Page 119 of Vegas Daddies

Luckily, Brander shoves his attacker away and with the iron rod, whacks Levi and his friend off Lifey. I’m surprised the little boy still manages to stand after that force.

“Fucking bastard,” barks Brander, iron rod next hitting his knees.

The knobbly things buckle and Levi crashes to the floor again.

So he was lying? Pranking us this entire time. The conversation with Vlad this afternoon, live-streamed to us,wasn’thim bluffing Vlad.

It was him bluffingus.

Taking advantage of the weakened choke hold, I kick bicep guy in the balls and slash my knife at his friend, a red wound opening on his chest and spilling enough blood to knock him unconscious for a while.

Dusting off my hands, I cross the room to Levi.

“You know.” I ready the knife in my hand. “I once saw an ant crawling on the floor with more meat on it than you.”

He cackles dryly. “You think you’re funny.”

“Vlad didn’t blackmail you to join.” I point the knife his way. “You wanted in, didn’t you?”

A disgusting grin surfaces on Levi’s face. Then he nods.

“I don’t blame you. Staring at a computer screen all day every day can’t race your heart an awful lot.”

“Do you know?” says Levi. “How much Bratva pay their contracted killers?”

“More than your shitty computer job?”

“Alotmore.”

Brander joins the conversation, and Levi turns to him and laughs. “Oh, Brander. Come on.Youof all people know how it feels.”

“How what feels?” Brander frowns.

“To be penniless,” Levi says. “My dad has been out of work ever since my mom died giving birth to me because he couldn’t get himself out of the grief. He blames her death on me, you know?”

“Boohoo.” Brander points the rod Levi’s way. “Get to the point.”

“I joined the Bratva when I was seventeen.”

“Seventeen?” I furl my brow. “That’s when you started dating?—”

“Alice, yep.”

I don’t know why the fuck he thinks he can smile like that. I’ll use this knife to cut out all of his teeth.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that. I treated Alice well. Very well. I proposed with a two-carat diamond ring. You guys ever get your hands on something like that?”

“Try four-carat, sunshine.” Brander sniffs a laugh.

Levi’s too stuck up his own ass to see that we’re not lying.

“I need Peter dead,” Levi continues. “And I don’t know why you prunes prance around playing savior when I know you want him gone too.”

I tighten my fist around the knife. “What interest does the syndicate have to you?”

“I have a skill. There are no hackers in the syndicate.”

“And you think you’ll be the first?” Brander scoffs.

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