Page 35 of Retribution

“And you are paying for what you did to an innocent seventeen-year-old kid! My brother,” I snarled. “Do you know he’s never gotten a B in his life?”

“I didn’t know he was your brother,” he argued.

“Doesn’t matter because he would have been someone’s brother and definitely someone’s child,” I countered. “You killed him and now you must pay.”

“I didn’t shoot him, it was Carlos.”

I scoffed. “You were there. You supplied the weapon. You brought your team to confront a seventeen-year-old genius!”

“I….” he started.

“Shut the fuck up!” I yelled. “Do you know how many universities, including Ivy leagues, accepted my brother’s application? Do you know how many wanted him to attend their campuses?” I paused to calm myself as I was losing my temper. “He applied to thirteen and they all accepted him. Harvard, Princeton, Notre Dame, Columbia, Standford – yes, Standford was where he chose to attend riding on a full scholarship.”

I stepped close to him, he stood his ground, the anger twisting his features.

“I don’t give a fuck who he was,” he bravely said, pulling out a handgun and pointing it at me. “The fucker is dead already, and now you’ll join him.”

I stepped even closer. “You think I’m afraid to die?”

My blade was held tightly in my fist and pressed to my wrist. I moved within an inch of him with his gun pointing directly at my forehead.

“Go ahead and shoot,” I urged. “It’s just a pity that whether I die here or not, your entire family will perish because of what you and your cousins did.”

Our eyes connected and I smile broadly as he frowned in confusion. I bent my head to the side still smiling as I plunged my blade into his belly. I pulled it out and stabbed him in his chest cavity. Pulled it and plunged repeatedly all over his body.

As he died his finger pressed the trigger and his gun went off, grazing my ear. I felt like an injured soldier from one of those medieval movies, coming from war. It took about a minute for me to feel anything but when I did, it was the most excruciating burning pain I ever felt.

“Damn it,” I yelled, grabbing my ear, and kicking the lifeless body lying on the ground. “You fucking piece of shit!”

Chapter 21

Santiago

I crushed the photograph of my dead son and tossed it across the room. I had worked hard to keep a low profile but now this little bitch was calling me out. She killed my son and was taunting me.

If Ciara wanted me, she would have to come get me. I was smart enough to know never to allow anyone to take me out of my comfort zone, and that was what she was trying to do.

“I’m sorry Micheal. I won’t avenge your death this way. I hope you understand.”

Did he really think he had the means to take on these savages? Even I was no match for them. That one who wanted nothing to do with the business was as savage as the brother I helped Mercado kidnap. Not to mention that Ferdinando was raised by Dimucci himself, with an adoptive brother who was like a demon king of the underworld. Blaze feared nothing or no one.

I hadn’t been in the outside world in a decade and wasn’t about to step into war there. Let her come to me. I had to stand my ground if I was to defeat her, and the best place to do that was in the fortress which I created. Over the last few days, we reinforced our domain and brought in extra manpower.

I left my office and personally checked each entrance and exits for any weaknesses. We had all we needed here for a few days while we waited to see what she would do. We separated the fight club from the other areas as we had a couple of matches that could not be cancelled.

In less than thirty-six hours a big fight would take place between our champion and one of New York’s best underground fighters. This was a big money fight that many billionaires had placed their bets on. I would not let that woman keep me from making my money.

“Manny,” I called out.

“Yes Boss.”

He’d been following close behind me. I stopped and he rushed up to me.

“Are any of Micheal’s men alive?”

“We don’t know Boss, there has been no word from those who went with him.”

I slapped my cane against the wall. “That fool. Have you been able to gather any more men?”

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