Page 106 of Savage Redemption

Rosie bounces onto a plush sofa and pats the cushion next to her. “Sit down. Tell me everything.”

I sit, and Rosie plants Erin in my lap. “Say hello to Daddy. And you, what took you so long?”

I kiss the top of the baby’s head and take a moment to admire her utter perfection. Her tiny fingers claw at my chin.

“She’s so beautiful,” I breathe, barely able to believe my luck. How did I have any part in creating such a thing of absolute wonder?

“She is, obviously, but what about you? Why did you stay so long in Tenerife?”

“Loose ends to tie up.”

“What loose ends? You said he was dead.”

“He is. Very. But it appears we weren’t the only ones keen to see the back of Kristian Kaminski.”

Her eyes narrow. “So, who else…?”

“His own men, it seems. Especially the ones closer to the top of his ranks. The ones who could see at first hand the fucking mess Kaminski was making of things.”

“But, it’s only been, what, three weeks or so.”

“Seems that was long enough.”

“Oh. So, what happened?”

I don’t dress it up. She knew our plans, broadly, which were to do the hit and run. “I did the deed. At his racecourse. Lethal injection of ketamine. Fast and painless, or so it looked.”

“Right…”

“Problem was that his guards reacted faster than we anticipated and shut the gates. My exit route was blocked.”

“Fuck,” she breathes, quickly covering Erin’s ears. “So, how did you escape?”

“I was contemplating scaling the outer wall, but I’d have been a sitting duck. Then, out of nowhere, one of Kaminski’s underbosses appeared and showed me the way to a service entrance. He had the key and let me out.”

“One of his underbosses? Why? Why would he do that?”

“Discontent in the ranks. Seems Kaminski was losing money, they weren’t getting paid, and he was sending men on stupid, pointless missions. Several had been killed already, or slung in jail. They’d had enough and wanted rid. So, I did them a favour.”

“I thought Mafia guards were fiercely loyal. Ethan’s men would die for him.”

“But the difference is, Ethan’s a great leader and they all trust him. He sees them right. Good money, lots of perks. He has their backs, and they have his. Loyalty has to be earned, and it can easily be squandered. Baz was the main brains behind their entire operation, and even if Kaminski didn’t appreciate his worth, they did. It was all falling apart, their livelihoods wereat stake. Their families, too, not to mention their lives. They wanted Baz back, end of.”

“But you’re not Baz. Why did this man help you?”

“Feliks — that was the guy’s name — is a sharp cookie. Kaminski’s money man, not one of his thugs. He recognised me, worked out what had happened because the crowd around where Kaminski had gone down were panicking, and backed a hunch. He guessed I was working with Baz and gave me a message for him.”

“What message?”

“Please come back, all is forgiven.” Near enough.

“Did you pass it on?”

“Yes. Of course.”

“And Baz went back?”

“Eventually. Obviously, he needed to check it out first, gauge the likely support, suss out any guards remaining loyal to Kaminski.”

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