Page 137 of For a Price

“This is insanity,” Kazan objects, slapping a hand on the war planning table. “Zver, we’ll be heavily outnumbered. We can’t go through with this!”

I aim a deadly glare in his direction. “Shram, know your place. I suggest you shut the fuck up right now or I will make sure you quickly learn it.”

He bites back the next response he wants to give, falling silent. I look around the room at the rest of my men waiting on my direction.

“Eto poslednyaya bitva?*,” I say. “We have no choice but to be victorious. Finish getting ready. Tonight, we head out.”

Kazan remains in his chair until the rest of the men have left and then he chooses to backtalk some more.

“Zver,” he says through gritted teeth, “you said we would be smart about taking out the pakhan. A direct attack is anything but. We need to scrap this plan. It is suicide.”

“You will have to trust that it will work.”

“Trust? What trust when it will be twenty men against one hundred?”

“It is my decision. Not yours.”

He half-lunges out of his chair until I do the same, rising to full height. I eclipse him easily, glaring down at him in a final warning.

“Tonight is the night the pakhan is becoming the new owner of the Midnight Society. Which means tonight is the night we attack. If you are too much of a pussy, then get the fuck out of my sight. If you are as loyal and brave as you’ve claimed, then go get ready. We leave at twenty hundred hours.”

Kazan’s nostrils flare from his anger boiling on the inside but he gives a reluctant nod. Rising to his feet, he marches out of the room. Presumably to go arm himself for our departure.

I crack my neck and close my eyes, taking the moment to center myself. In front of my men I’ve had to appear unyielding and fearless, but the truth is, the possibility we might fail tonight lurks in the shadows of my mind.

I’ve put faith in many things working out in my favor tonight.

There’s a chance it won’t happen that way. There’s a chance it will be the opposite.

All members of the Midnight Society show up in their dazzling black-tie dress and masks to the Winchester Hotel. We watch from a high rise across the busy city street as limousines andtown cars pull through the circle valet, and some of Easton’s richest residents get out to head inside.

The pakhan arrives later than everyone.

The guest of honor, he pulls up in a motorcade of sleek black cars. The doors fly open and he steps out along with his men. Just his security detail outnumbers the crew of men I have.

That doesn’t count the men already inside. The other crews he must have on standby or in the area.

I can sense Kazan’s irritation. He yearns to tell me I told you so, but it doesn’t fucking matter what he thinks.

We’ll proceed with our plan as discussed.

If we wait any longer, then the pakhan will have the Midnight Society under his thumb and the opportunity to stage an attack first, putting us in a defensive position. The same defensive position it seems we’ve been playing for a while since I was unaware of his motives.

It’s time we make the offensive move. The pakhan must be taken by surprise. What better opportunity than the night he believes he’ll be assuming power over another organization?

“Alright, time to move in,” I say, speaking into the mic attached to my tactical vest. The men I have stationed on the ground level are able to hear every word spoken. I motion at the small team who have stuck with me. “Remember the plan. Same entry routes.”

My men advance on the Winchester from all angles. Some come up the rear while others approach the sides. Me and my small crew approach the front.

The valets stationed outside the hotel rush toward us to inform us there’s a closed event happening.

“I’m sorry but this is invitation only,” one of the men says.

We don’t slow down, unsheathing large knives once we’re within reach and twisting them into their stomachs.

“This is my invite,” I growl, stepping aside to let the one I’ve stabbed flop to the ground. We carry on through the front entrance.

More men start toward us, these security for the hotel. They meet a similar fate. A few reach for the holsters strapped to their hips, but we’re quicker than they are. We take them out with relative ease, barely making a peep.

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