Page 106 of The Grief We Hold

“Stay in the goddamn va?—”

The punch to my jaw comes out of nowhere, sending me sprawling to the ground. “You bastards. We teach you lesson,” he says as my Glock spins out of reach on the floor.

“Someone should teach you to lock your fucking doors,” I say as I raise my foot and nail him in the knee. Something breaks, I feel it give, and he falls to the floor.

It gives me time to spring to my feet, grab my knife, and stab him through the side of his neck. While I love watching them die, I don’t have time tonight and grab my Glock.

“Keep one of those fuckers alive,” Butcher says as he charges into the room.

“Maybe that can be your job,” Grudge says through my earpiece. The words come out like he’s in the middle of a struggle, and I scan the warehouse, looking for him.

A tall man with black hair pulled back into a pathetic-looking ponytail has Grudge in a headlock. Grudge fires his elbow backwards into the man’s ribs, but he doesn’t let go.

I run towards the two of them as Grudge grows more and more red. He stops attacking and tries to defend, scrambling to get his hands beneath the man’s arms.

When I reach them, I pistol whip the motherfucker so hard, I swear I hear his skull crack. He stumbles for a moment until his eyes roll back in his head like I just pulled the handle on an arcade game.

Grudge drops to his knees. “Thanks.”

I offer him my hand and hoist him to his feet, just as Butcher reaches us.

“Atom, stop that shit,” he shouts. “We don’t want any of your DNA left behind.”

Atom holds a man on the floor by his collar and beats his face over and over until he’s covered in blood spatter and the man is clearly dead.

Atom looks at his knuckles. “None of it’s mine, Butcher.”

Butcher shakes his head and looks at one of the three men on their knees by the steps, who appear to have decided that surrender is the right path here. Catfish points his weapon straight at them.

Gunfire is slowing down. Butcher walks straight through the warehouse like a man whoknowsGod decided that today is not the day for him. The confidence that no bullet or fist in this building could possibly bring him down. When I was younger, I used to think it made him the coolest man alive.

Now I realize it’s reckless.

And the club would be utterly bereaved if anything happened to the man.

So, I provide backup. While he looks at the three on their knees, I look at everyone else.

“Which of you fuckers is the most senior?” Butcher asks when he gets to them.

They look at him blankly. “Don’t play the ‘we don’t speak any English’ bullshit with me.”

The looks they pass between one another is one of confusion. “Who’s the boss?” I ask.

“Him,” the one with thick dark eyebrows says. He points to the man I stabbed through the neck.

I look to Butcher. “Shit. These guys are probably just the hired help.”

Butcher points to the man who just spoke. “You. Come with me.”

The man does as Butcher says, then Butcher looks at me. “Finish it off. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

I raise my gun and fire a single shot into each of them. “That’s for scaring Raven.”

We make quick work of raising the warehouse doors enough to take out all our plants and put them in the back of the vans.

Catfish makes it up to the office and manages to find two large bundles of cash.

Smoke enters the room. “I’ve left the explosives in the van.”

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