Page 155 of King Of Order

He wasn’t going to pay and didn’t plan to negotiate.

He was going to steal it all.

Damian jerked a chin to the pair of bodyguards they brought along, and in seconds, the two of them were brandishing weapons at me.

‘What’s this?’ I whispered, aware this had been one of the possible outcomes I’d played out with the Calibrese brothers.

‘Fabian gave me a cruel grin. ‘I have no plans to provide you with a share of it. Yourfratellocaused me immense pain with his delayed payments on our last transactions and several previous ones.

‘So you’re a regular of his?’

‘I was. But this find is the best yet and will keep my art soul sated for a while. I also don’t want to deal with Claudio any longer. I’m done with his inefficiency and fuckin’ uselessness.’

He turned, pointed a weapon at Claudio, and shot my brother.

Who happened to lift his hand and swivel, deflecting the hit.

It still caught him in his flabby flank, and he cried out and fell to the ground, bleeding.

‘I’ll finish you off later,’ Fabian snarled, turning to the precious artwork. ‘Get it,’ he growled to his men.

I faked my protests, inching back and moving closer to Mauri as Fabian’s thugs surged forward, barreling toward the glass-encased canvas, ready to whisk it away.

I braced, my stomach twisting in anticipation.

They were fast, but so were the defenses we’d put in place.

As soon as they got within range of the bulletproof enclosure wired with electrical charges and reached for the painting, the air around the creation crackled, and a high-pitched whine filled the gallery.

There was a sudden flash, and the next thing I knew, both men flew through the air and crumpled on the floor, twitching from the electric charge the security system emitted.

Fabian turned me, enraged. ‘The fuck?’

Only to find himself facing off with my weapon, a Beretta, retrieved from under a sculpture pedestal where Rio had taped it earlier.

Fabian’s eyes widened in shock, but it only lasted a moment.

Then, his gaze shifted, his face darkening with rage. He moved faster than I expected for a man of his size and, with a roar, lunged at me.

I didn’t delay.

I aimed for his gun arm and squeezed the trigger.

He cried out when the bullet sheered off his thumb, causing him to let go of his firearm and scream. His blood spurted in the air.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mauri tackle the pair of bodyguards who had drawn guns.

I tagged a shadow to my right and instinctively ducked.

Just in time as Damian’s hand slapped my firearm from my hold.

It clattered to the floor.

‘Think you can play games with us, bitch?’ he snarled, righting and readying himself to come at me. ‘You have no idea who you’re dealing with.’

‘Oh, I know who I’m fucking with,’ I shot back, my voice steady despite the fear racing through my veins.

I wasn’t about to let him intimidate me. Not now. Not after everything.

---