Page 89 of Fiercely Protective

“I had heard that you were a dangerous man, Delaney, but I didn’t think you were stupid,” he stated loudly in a thick accent before laughing and slapping one of the men beside him on the back.

I ignored the insult. “It was ambitious of you to try to take on the Volkoff Bratva, Petros. Some might say even ballsy, but to think that you could come into my city and take from me was the mistake that will end your life.”

His laughter stopped as he stepped closer. “You are just like my father, unable to see what I am capable of, thinking that you know better than me.” He held his arms out wide. “And now I will take it all. Once I have killed you and taken over all your holdings and businesses, I will move on to New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas…”

I held up my hand just to get him to shut his mouth. “You have already tried Vegas. That didn’t go as you had hoped.”

I watched his face redden. His immaturity showed at that moment. In this world, you learn how to hide your emotions. Petros just showed a weakness; he could be goaded into making foolish mistakes. It was probably how Sevan managed to control him.

His lips curled into a snarl. “You talk big for someone about to die.”

“You are a puppet, Petros. Sevan has been pulling your strings the entire time, feeding me information about your attacks and hoping I would take you out so he can take control of your father’s organization.”

He took another step closer, but I held my ground.

“You know nothing! You are spouting lies, hoping to save your miserable life. You should be on your knees begging me to at least make your death swift.”

The sound of one of the men behind him falling to the ground drew his attention. He turned just in time to see another one fall. Chaos moved through the ranks of his men as others fell to the ground. Tomas’s sniper skills were impressive. It only took a matter of seconds until Petros was the only one left.

He was shaking now with both rage and fear.

“I am not alone! I have other men with me.”

I shook my head. “You think I was not prepared for that. The other men who came with you are already dead. Although, I’m sure they were not granted the easy death these men were. So, it’s just you and me, Petros. How do you want to play it?”

His hands curled into fists. “I’m going to kill you, Delaney.”

He rushed forward, a blade in his hand, and swiped at me. I shifted to the left and easily avoided his attack. The fool still thought he could win. After wiping out the remaining men that followed him, Petros still thought he could beat me. It almost felt as if I were doing something especially evil by killing this man. The neurons in his brain were obviously not firing as they should.

He lunged for me again, this time almost nicking the sleeve of my coat. While a part of me enjoyed this, I was most anxious to end it. I still had Sevan to deal with, and I wasn’t quite sure how I wanted to handle that.

“Let me make it easy for you, Petros. You are already destined to die tonight. Throw down the knife and I promise to make it quick and clean. I have other things I need to do and playing cat and mouse with you is beginning to bore me.”

The young man’s eyes narrowed as sweat beaded across his forehead. “You are the one that will die tonight, Delaney. Or maybe I will keep you alive just long enough for you to watch me force your pretty little wife to her knees to suck my cock.”

The fury I felt at that moment couldn’t have been contained if I had tried. I swiftly grabbed the hand holding the knife while gripping his throat with the other.

His face began to turn red then purple as the air flow was cut off, his windpipe crushing beneath the force of my fingers.

“Speaking of my wife was the one sure way to make certain your death will not be either neat or painless.”

His strength was fading as I twisted the hand in which he still held the knife between us. Spit began to pool in the corner of his mouth as he struggled to draw a breath. I thrust the knife forward into his belly, his eyes widened, and I loosened my grip around his throat, allowing him the opportunity to breathe even if was only for a moment. I didn’t want him to slip away so easily. The knife was still embedded deep into his stomach. I jerked it to the side, and I stepped back and released him. He fell to his knees, his hands immediately going to the wound where his guts were now visible.

At that moment, Blaze walked around the corner covered in blood, a look of surreal satisfaction on his face. “Is he dead, yet?”

I bent down watching the shallow rise and fall of his chest. “No, but he soon will be.”

Blaze stood over him, blood dripping from his hands. “Finish him so we can be done with this.”

Tomas stepped forward. “Why are you in such a hurry? Do you have another lady waiting to be left disappointed and unfulfilled tonight?”

I stood up and placed a hand on Blaze’s chest to stop him from going after Tomas.

Alessio moved in front of Tomas. “That’s enough. While the two of you may have nothing better to do than spit insults and spar with each other, I would like to end this and be back in bed with my wife before the sun rises.”

Blaze looked down at the man lying in a pool of blood at my feet. “This mess needs to be cleaned up.”

I stared at Petros as he took his final breaths. He was beyond comprehension now. It wouldn’t be much longer. “Daniel and a crew of men are waiting for my text. He will make sure everything is handled here.” I pulled my cell phone from my coat pocket.

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