Page 92 of Claim

Jax tosses the guy on the floor, and I call him over.

“What happened?”

He rubs his hand across his forehead.

“Fuck knows. Bill came out with a wad of cash. As I went to grab it, that asshole I just beat down tried to snatch it. Then more of them appeared.”

So they knew it was collection day. It was calculated.

“Take Bill and shove him in Niki’s car. Let’s see what he knows. We have to take care of any leads to Ivan.”

They both nod and head over to the bar.

“Alexei, with me.”

He looks at me with a wicked grin and rolls himself off his victim then jumps to his feet.

“Can I drive?” Alexei asks as we walk out to my Corvette.

“Not a chance in hell.” I swing the keys around my finger as we approach my matte black beauty.

“No fun.” He pouts and I slap him on the back of the head.

“You have enough money. Go buy your own.”

“Nah. The bike keeps me entertained. Don’t need another death trap.”

Alexei is unusually quiet as I drive to the warehouse, his leg bouncing up and down.

“You think Ivan is going to come back?”

“Here? No. I think we are going to have to take the fight to him. He knows it’s too risky to step foot on my territory.”

He nods, deep in thought. “When?”

“When, what, Alexei?” I grip the steering wheel tighter.

“When can we take him out? I know Lara is worried he’s going to come back for her. I just want to kill him so she can stop worrying.”

I sigh. I’ve just gotten back from Russia. We aren’t ready. Especially now that I have Galena and Ana to protect.

“Enzo is still investigating the information on that drive. It might have answers we need. Or the leverage to get us backing in Russia. We have to do this right. I’ve got the scars to prove what happens when it goes wrong going up against him.”

Ivan will keep doing shit like this to show he can get to us. It’s nothing we can’t deal with while we wait.

“For now, we protect what’s ours, understand, Alexei? And when the time comes, we end that fucker, okay?”

I know how he feels. I won’t live my life constantly worried about my father coming after her.

This has to stop.

“Can we throw a party once he’s dead? You know, like when royalty dies?”

I chuckle.

“No clowns this time.”

As we pull up to the warehouse, Niki and Jax are dragging Bill into the building. I slide out the single-edge razor blade from my inside jacket and hold it between my thumb and finger.

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