Page 54 of Cage of Thorns and Blood

I climb into my car, and she waves at me from the door.

The last time a woman waved me off it was Francesca, and seeing Renata standing there doing the same as if she’s my wife makes me realize how right that would be.

“You’re in so much fucking trouble,” I grouse to myself.

I arrive at the warehouse and office down by the old disused docks and find Clifford inside pacing as he waits for me. Vlad stands stock-still like a stone soldier, waiting for one of us to call out a demand.

His face is hard in the yellow lights of the old, sodium streetlamps. They haven’t replaced them with the bright white LED lights. It’s as if this part of town is forgotten and abandoned.

“Two bodies, here.”

He leads me into the warehouse, and I stall at the door as I take in the sight. Two of our men and packages all around them, torn open. Some of the money is scattered around on the floor, but most of it is gone.

“They were obviously dealing with some of the newly brought in funds to rinse and were taken out.” Clifford’s face is thunderous as he stares down at them.

“Might be opportunistic,” Vlad says.

“Is it fuck,” I growl. “This is purposeful and planned.”

The bodies are beaten, and many bones have been broken. Legs bend at odd angles, and the stench of blood and excrement fills the air. Their pants are down around their knees, and their cocks have been cut off.

I swallow the nausea rising in my throat.

“This is a warning.” My hands ball into fists. “It’s rivals, has to be.”

“Who would do this?” Vlad asks.

“Russians?” Clifford says.

“Not really their style.” I stare at the men, a sense of foreboding cloaking me. “Who was it you said you interrogated and hurt, Cliff?” I ask my cousin. “Over the missing shipment?”

He shrugs. “Just street kids. Part of a small Greek gang.”

“Are you sure it was small?” I ask.

He frowns. “Some new information came to light this week. They might have been more connected than I realized.”

My stomach twists. The Greek organized crime groups here tend to be small, super tight, and ruthless as fuck. They’ll chop you into bits and burn you. They’ll burn your women too. Kids, dogs, fucking goldfish. They’re not big in presence like the Albanians, but they’re fucking scary.

“Cliff, are you telling me we might be in the crosshairs of a Greek clan or family, and you neglected to inform me?”

He frowns. “Cuz, I do shit all the time that I don’t tell you about. Plausible deniability.”

“Yes, but this could put us and our families in danger.”

He snort-laughs. “There is no family, man. There’s you, me, Vlad and all our men. Family are all safely far away from here. It’s one of the reasons we can act without fear. We have nothing for them to come at.” He walks over to me and ruffles my hair. “Worried they’re going to mess up your pretty face?”

He blows me a kiss and laughs again, but I’m not laughing.

All I’m thinking about is Renata.

The idea of the animals who did this getting a hold of her has my gut churning.

I have Renata.

She doesn’t know it yet.

I only just realized it truly today, but she belongs to me.

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