Page 53 of With This Ring

“I’ll reach out to you, Kaison. In, say, forty-eight hours?”

“Forty-eight hours,” I repeat, and he hangs up.

Taking deep breaths that do nothing to calm my rising temper, I growl, “Who. The fuck. Disobeyed our orders?”

“No fucking idea,” he says, strapping a knife to his belt loop and holstering his gun at his back, “but whoever it is will regret that they were ever born.”

I don’t like repeating myself. I also don’t like motherfuckers not listening when I say shit. The person or people involved in killing the Russian kid will die screaming.

“Call everyone,” I say over my shoulder as I step into the hallway to wake Nico up. “I want to get to the bottom of this shit today.”

I bang on Nico’s door, my temper still flaring. It’s not often I get called in the middle of the night for some bullshit. That’s usually Pop’s area.

That pulls me up short. No, it’s not Pop’s anymore. It’s me. I’m the leader of the St. Clair family now. Any decisions going forward will be mine and Carter’s.

Pop probably gave Vlad my number. They have a contentious relationship, so it makes sense that he would have Pop’s number. And with Pop not speaking to me, why not give the Russian my number so he could call me himself?

Irritation flows through my veins, but I tamp it down. It’s not time to think about Pop right now. Right now, I need to focus on the pieces of shit that feel like they don’t have to follow my fucking orders.

Nico answers his bedroom door, gun in hand. “What happened?”

“Russians called. Someone killed a Russian kid. We gotta figure out who.”

All traces of sleepiness leave his eyes. “Give me ten minutes to get dressed.”

Two days later,Vlad and his son Alexei stand in the basement of The Fox Club, surrounded by twenty of my men and twenty of Carter’s. Upstairs, twenty more men sit around and guard the club in case the Russians cross us.

Hanging from my favorite hook is the man that green lit the operation to kidnap the first Russian they came across in Russian territory to get information about the war. The other three men involved are piled in the corner, bullets in their heads and chests. Their families get a dozen roses, but they will not be given a funeral. They’ll be taken to one of the St. Clair funeral homes and cremated, their names and legacies not to be spoken of again. Their families will also not be compensated for their deaths. They knew the risk when they decided to go against our fucking orders—unless they had money saved up for a rainy day for their families, they’ll be out in the cold. They’ll only have their wayward fucking fathers or husbands to blame.

Me, Vlad, and Carter stand close to the man that is begging for his life. Blood spills from his mouth and wounds all over his body. He smells like piss and shit, having been left to hang from the hook for close to thirty hours. He hasn’t suffocated from his position, but he’s not long for this world.

“I was…just…trying to…help,” he says pitifully, trying to open swollen eyes.

To my pleasure, I got to watch Carter work this time. I can tell he was trained in fighting, his punches and knees landing in places that are meant to cause maximum harm. He allowed Mack, the man hanging, to defend himself, but it was like a professional boxer fighting a priest—it was a no contest.

Watching him work was so hot that I blew him after we strung Mack up, swallowing his load with relish before we went to find the other men that Mack told us were involved. Carter fucked my face like he hated me, and I was in fucking heaven.

Carter slaps Mack across the face almost lazily, but Mack still cries out in pain. “We fucking said to stand down.Youdecided you didn’t want tofollow fucking orders,” he growls. “Tell Vlad what you told us.”

Mack peeks over at Vlad, a large, strained breath leaving his chest. “Kid said…you weren’t…involved.”

“He was right,” Vlad says in an almost bored tone. “You snatched someone on my territory. That will not fly with me, my friend.”

“Not…your friend,” Mack manages to snark, even in the position he’s in.

I glare at him. “Now ain’t the time for your smart fucking mouth.” I pull my blade from behind my back and flick it over to Vlad. “You can get your revenge, then we’re square.”

Vlad takes the blade and twists it in his fingers. “Beautiful blade.”

“It’s my favorite,” I say dryly.

He looks up at me. “I want compensation for the youth’s family. Five million should do it.”

“Done,” Carter and I say together.

Vlad nods and looks back at the knife in admiration. “He was not a part of my family. If he were, I would not rest until everyone responsible was killed, including you two.”

“Watch it,” Carter threatens.

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