Page 32 of Tyrant Blood

‘He did,’ Dante replied. ‘And I trust Jack’s word. Since our partnership with the Doni family at the Ice Bears began, he’s been one of my main allies and we’ve developed a close relationship. As have our boys. And having heard what happened with you, Joaquin, I know that there’s no way I could ever work with Katsen. In fact, it only confirmed my suspicions. So… the deed must be done.’

‘Agreed,’ Cole said, taking a sip of his espresso and maintaining his balanced mood.

‘I have men with very specialist skills I can use,’ Dante said. ‘Katsen will be wiped off this earth on my command.’

‘We need to be the ones to do it,’ Cole replied. ‘And that’s coming from Joaquin. This is personal. The boy wants to be the one to do it. What we need is a little help to facilitate that.’

Joaquin was watching for every single nuance and reaction that he could spot on Dante’s face. But Dante Chiellini was an old hand and had been trained not to give away any clues as to what he was thinking or what direction he was leaning.

But Joaquin and Cole didn’t have to wait too much longer for a decision from Dante.

‘I can see that you both want to take responsibility for this, and I appreciate that,’ Dante said, his words slow and deliberate. ‘In another situation, I might not allow it. It’s a risk. And if you fail, Katsen will become paranoid and that would make it harder for me to remove him. However. The nature of his crime against you, and that of his men, tells me that you will not fail. This is how it’ll work. I will arrange a meeting. Which means my men and I will be present to begin with. You two will be given the location, the time, and the weaponry to make your strike. The rest is up to you. If the police were to find out about this, you’re on your own. Understood?’

‘Understood,’ Cole said, looking to Joaquin for confirmation.

‘Understood,’ Joaquin added, knowing that this was the best offer they were going to get.

Suddenly, the magnitude of the situation was dawning upon Joaquin. But at the same time, nothing had ever felt so correct in his life. It was time to banish Katsen and his thugs to hell, and then hopefully move on to the next phase of his life alongside Cole.

This is it.

It’s do or die.

And I’ve got too much life left to live to even consider dying now…

Chapter 17

Cole

‘You do have a choice. You know that don’t you?’ Cole asked, turning to face Joaquin as the pair of them waited patiently outside the warehouse where Katsen and his men were expected to arrive in a matter of less than an hour.

‘I know,’ Joaquin replied, his voice calm and his eyes trained on the barren looking warehouse across the street. ‘This is what I need to do. I don’t want to turn back now.’

‘Good,’ Cole said, his voice low and full of serious intent. ‘Once this is all over, it’ll be you and me. We’ll build a life together. You’ll never need to worry about anything again. I promise you that.’

Joaquin simply nodded and continued to stare ahead of him.

The truck was quiet, save for the sound of an old jazz radio station playing quietly on the car stereo. The rain had slowed too, although the wind continued to whip around and through the bridge overhead.

Cole was happy enough that Dante Chiellini could be trusted. Everything that Jack steel had told him about Dante had checked out, and Cole was confident that Jack would never lie to him about something so serious.

Cole and Jack had a long history. Their hockey careers had gone in different directions though, despite the pair of them being supremely talented and two of the most physically gifted athletes in the sport’s history.

Jack was able to avoid the trouble that always seemed to follow Cole around. But it was more than that. Jack actively went about protecting his career and making sure that he presented himself as the ultimate professional. Cole meanwhile had always been naturally drawn to the wilder side of life. When the controversies and injuries came during Cole’s career, he had less and less credit in the bank until the point of no return.

Cole didn’t begrudge Jack his era-defining career on the ice, but he did sometimes wish that he had the same stability that Jack had. And perhaps that was why Cole wanted to help give Joaquin the kind of stable, steady life that he had never been able to give himself.

There was a future for Joaquin that Cole wanted to play a part in.

In fact, Cole felt from the deepest pit of his stomach that he wanted to be the central figure in Joaquin’s life from this point onward. And knowing that both Jack and Dante both had similar relationships with their loves was a motivating factor for Cole.

However, this wasn’t the time for Cole to be thinking too far ahead at what his and Joaquin’s future might look like. This was strictly professional. They were lying in wait for Rohan Katsen and his thugs. This was a moment that would involve violence of the most severe nature – and Cole knew that he had to channel all his old ice-cold ruthlessness from his days as a hockey pro to pull it off.

‘Cole, your phone… it’s Dante,’ Joaquin said, his eyes lighting up. ‘Is that the signal?’

Cole lifted his phone up from the storage space next to the stick shift and took a look…

DANTE: Arrival imminent. Following behind shortly. Rear exit sealed. Upper floor secured. Kit located in side alley. No mistakes.

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