Page 40 of All the Dangerous Things

There was a fucker manning the side door, and I moved through the darkness until I was right on the other side of the wall. I could hear each inhale and exhale as he smoked. I felt the beast rise within me,and a sinister grin spread across my face as I rounded the corner.

His eyes widened for only a second before he went for his gun. But I was already on him, my bare hand curled around his thick neck, his cigarette still between his lips but barely hanging on. He gasped and it fell to the ground. I stepped closer. The darkness wrapped itself around us as I inhaled deeply.

“You smell like sweat and fear.” He was a big bastard, but I was bigger. I tightened my hold on his throat, and he fought back. But he was no match, not when I was at my weakest, and certainly not now, when I felt the power of a hundred motherfuckers coursing through me.

“You see my face?” I asked low. “You see that I smile, even as you suffocate?” I cocked my head and watched him struggle for breath. “Pretty fucked up, huh?” When he went limp, I strangled him for another minute just to make sure… just to give the beast a little more for its hunger.

I let his body fall to the trash-covered ground and hauled him around the corner so he was out of sight. Then I slipped in through the side door, the hinges creaking as I pulled it shut behind me.

There weren’t any lights to guide my way, what with the warehouse long since closed up andunused. Age had created a broken, empty vessel made up of metal, cement, and memories.

I navigated the dimly lit corridor, my boots barely making any sound on the cracked and stained concrete floor.

I walked in the shadows for several minutes before I heard the muffled sound of voices. Their words were indistinct, but I could tell they spoke Russian. When I got to the end of the corridor, I pressed myself against the wall, adrenaline rushing through my veins, yet I kept myself outwardly calm.

I closed my eyes and focused on the conversation right around the corner. I knew what Maksim looked like, but recognizing his voice from those belonging to the other two men with him wasn’t something I could do blindly.

I leaned around the corner and saw Maksim standing in front of several large, wooden crates, presumably filled with their inventory of drugs and weapons, which included the newest shipment, as some of them hadn’t been opened yet. There were portable lights set up around the three Russians as they cracked the tops and tossed them aside.

I focused on their words, my Russian fluent, so I clearly understood everything they said. They were discussing the current shipment, their tones low asthey picked the items up out of the crates and examined them.

Maksim started speaking, and I memorized the sound of his voice in my head. Not that it would matter after tonight, since he wouldn’t say another word again.

I took a deep breath and fully focused on the present. I needed to tame the beast. Let the monster knowIwas the one in control.

I had to isolate Maksim, and that meant taking out the two fuckers with him.

Shit, this was such a bad situation. I didn’t feel any kind of remorse or regret or even fear. But I did feelsomethingover the fact that if Dmitry and Nikolai knew I was the one pulling the trigger—hell, if they knewanyonein the Cosa Nostra had a hand in it—then the full wrath of the Bratva would rain down on all our heads.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked around the corner. This shithole didn’t have any cameras, not even with their shipment of guns that would make anyone who happened upon them a hefty amount. And the only witnesses who could name me in this situation would soon be dead.

With my gun in hand, I lifted my arm, pressed my wrist to the wall to keep it steady, and knew Ionly had seconds to take the other two out before Maksim could react.

This is it, motherfuckers.

I pulled the trigger, and the first man went down as I was putting a bullet through the other fucker’s head a second later. Both men were on the ground before Maksim even shouted and spun around. He was still fumbling for his gun as I rounded the corner and came up on him.

It was clear Maksim wasn’t used to this shit, as his hands shook, and he tried to get his vision to focus enough to make me out. But I was like a shadow as I slammed my body into his, his back cracking and bending awkwardly as he crashed against the crate.

“W-What the fuck?” Maksim stuttered out, his eyes wide, the sight and stench of fear pouring off him.

I was taken aback for a second when I saw how frightened he was. This wasn’t some dangerous Bratva member. Oh, he was connected to the Russian mafia, but he sure as fuck shouldn’t have even been on Carmine’s radar. This little shit was weak and, hell, couldn't even hold a gun correctly.

“You’re making a huge mistake,” Maksim spat out. “Do you know who I work for?”

I let my smile spread across my face but said nothing. Instead, I pressed the gun under his chin, forcing his head to tilt back.

“They are gonna skin you alive, fucker.The Stygian Syndicate doesn’t show any fucking mercy.”

That had me freezing, and I cocked my head to the side, curious to hear more but knowing I didn’t have time for this shit.

“They are gonna take over Desolation, the Ruin…. Fuck, in time, they’ll take over the fucking world.”

I chuckled, Maksim’s fear making way for false bravado.

“????? ??????, ? ????? ?? ??? ??????, ??????? ??????? ?????? ????????, ? ?? ?

??? ????????? ????? ?? ????? ??? ???????.”Elias will find out, and when he does, the Stygian will have full control, and you and everyone else will be nothing but lapdogs.

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