Page 88 of The Hermit

Evinka opens her window, and sticking her hand out the window she flips Alan off. It has him racing his SUV around ours and taking the lead.

When he looks in the rearview mirror, Evinka signs that she’s going to fuck him up when this is over. Alan just gives her a thumbs-up.

I glance at Grace, and even though she’s putting on a brave face, I can see the fear in her eyes. Reaching behind my seat, I take hold of her hand.

She grips me tightly and asks, “How are you doing?”

“As long as you keep breathing, I’m fine,milácik.”

When we approach another street that we can use to get to the other side of the goddamn neighborhood, Alan slows down and glances up the road.

Waving his hand fast, he signals Evinka to floor it while they wait for us to pass, using their SUV as a shield to protect us as we race past another bratva roadblock.

“Jebat!” The guards take fire but seem to be okay, then I mutter, “It’s only a matter of time before they come after us.”

Letting go of Grace’s hand, I grab my cell phone and call Santiago.

The moment he answers, I say, “The fuckers have every street blocked. We can’t get to your side of the district.”

“Fine, I’ll come get your asses,” he chuckles. “Send me your location so I can find you.”

I quickly send him the location, then mutter, “Don’t take your time.”

“Me? Never. Be on the lookout for the truck with the MBRL you supplied. That discount is counting in your favor today.”

When we end the call, I shake my head. “I thought I was insane, but Santiago is a whole different level of crazy.”

“What’s an MBRL?” Grace asks.

“A big fucking multi-barrel missile launcher.”

I quickly send Alan a text so he’ll know Santiago is coming.

Just then, a message comes through from the alliance.

Ilias: The fuckers are everywhere! We just took out a roadblock. Where are you?

“U-Turn! Ilias and the others are behind us. They took out one of the roadblocks.”

Evinka throws up the handbrake to make the SUV turn sharply, almost giving Alan a heart attack.

Dominik: We’re coming back in your direction. If you see an insane fucker in a truck with an MBRL, it’s Santiago.

I check the magazine of the machine gun, and seeing I have around twenty rounds left, I slam it back into place.

When we near the side street we just drove past, I open fire on the Russian fuckers before giving them the middle finger.

This time, they scramble to get into their vehicles, and I say, “Brace for an attack.”

“Jesus,” Grace whispers.

“We’ll be okay,moja láska. We’ve gotten out of shittier situations than this one.”

“Good to know,” she mutters.

When the alliance comes into view, I glance behind us to see if the bratva soldiers followed us. A grin spreads over my face as I order, “Stop the SUV.”

Evinka hits the brakes, and I throw my door open. The instant the vehicle stops, I lunge out and open fire on the fuckers.

---