Page 75 of Little Dove

“Did she have a weapon?” I ask Massimo.

He shrugs. “No idea, but knowing her, probably. It’s rare she isn’t walking around without something. And after the last attack, she said that was the last time she was going to be without a weapon until everything is fixed.”

Yeah, that sounds like our sister.

“They’ll be fine for a little while longer,” Alonzo assures me as we finally get to the door that leads to the basement. “Probably better that none of them walk out of there until this whole fucking mess is cleaned up anyway. It’ll probably traumatize them.”

He’s probably right, but I still ache to go and see Amara and Sofia myself, to make sure they’re okay.

When we enter the basement, I’m flooded with anticipation when I see the three men suspended from the ceiling. Two of them struggle, curse, and plead, while one hangs quietly, his head down and body still. I can’t tell if he’s passed out, or just conserving his energy.

He’s the one that will have what we need. The others will have a lot to say, but nothing of use. The last one, he’ll be tough to break, but unlucky for him, this is exactly our speciality.

“Oh goody,” Alessio says with a wicked smile when he sees us. “Now the real fun can begin.”

The two men turn their heads toward us. I keep my expression dark, foreboding, and their protests and struggles increase. The clanging of chains fills the room, but the third man never so much as glances our way.

“Two Russians and an Italian.” Zeno snickers. “It’s like the start of one of your stupid American jokes.” He grins at Nico, who ignores him. Not that Zeno cares; he says something to Urso, who snickers.

“Lazaro, which one do you want?” Alessio asks me with a knowing grin. He already knows exactly which one I’ll be tackling. “I promised Dante he can have a crack at one of them though, so you can’t be greedy.”

“Fucking hell, just get the fuck on with it,” Nico snaps, clearly irritated. “We don’t have time to waste with your antics.”

“He’s cranky,” Alessio says with a roll of his eyes toward where Papa and Pietro are standing. The two of them give him bland stares in return. “Tough crowd. Fine, fine, I’ll be quiet and let you all handle them.” He steps back, arms crossed over his chest with a disgruntled expression.

Nico and Dante share an exasperated look, clearly not understanding what Alessio is doing. For smart men, they underestimate him a lot. The two Russian men hanging are now focused on Alessio and the little show he’s putting on, and Alonzo and I are using their distraction to get ourselves ready. On silent feet, we move behind them, and they realize it too late, screaming in pain when we strike them both at the same time. I hit the man in front of me hard in the kidneys, followed up by a knife into his side. Years of experience means I know where to hit to cause pain, and that he’ll die slowly as long as I don’t pull out that knife.

Alonzo does the same to his man, but he knifes him in the belly, twisting it just enough to have him wailing in agony and puking his guts up all over the floor. We quickly step out of the way to avoid getting any of the mess on us, but the vibe in the room instantly changes. Nico and Dante scowl at us, unhappy that we’re not letting them have their turn. “Stop pissing around,” I tell them simply.

Nico curses at me in a low voice, but I turn my attention back to the men in front of me as Alonzo barks sharply, “Speak!”

“Fuck you!” the one with the knife in his side grits out between clenched teeth, even as his ashen face starts to sweat.His accent isn’t as thick, which means he’s been in America longer than their home country.

I punch him straight in the gut, and he screams. “Try again,” I order darkly. “Or the rest of your time on this earth will have you praying to the devil to take you.” For good measure, I reach up and grip one of his fingers tight in my hand and snap it with little effort. When he doesn’t start talking, I move to the next one. By the time I break all the fingers on one hand, he’s begging for me to stop and promising to tell us everything.

I give him a disgusted look. I was just getting warmed up, the pussy. I step back and Nico steps forward, Pietro flanking him as well. “Why were you sent here?” Nico demands.

“The girls. They sent us to get the girls,” he pants out. “Said not to leave until we got them and took out any of you still here.”

“Idiot,” Massimo scoffs. “They sent you to your death and you were too stupid to notice. Did you really think that with the men you had, you would be able to defeat our two forces together?”

“They said you were going to be out,” the man argues angrily. “That Italian fucker said he was going to make sure you were busy with their distraction.”

“Shut the fuck up!” the other Russian screams at him. “Shut the fuck up, Yuri.”

“We’re going to die anyway,” he screams back.

“Quiet,” Alonzo barks, gripping the knife in the gut of the second guy and twisting it a little more. He screams, but he doesn’t say anything else.

“Talk,” I order Yuri. “What distraction did they tell you they were sending us to, again? And if I hear one lie come out of your wretched mouth, I’ll kill you before you take your next breath.” I twist the knife in his side to make my point. More blood oozes out, and his screams echo around the room again.

“H-he told us t-that h-he was g-giving a false t-tip about finding some other girl,” he stammers. His eyes are already going glassy from shock, so we don’t have much time left. “T-that he would handle getting them out of the way while we took care of the girls and killed the rest of you.”

“And your Pakhan was in full agreement with this?” Nico demands. “He willingly sent you to slaughter?”

“H-he g-gave the order,” he gasps out. “P-please. Kill me.”

I glance at Pietro, and he gives a terse nod. I yank out my knife, and then slash his throat with it. Blood pours from his wounds, and I move to the other man. He kicks and screams and he stares in horror as Yuri chokes on his own blood, gurgling pleas that quickly fall silent. “Talk,” I order, tapping the knife just hard enough to ensure I have his full attention.

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