Page 72 of The Pretty Psycho

I could see the rooftop of the warehouse I was supposed to head to in the distance, and I had no doubt my father's operatives covered the building, making sure I was truly alone. I parked my car on the side of the road and slowly exited, taking with me the guns I'd managed to snatch, along with the knife pushed into my boot, and started walking.

The air held an eerie note in it, almost as if the universe knew what was about to happen.

I wasn't regretting coming here alone, but I did regret not finding Vega first. I knew, however, that one look at her would stop me from doing this, because there was no way I'd be able to walk into this trap if I allowed myself to be ensnared in those eyes that were my undoing. I was pissed at her, we were probably broken up, but I knew she cared for me in her own way, and she probably wouldn't want me dead.

What I was walking into was probably the end for me, but I didn't mind. Jax, Dante, Arseniy, and Ethan would be able to finish the job I wasn't able to, and I would do everything in my power to damage as many of these motherfuckers as possible and to get the Dragomirov family out of my father's clutches.

Crows cawed somewhere in the distance as my boots ate up the distance between my car and the first warehouse with a peeling facade and sign I could no longer read. I always wondered why they never tried to revive this area, but I had a feeling that it primarily had something to do with the Academy.

It was in our best interest to keep a low profile here, and if all these companies had their headquarters here that would mean a lot of attention on this town, which wouldn't bode well for the Academy, nor for any of our syndicates.

The Academy wasn't just the place where other families could send their kids to hone their skills and become better killers. No, I wished it were that simple.

That place was like the central station for all deals, meetings, parties, weddings, anything that needed to happen on neutral ground. There was an agreement between all the families that the Academy should not be touched, no matter what. It was the one place where all of us could coexist and trying to harm anyone from any family was considered the highest of offenses.

This was why my father's actions pissed me off even more.

He was the one that came up with these rules. He was the one who made sure that none of the students would ever be harmed and that none of the families would ever try to attack one another, only to turn around and kill a bunch of people because he didn't get everything he wanted.

He wanted me back, I knew that, but the only way I would go back to him would be in a body bag. He would need to kill me before I ever agreed to work for him again.

The leaves flew with the wind, dancing around me as I stopped behind the first warehouse, scanning my surroundings. I was out in the open and I'd bet they were expecting me, but that didn't mean I had to just walk in and serve myself up on a silver platter. If any of his men were lurking around, I would know. After all, we went through the same training.

We used to serve the same master, the same fucked-up mission, and while they definitely knew the way I operated, I also knew their tactics.

The back of my back tingled, my senses alerting me that someone was definitely watching me, but before I could turn around, the cold barrel of a gun pressed to my skin, freezing me to the spot.

"Well, this is definitely surprising." I chuckled, lifting my arms up in the air. "Already?"

But the person behind me kept quiet, pushing me against the wall of the warehouse.

"Do you have a voice or did the cat get your tongue?" I asked, buying my time. Judging by the slight shadow on the ground, whoever it was, they were taller than me, which meant that it was possible I couldn't beat them by size alone. I was about to turn around, when a familiar voice spoke.

"I knew you were crazy, but this crazy?" He laughed, lowering down the gun and turning me around. "I didn't know you were this crazy, brother."

Ethan's blue eyes shone with mischief as his hands landed on my shoulders.

"Ethan?" I laughed, feeling the weight being lifted from my chest. "Jesus, fuck, man. I almost kicked you in the balls."

"You could've tried," he mocked, wrapping me in his bear hug. "It's been too fucking long, Adrian."

It definitely was. The last time I saw Ethan we were saying goodbye on a tarmac in Paris, almost one year ago. He was busy, or at least that's what he said, but I knew there was more to the story than he wanted to share.

"How?" I stepped back, looking at him. "How the fuck are you here?"

"Jax and Dante called me." He grinned. "They already knew I was in town, and judging by your suicidal tendencies, it's a good thing they did. What the fuck are you thinking, man?"

"I'm thinking that I need to save that family. I'm thinking that the Dragomirovs don't deserve to die just because they got tangled in our shit."

"And you think that sacrificing yourself would redeem you?" He squinted, obviously not agreeing with my choices. "Last time we spoke you did not sound like a stupid-ass motherfucker."

"Hey!" I grumbled. "We both know that we sometimes need to sacrifice ourselves for other people."

"Yeah." He pushed his gun into its holster and crossed his arms over his chest. "When it's necessary, fuckface. This here," he pointed at the warehouses, "this isn't necessary, especially since the Dragomirovs aren't even here."

I paled, or at least I could feel myself paling. "What do you mean?"

"I checked the warehouse where they were allegedly being held and guess what—your daddy dearest filled it with his special boys and girls, but the hostages are not there. They're in a different location, and Jax and Dante are already on it."

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