one of them just as much. I thought of the way he’d embraced me the night before, the weight of his head on my shoulder, the scent of him, and I held that in my mind. If I was going to die, I wanted my last thoughts to be of him.

A gun went off and I flinched, but there was no explosion of pain. No blood. Panicking, my eyes snapped open, and my gaze jumped to War, but he seemed as shocked as me. There was a loud thud behind me as the mobster holding a gun on me fell.

“Mother—” It was all the one standing behind War got out before Aleksi put a bullet between his eyes.

The other mobsters all reached for their guns, but before they could fire a single shot, the side door to the factory rolled open, revealing a dozen more Russians in suits armed with AK-47s. The mobsters behind us swung toward them, but they weren’t fast enough. Guns started barking, the sound deafening.

Aleksi yanked me to my feet and shoved me out of the way. War stumbled after me as one group of mobsters mowed down the other. The echo of gunshots filled the small work yard alongside bright muzzle flashes. Bullets fell like lead rain. Two more mobsters stumbled out of the van, guns drawn and pointed at Aleksi. He shot one of them in the throat and one of the AK guys shot the other.

Less than a minute after the first shot was fired, seven men lay dead. Gunshots rang in my ears as I crawled over to War. My voice was muffled in my own ears as I asked, “You okay?”

He gave me a stunned look but nodded. “What the fuck happened?”

We looked over at Aleksi, who was already busying himself checking the corpses. He patted one down and paused, coming up with a pack of cigarettes. Aleksi put one between his lips and lit it, blowing out the smoke before coming over to us. My heart jumped when he flicked open a knife, but settled when he cut War free.

“You didn’t actually think I’d sell you out like that, did you, War?” Aleksi said with a smirk.

“You son of a bitch,” War growled between clenched teeth. He pushed up on his feet, marched over and threw several punches at Aleksi who fended him off.

“The suit! Watch the suit, eh? Fuck, War. Give me some fucking credit, would you?” Aleksi plucked the cigarette from between his lips and used it to gesture to the men. “If you want to hit someone, hit your old man. It was Nikita’s fucking idea.” He waited for War to back off before coming to cut me free.

War spun around and stopped when his gaze settled on one of the men carrying an assault rifle. I recognized their resemblance immediately. While War had his mother’s deep blue eyes, her slight build, and her nose, he had his father’s sharp cheekbones and angular jaw. Nikita was also a head taller with broader shoulders and slick, black hair.

Nikita kicked over one of the corpses, nudging it with his foot before he looked up and locked eyes with War. The two of them stared at each other across the yard with unreadable expressions for a long moment before Nikita handed off his gun.

He crossed the yard to come stand in front of War, looking him up and down. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” War said coldly.

Nikita nodded slowly before patting War’s shoulder. He gave him a nod. “Good boy,” he said before turning to go.

“Just tell me why,” War shouted after Nikita had taken a few steps.

Nikita turned back around. “We had to get you out. Simeon was watching you. He’s already worked out that Bowen hasn’t checked in much faster than we anticipated.”

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