Page 35 of Vicious Addictions

God knows I did.

“I’m busy,” Felix rebukes sternly, bringing my attention back to the phone call. “I don’t have time for your games.”

“Too bad. I just thought you’d like to know that Rolo and I have a little present for you, all tied up nice and neat at an abandoned warehouse in Tottenham.”

Felix stiffens.

“You’d better not be bullshitting me.”

“Do I ever joke about business?” Remus laughs, low and lazy. “No, I don’t.”

“Fine. Send me the address so I can verify what you’ve got. Once I know that we have the right person, I’ll tell your uncle. The boss wants a spectacle.”

“I know he does. That’s why he’s already on his way. If I were you, I’d get here before he does.”

And just like that, the line goes dead.

Felix curses, slamming his palm against the wheel before turning the car around and gunning it toward the warehouse.

I don’t question why Felix is so upset about Remus getting to the culprit before him.

I don’t ask why he’s pissed… because I already know.

This bust just won the twins major points with their uncle.

Which doesn’t bode well for Felix.

Though Remus and Rolo might only be eighteen and have less field experience than Felix has in his pinkie finger, they possess something Felix does not.

They’re blood.

Crane blood, to be more precise.

Combine that with the fact that they are the most lethal, ambitious, and dangerous assholes I’ve ever encountered, it’s clear that they will do everything in their power to ensure Felix’s days as number two come to a quick and swift end.

Unless he marries Mina, and then he’s the one calling the shots.

Felix isn’t stupid.

He sees the writing on the wall.

He knows that Victor will have to name an heir sooner or later.

This means that the Crane twins aren’t just a threat to his way of life—they’re a threat to him directly. Because there is no way they will ever let Mina sacrifice herself just to put a male ass on the throne. Remus and Rolo would burn this whole city down before they’d ever let that happen.

And if I thought Felix was a real threat to Mina, I’d hand them the torch.

Forty minutes later, Felix curses under his breath the moment we pull up to the warehouse and see Victor’s car already parked outside.

“Keep your eyes peeled,” he mutters once we get out of the car and start walking toward the warehouse. “Just because the twins bagged our guy doesn’t mean he’s alone. Someone might be stupid enough to try and rescue him.”

I nod, hand already resting on my holster as we step inside.

The air is thick with the metallic tang of blood and the acrid stench of burnt cigars. Three men sit slumped in chairs, wrists bound, their faces barely recognizable beneath swollen bruises and dried blood. Nearby, two steel tables hold the tools of their trade—pills, powder, scales, baggies. This must be where they brought Crane’s product to cut and prep with their poison.

Judging by their state, the twins have been at this for a while.

Victor Crane sits in an old chair in front of them, cigar smoldering between his fingers, eyes unreadable as he watches the men struggle to lift their heads.

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