Page 59 of The Devil's Conflict

Shadow nods. “I know you’re right. Let’s get out of here so I can clear my head. Then I’ll try and come back and make sure to give Quinn a break. Because I’m sure by then Macy will have pushed her to her limits.”

We head down the drive and out the gate. Shadow heads out with Arson and the others, and Bullet and I head the opposite way. It’s time to get back to work and see just what Vlad and his men are hiding down the road.

TWENTY-FIVE

VLAD

No more mistakes. The Devil’s Soldiers, their whores, and their brats’ days are numbered.

“They’re sniffingaround two of our stash houses, Boss,” the man in front of me informs me, his voice shaking slightly as he twitches nervously. I say nothing as I continue to stare at him, waiting for him to continue. “Uh, there are about four of them at the one on the west border of the city, and then the others are on the one on the east. They, uh, they seem to be trying to divide and conquer, but they also seem to have found the decoy house, not the actual one that we’re using, so we’re, uh, we’re probably safe. And, uh, we also have safeguards in place in both the decoy and the main houses.”

“Elaborate,” I order, leaning forward as he continues to squirm.

“Oh, ah, well, we ah, we put some light explosives to go off as soon as they activate the trip wire when they walk in at the one on the west side,” he continues. “And then, if they get past that, there is another pressure sensor just under the floorboards a few steps inside. So they’re going to definitely set it off.”

“And if they don’t set it off?”

More squirming before he finally admits, “Uh, well, then nothing will happen. But we also don’t have anything in there but some of our fake stuff that should keep them busy for a while. We even have a few special rooms that will make them think they found the right spot but when in reality there isn’t anything there but what we want them to find.”

I say nothing as I quickly think through what he’s told me. Most of which I already knew, though the explosives are new. Before I can question him on that, the door opens and Nikolai steps in. His face is an emotionless mask, and when his gaze lands on the solider in front of me, the soldier looks about ready to piss himself in fear.

I don’t know why this solider is working for me if he’s such a useless son of a bitch, but until I know more about what’s going on with the Devil’s Soldiers, I can’t dispose of him.

“Are you absolutely certain that the actual stash house is undetectable?” I ask the soldier pointedly.

He bobs his head fast, glancing at Nikolai nervously quickly before looking back at me. “And I’ve told our men to make sure if they get too close to make sure everyone is quiet or take them out.”

“Good. And the other building?”

“Ah, well, it looks like the same guys from the other night, but they still haven’t found anything,” he assures me. “And that one the stash is located about half a mile away, and unless they figure out how to get into the tunnel, we’re fine. But that’s also hidden really well.”

“For your sake, it better be,” I warn him icily. “Now get out and make sure they don’t get too close.” He nods and rushes out, giving Nikolai a wide berth. Before the door shuts, I can hear him let out a huge sigh of relief, but little does he know his days are numbered. I have no time for men that have no spine, and that one is going to fuck things up far faster than any of the others.

I look at Nikolai. “Are you here to tell me anymore bad news?” I ask him tightly.

“The Misfits have a few men in severe debt to a couple of bookies back in their home state,” Nikolai replies. “And while they’re managing, a good shove in their direction might just give us an in into the club grounds. Or at least send the Misfits running home and lowering the Devil’s Soldiers reserves of men.”

“And which ones are they?” I ask.

He pulls a folder from beneath his arm and hands it to me. “Both of them have families that they aren’t going to want harmed, and I’ve already instructed some of our men to deliver a message to them. Then we’ll see who runs home and where we’re at.”

“And hopefully we’ll have a few less to deal with when they get to the decoy stash house,” I say, pleased that things are going my way.

Nikolai nods. “However, there may be something else we need to consider,” he advises. He pulls a piece of paper out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket and hands it to me. “This is Athena Sutton. She is currently on the grounds at the Devil’s Soldiers, and was almost trapped in the building because she played hero and helped rescue one of the patrons. It was in the paper, and when I saw the photo of her standing with the MC members, I did some digging. It turns out, her brother is Prospecting, and she knows one of them, their VP. Apparentlythey served together in the Army, and he was her superior officer. And from what listening ears were able to tell our men that snuck into the crowd, the two of them have a thing going on.”

“So he’s screwing her,” I say in disgust, tossing down the paper. “Do I look like I give a shit who they are each fucking? I want them dead, and then it won’t be a problem.”

“I suggest you look at the paper again,” Nikolai admonishes, steel in his voice.

I stare him down for a moment, but finally pick up the paper and scan it more closely. Most of it is her military record, her commendations, and then her retirement. Or forced discharge by the look of things. “I don’t fucking see what you’re hinting at,” I snap at him.

“She was Special Forces, and her role involved communications and decoding,” he replies mildly. “And if you look at the one closest to the bottom, you’ll see that she was the one who managed to decode the encrypted messages that Boris Zaitsev received from the Pakhan. It cost us millions in merchandise, and the Feds and Army arrested forty of our best men. It was such a disaster that it shut down our pipeline from the ships on the west coast to get our wares into the middle states and Canada.”

“All because of one fucking woman?” I demand incredulously, looking back at the paper again.

“She has a reputation for being one of the best at cracking any code. The Forces didn’t want to let her go, but the higher-ups needed to silence her because they needed her teammates’ connections more.”

“So what the fuck does that have to do with me?” I demand. “She’s clearly not doing this shit now.”

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