Page 34 of Once A Crime Lord

“We’re going for Santana,” he said.

“You got it, boss.”

Santana didn’t know who he was messing with. He thought his drug operation was too big for anyone to touch him, but he was wrong. The Phantom let Santana into the city, and his filth was spreading deep and fast. He informed Santana that he had taken back the throne, and this was Santana’s response—two men. What an insult. Santana had a reputation for being brutal in his home country, but Gavin had a reputation as well. He didn’t care that he didn’t have the manpower that Santana did. He would gut him… and tend to Huskin later.

6

Lyla

Lyla took aim and fired.The pistol bucked in her hand. The shock reverberated up her arm, but she held firm. She emptied the gun, reloaded, and walked forward, firing with steady, focused precision. The ping of metal rang in her ears. She imagined that the metal plates were the scum of the underworld.

“Halt!”

She flipped the safety on and holstered the gun in her shoulder holster. Blade walked up to her targets to check her accuracy. They had been at this for an hour, and her shoulders were beginning to ache.

“You’re improving,” he said after examining her targets.

She raised a brow. “That’s all you have to say?”

“I don’t need you to turn into an assassin. I just need you to be accurate enough to stay alive.”

“Are we done?” she asked.

“We have one more exercise.”

Even though she knew what was coming, her stomach iced with dread. Blade and two other guards donned helmets with tinted face guards.

“You ready?” Blade asked in a muffled voice.

She nodded.

“Fight for your life,” he said.

There was a moment of silence, and then they lunged. She whirled and ran as fast as she could across the massive backyard enclosed by a high wall. She wouldn’t win in a physical altercation, so running should always be her first option. The pool sparkled in the distance. Safety. If she reached the fortress, the game would end. She ignored the sound of heavy footfalls behind her and focused on the prize.

Arms wrapped around her middle and lifted her off her feet. She grabbed his finger and wrenched it back savagely. The man shouted and began to teeter to the side. She tossed her elbow back into his face. If he wasn’t wearing the helmet, she would have broken his nose. The guard released her, and she sprinted for safety. The second guard tackled and then pinned her by sitting on her abdomen. She thrust her hips up with all her strength and felt her heart skip when she barely budged her opponent. She improvised by grabbing him by the balls and squeezing. The man yelped and dropped to the side. She rolled, gained her feet, and pulled her gun on the last man who held his hands up in surrender.

“Do you have to keep going for my balls?” the man on the ground wheezed.

“My instructor said I could yank them off,” she said and holstered her weapon. “You got off easy.”

“You may not always be able to use your gun,” Blade warned, taking off his helmet and revealing that he had been her last opponent.

“I know,” she said and holstered the weapon.

She put her hands on her hips and tried to catch her breath. No matter how much she trained or what moves she mastered, she was very aware that a man would always be stronger. She had to fight dirty; there was no getting around it. This was always a sobering exercise because she knew how real the danger was.

She looked at the guard who had his hands over his crotch. “Sorry.”

“Maybe we should wear padded suits if you’re going to keep going for the goods,” Blade said.

“You do that,” she said before she jogged back to the house.

She entered through the kitchen and found Carmen at the table with Nora.

“That was wicked,” Carmen said and high fived her.

She gulped down water and kissed Nora on the cheek.

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