Page 41 of Strictly Forbidden

I quickly armed the rifle, sliding an additional magazine into the pocket of my jeans. On second thought, I grabbed my favorite hunting knife, the weapon that had served me quite well over the years, shoving it into my pocket. You never had enough weapons when you were under attack.

As I shifted to the window, I remained just to the side, peering outside. There were outside lights and while the moon was bright, the drifting shadows of light only added eerie shadows and nothing else.

But my sixth sense had already kicked in. There was more than one person outside my cabin and if I had to guess, I’d say they were here to end my life. Maybe I should take up gambling after all.

Other than the windows, there were two ways in and two ways out. Given where the cabin was located, I wasn’t in the habit of locking the doors. Maybe after tonight, when I eradicated the additional scum from the earth, I’d change my mind.

Not that a locked door in any way deterred bad men. That included me.

I snapped the rifle’s holster over my shoulder and held the handgun in both hands, moving with stealth and precision to the end of the hall. Even the soothing strains of Beethoven had no effect on my keen hearing. I could hear a freaking pin drop in the snow.

That ability had kept me alive over the years.

As I stood at the end of the hallway, I did what I could to keep my patience intact. The single noise indicated the front door had been opened. It was only a matter of seconds before the back door was infiltrated as well.

At least I had the benefit of knowing the lay of the cabin, able to maneuver around the furniture as necessary.

I darted my head from the shadows, easily detecting at least three men. Without any hesitation, I crouched down, still having a perfect line of sight to the front door. The moment the assholes walked inside, I didn’t hesitate, firing off three solid rounds.

They dropped like flies, but I knew there were more of them. Another cracking sound came from the back door and I lunged forward and rolled, catching one more asshole in the chest. I preferred a head or heart shot but sometimes I took what I could get.

A strange sound filtered into my eardrums not once but twice and it took me a few seconds to distinguish what the hell I was hearing.

Two windows had been compromised.

Fuck.

An entire small army had been sent. They were coming at me from all sides. The only saving grace was that my truck was hidden in a way no one would know where it was. I’d designed a hiding space that could easily be overlooked. I might need to abandon ship, although that wasn’t the way I handled my business at all. Still, I did want to live.

I raced toward the kitchen, keeping low to the floor. The moment hairs stood up on the back of my neck, I froze, shifting to face the other side.

But it was too late.

Several brutal punches were driven into my face and gut and while I dropped, I was still in motion, able to jump to my feet and fire off four shots. I hit at least two of the bastards, which allowed me to race toward the front door.

Too little too late.

One of the goons cracked his weapon across my face, sending my handgun flying from my hands.

Stars floated in front of my eyes, impeding my vision just long enough I was grabbed by two of the soldiers. They dragged me toward the center of the room, ripping the rifle from me.

All was quiet for a solid two minutes. A trickle of blood was oozing down my face against my lips, beads of perspiration stinging my eyes. It had been a long time since I’d handled a full-frontal attack.

While blinking, trying to focus to get my bearings, I noticed one asshole dressed in all black standing staring at the fire. It took me only a few seconds to recognize the fuck as the man who’d killed Saldono’s firstborn son, the one I’d taken the blame for murdering. In my false sense of loyalty, I’d believed I was protecting Saldono and his family. What a crock of shit.

He finally turned around and I laughed. “Domingo Rodriguez. I should have known.” The son of a bitch had been the other man with Antonio, Gio, and I on that fateful night. If I’d known the man’s complete loyalty was with Gio, I’d have kept my guard up back then.

A sharp grin remained on his face as he headed in my direction, taking a deep breath as soon as he was only inches away.

“I thought the cockroaches ate you one day for breakfast,” I continued, still sizing up what I was dealing with. Unless there were additional soldiers waiting outside, there were only three plus Domingo remaining. The odds of survival were looking better and better.

The savage blow across my face made my ears ring and my jaw ache. I shifted it back and forth, taking a few deep breaths of my own.

“You’re in no position to have a say about anything,” Domingo hissed. “You killed Saldono’s son. No amount of time behind bars will make up for that.”

“You and I know better,” I said calmly. “You killed the young man because of greed and your lust for power.”

He crouched down in front of me, shaking his head ever so slowly. “As if Saldono would believe you.”

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