Page 38 of Beautiful Beast

They don’t look afraid at all that they’ve just entered a Bratva bar.

They don’t look afraid at all as they approach my table.

“Erik Koslov?” the black-haired one asks.

“Who are you?”

“We work for Dante Moretti.” He whips out a knife so fast I barely have time to react. The knife comes right for my face, but I grab his arm, shove it back, and whip out my gun.

Sergei falls back into his seat, scrambling for his own gun. I roll my eyes at how fucking slow he is.

The two men take out guns, too.

The couple other people in the bar run out. Good. There’s no need for innocent casualties, but these two men before me are not innocent. They deserve to die, and I will gladly peel the skin from their bones and laugh as I do it.

“Who are you?” I repeat.

“Finn Murphy,” the black-haired one says. “And this is my brother, Aiden. We were hired by Dante to kill you.”

“You’re hitmen. Irish by the sounds of it. Part of the Irish mob?”

“In a way,” Aiden says. “But right now, we’re all in with the Italians. Dante wants you dead, and we’re here to deliver.”

“Well, you did a shitty job at it seeing as I’m not dead.”

“The goal wasn’t to actually kill you right now,” Finn explains. “The goal is to make you scared. Dante wants you paranoid before you die. He wants you looking over your shoulder so fucking much you take your own life.”

“Tell Dante that won’t happen. I have no desire to kill myself, and I never will. I don’t scare easily.”

“Shame.” Finn’s grin is as savage as my own. “I love scaring people.”

“This is clearly a warning,” I say. “So, why don’t you leave if you’re not actually going to kill me right now.”

“Just know we’re out there watching you,” Aiden says.

“Tell Dante I’m watching him, too.”

Aiden and Finn back out of the bar with their guns raised. It’s not until they’re gone I allow myself to relax back in my seat. I still keep my gun out, though, just in case.

“What the fuck was that?” Sergei hisses, sitting back up and looking around frantically. “Those fucking madmen.”

“Dante is hiring Irish hitmen now. He wants to play a game. Trust me. If he really wanted me dead right now, I probably would’ve been.” I’m confident in my skillset, but I’m not insane. I know I’m only human. I can die just as much as the next person.

“So, not only do you have a deranged Italian coming after you, you also have deranged Irishmen coming after you, too?”

“Looks like it.” I flash Sergei a smile. “Happy you’re working with me?”

“Not really,” he grumbles. “Becoming allies with you was supposed to help guarantee strength. If Dante is playing these games, then we need to show him he’s not allowed to come for you. We need to make a stand. We need more allies.”

“Who do you have in mind?”

“I know a man. Ivan Romanov.”

“I’ve heard of him.”

Sergei inclines his head. “We’ve worked together in the past. He would be a good ally to have against Dante, especially if Dante is trying to start a war. I can set up a meeting.”

“Wonderful. You do that.” I tap the table and stand up. “Well, this bar isn’t a secure place anymore. Not now that Dante has decided he can send hitmen here to threaten me. We’ll meet up again. I want to meet Ivan. For now, I’m off to spend more time with your daughter.”

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