Page 125 of Root

“Go away,” I say.

“No can do.” He moves in so I can see him, but he doesn’t look at me.

He’s still in his suit, looking gorgeous and bright and good to their filth and mud.

“Actually, you can have her,” he says, “I’ve had my fill. It’s just a man likes to be asked. Like with the book. You can’t have that. I’m going to need that back. She’s right, though, it’s full of a lot of information.”

“Who the fuck are you?” King asks.

“Oh yeah, I’m Rush. And you are?”

“King.”

“A little on the nose, but whatever floats your fucking boat, man.”

The man’s looking behind Rush.

“Oh, those are my people. You have yours, I have mine. You get how it goes. So are you the big cheese and these the important members? Because…” Rush laughs as he puts his hands on his lean hips, which is so not like him, I wonder if he’s lost his mind.

He has. He just walked into a viper’s den.

Walked in with zero cares in the world. I want to scream men like this aren’t going to be moved by his charm.

“Because?” King asks, keeping his gun pointed at me, sounding completely bored.

Rush shrugs. “Because I investigated the Ten64. This…this is new, isn’t it? You’re…actually I don’t care what defunct crime family you came from, but if I hazard a guess, someone who dealt with Derek the dead prick Finnegan? It’s the only thing I can think of for you thinking you could take on Nikolai.”

King looks at him. “He’s not here.”

“No, he’s outside.” Rush laughs again and I swallow a sob.

He’s going to die and it’ll be my fault.

“Don’t make jokes,” I whisper.

“Life’s fucking boring without jokes, don’t you agree, K-dog?” Rush asks King.

The man growls.

“Anyway,” Rush continues, “this group only became organized after you got involved, dude. But hand me back the book, and I’ll let you all live.”

“You?” King smiles with too many teeth. “You’ll be lucky to walk out alive.”

“Only if this is your real outfit, the ones who run everything. Otherwise, I’ll take my chances.” Rush moves a step or two from me, eyeing King and the others.

“This is the brains and the power,” King says as he moves back to his men, the gun still on me.

“Hear that?” Rush asks.

Tony says yes as a door slams, and a voice that sends shivers down my spine joins in.

“Every fucking word, Rush.” Nikolai.

“I really want that book.” Rush looks at me, drops his eyes to the ground a second and reaches into his jacket. “And I changed my mind about the pretty girl. I’ll take her, too.”

It happens in a blink of an eye.

So fast I don’t have time to draw my gun or drop as the world explodes around me.

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