Page 130 of Devious Knight

Dmitri, Logan, and I creep around the back of the log cabin. We’re deep in the heart of the thick forest at Silver Lake.

This is where our target is hiding. He’s a collector from the Armenian mafia, a mean motherfucker you know not to fuck with. We’re supposed to take him down.

Alek is in on lookout in the woods with a rifle while Thorne and Caspian are taking care of the other two mafia guys with their personal guards.

The four of us don’t have guards because this is part of our trial.

We’re also dressed in the Knights military wear that looks like something from Assassins Creed, except ours is full black with the Raventhorn crest embossed on the right sleeve.

This is what is considered an easy mission for guys like us. I’d agree that it is because we’ve dealt with worse people. I’m just not in the right headspace.

You can’t have a girl on your mind when you’re on a life-or-death mission and you’re supposed to be the team leader.

Against what should have been my better judgment, I went looking for Isabelle, then I remembered she was going to be out for the day with her father.

Since I didn’t want to disturb them, I eased off, but it drove me crazy that I didn’t see her.

At the same time, I’m wondering if that’s a good thing because what do I hope to accomplish?

What do I want from her?

Fuck… I know what I want. That’s not a question. The question is, can I have it?

Even I know that you can’t serve two opposite emotions at once. I can’t want her to be mine and want to hurt her at the same time.

I suppose the question is, what do I want more? Is that even up to me?

On top of that, I have this shit with Alek. Since we’ve laid low on Nikoli, he’s had no reason to follow us, but I sense the conflict every time we attend meetings or various other things.

When we first set out tonight, he did that cryptic thing where he didn’t speak at all. I can’t deal with shit like that when my mind isn’t with me.

I reach the corner of the house and force myself to focus. One wrong move, and it won’t matter how easy this mission is considered to be. Death is death no matter if what killed you is a bullet or a bee.

I hold up my hand, signaling for the guys to stop. A butch-looking motherfucker with piercings and tattoos all over his body just walked into my line of sight.

He looks hideous in the moonlight with his warthog appearance and a clean-shaven head. He reminds me of something gone wrong.

The fucker is also carrying a machine gun.

He must be the head guard. Near the trees opposite are two more guards, but they look less vicious.

“I’ll take care of them,” Alek informs me through the coms device in my ear. “Enter the cabin once I clear the path. Make sure you take the shot the first chance you get. There are more guards surrounding the place.”

“Roger that,” I reply, keeping my voice low.

I signal to Dmitri and Logan to wait a little longer.

A minute later, mutant guy drops to the ground, probably not even knowing he’s dead.

The other two guards see him fall, but that’s all they see, and it’s the last thing they’ll do in the world of the living. Alek takes them down, too, showing off his sharp marksman skills.

Each of us compliments the group in different ways. That’s one of his things, along with anything to do with blades, swords, and knives.

“Go now,” Alek commands, and I signal for Dmitri and Logan to follow me.

We rush up to the cabin door, and I kick it open. The door smashes into the wall revealing a startled-looking Estes Margarian—our target.

He grabs his gun and roars as he charges at me. I get out of the way before he fires a shot, but I miss the chance to shoot him.

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