Page 106 of Ruthless Beasts

"He'll never touch her," Mercer said with conviction. "In fact, he'll never know."

I was so fucking close I could smell the rancid aroma of body odor and chain smoking that wafted off Rocco in waves. I reached into my coat pocket, moving so slowly it was nearly painful, until my fingers wrapped around the thick hilt of my blade. I pulled it out, unsheathing it, before holding it out in front of me.

"I'll tell him," Rocco vowed.

"You'd have to live that long, and I don't foresee that happening." Mercer's face was stone, not giving away the fact that I stood behind him, ready to take his life.

"You've forgotten that I have a gun, too." Rocco snorted. "And I've spent more years on this earth perfecting my aim."

"You think I'd go out on a job and not have perfect aim?" Mercer's brow rose. "Sir, I respect your confidence, but you could never take me out."

God damn him for goading a man with a gun. Couldn't he let his pride go for one fucking second?

Rocco laughed. "Something you may have never known, son, is that it was me. I started this organization, and when I grew tired, I handed it over to my brother. He's twenty years younger than I am, still has a drive for this life."

Mercer didn't let on that this massive chunk of an informative bomb was dropped in our laps. How had we not known? Did Adam know? They had covered up this secret well. Hell, we were barely teens when the organization switched hands.

"How do you feel about the way your brother has run what you built into the ground?"

"It's not over, you know." The man waved his gun a little. "Sometimes it looks down, but that's only to strengthen the foundation."

"I'm pretty sure by the time we're done, there will be no foundation to strengthen. We will kill him. You could kill me now, but that won't stop it." Mercer's eyes narrowed on his gun, which was becoming progressively more shaky. "We'll own everything that was his. Take what we want and disregard the rest like trash. Or would it be your empire, what you built, that goes to waste?"

"I've grown tired, son." Rocco sighed. "I guess, since you refused to put down your weapon, and I'm not abandoning mine, that we've reached a stalemate. You think your aim is better than mine. I doubt it. But for the sake of your pride and mine, count of three. Winner takes all."

"I've got nothing to take from you." Mercer smiled. "Besides your life."

"Funny, because I've got everything to take from you. The girl, the child, the empire you've worked to build." Rocco laughed. "I wonder what your friends would think when they find you dead. How vengeful would they be?" He sighed. "I guess we'll find out. One."

Fuck me. He was serious?

"Two."

The thing about men like us is we have no honor system. There is trust when it comes to us, just not outside of our family. So when the number two left his mouth, followed by the sound of his gun firing, I didn't hesitate. I reached forward, gripping his thin greasy strands of hair, and yanked his head back before slicing my blade deep through the paper-thin skin of his throat. Warmth poured over my fingers as his blood spurted out. I let go, his body instantly slumping, and when I looked up, my heart nearly stopped when Mercer staggered backwards into a wall, leaving a trail of blood behind.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

MERCER

My arm throbbed, an unfortunate side effect when you get grazed by a bullet, I guess. But a little blood never deterred me, and the moment the shock of the situation wore off, I couldn't help but think about how fucking lucky I was. If Ace hadn't acted so quickly, I knew that Rocco's aim would have been right on, straight to my heart. But the slight jolt of Ace grabbing onto his head tilted his arm at the very last second, changing the trajectory of the bullet.

I looked over at my friend as he pulled into our driveway. "It's fine; it's just a little graze."

Still, I couldn't get the look of fear that crossed his face out of my mind. For a moment, before he hopped over the couch and was checking every inch of my body, he had worried for me. Hell, I think even now, knowing I'm safe, he still had fear.

"It was too fucking close for my liking," he grumbled.

I wouldn't admit it, but it was too fucking close for my liking, too. I didn't want to repeat that anytime soon. "We're home now. Things went well. Every single plan went off without a hitch andsoon, if he isn't already, Accardo will lose his shit. He'll know just who the fuck he has been messing with the whole time."

Ace’s phone buzzed, and he looked down at the message. "Adam will be home soon."

"Good. See. It's all perfect." I pushed open the car door so he couldn't see the anxiety that was in my eyes, which stated just how far from perfect our plan almost went. How close to death I came. My limbs stretched as I climbed out of the car, and then I bent down, peering inside where he still sat. "Are you coming in?"

"Think I'll wait for Adam." He reached over, snagging some gum from the center console, before shoving a piece in his mouth. "Make sure everyone gets in okay."

"They are fine," I promised, even knowing we all had a risk tonight. Some more than others.

"Still."

---