Page 70 of Kaz
“Remind me not to piss those two off,” Cary said, a mix of awe and unease in his voice.
Kaz shook his head. He took a deep breath, Miles’s face flashing before him, golden eyes twinkling, and those perfect lips spread in a gorgeous smile. He held onto that vision as he raised his gun to clear the way for Wilder and the others.
“Let’s move,” he ordered.
He stood, nodding at Dante, who pulled his gun and led the way. People milled out of the building, drawn by the explosion and fire. The first two men dropped to the ground, scattering the others, but they didn’t slow down. Dante moved with a cool rage as he pulled the trigger over and over, clean hits every single time. That wasn’t fear of his uncle’s anger. It was pure retribution. There was a wildness, a brutality, in Dante tonight. He was glad it wasn’t aimed at him and his people. He realized that going up against Dante wouldn’t end well for them. The man had too much control over his emotions. He wasn’t making stupid mistakes ruled by fear. He had never seen the man calmer, and it left a cold trail down his spine.
He followed in Dante’s wake, taking out the stragglers as they cleared the way for the others to enter the building. He felt a rise of unease at how many people were there. They couldn’t all be guarding Kian. All things considered, he wasn’t that important to the gang. Was Dante truly here for Kian, or was there something else he hadn’t shared? The thought had his shoulders rising with tension.
With the way cleared, Wilder, Talon, and Nicky moved into position on either side of the front door to the building he hoped Dante was right about Kian being held in. He didn’t want a war with Serrano, but if Dante was lying and one of his people got hurt or worse because of it, he would put a bullet through the man’s skull himself.
Once the others disappeared through the door, Dante motioned for Kaz to follow as he made his way around the building, sticking close to the side. He halted under the overhang, and Kaz threw a cautious glance around. He didn’t trust Dante. Not one fucking bit.
The noise of repeated gunshots made it hard to focus, and the chatter in his ear didn’t help, but he tuned it out the way hisdad taught him to years ago. He shoved everything down deep, thoughts and fears. He needed to move. To survive.
“Cover me,” Dante said and ran to the other building.
Kaz cursed and followed, unwilling to let Dante out of his sight. He felt the gravel spray from a bullet hitting close to his feet, but no other shots came; the shooter hitting the ground with a knife in his throat. He gave Emma a quick nod and received a dark smile in return before she moved on, another knife already drawn.
Dante disappeared through the door, and Kaz kept his gun close to his chest as he stepped inside, expecting the worst. He found himself in a small front room with just a few pieces of furniture. There was an open door across from the entry, and he made his way to it with silent steps, listening for any movement in the next room.
Low voices filtered through the yells and gunshots coming from next door, and he continued deeper into the building. He stepped into an open room with countless tables lined up in rows. For packing the drugs, he assumed.
A section in the left corner caught his attention. There was a flimsy gray folding partition creating a small corner office. He didn’t spot anyone else in the room, so he crept closer, weaving between tables.
“He’s gonna find out,” someone snapped, the man’s anger a clear attempt to hide his fear.
“And how the fuck would he find out?”
Dante.
What the fuck was he doing?
He peeked around the partition, watching Dante stand before a man on his knees. If memory served, it was one of the men he’d made his deal with. There was blood running down the man’s chin from his broken nose.
“You think he won’t?” The man’s bravado did little with how his voice trembled. “He’ll come for?”
Something flashed through Dante’s eyes so fast he barely caught it before the flare of Dante’s gun made Kaz jerk. Dante slowly lowered his gun and turned his head toward Kaz.
He met Dante’s gaze. His eyes were cold and lifeless again, something inside Kaz telling him this wasn’t who Dante was. There was another side to the man. One he’d only seen flashes of tonight, but it made him wonder. It made him question even more what Dante was doing with these people.
There was more going on than he knew, and he hated feeling like he was left out of something important. He was never keeping a damned thing from Miles again. Screw anyone who complained.
Dante’s eyes widened.
“Down,” Dante yelled.
Kaz hit the ground, a gun going off. The sound of it had his ears ringing, disorienting him for a breathless moment. He snapped his head around just in time to see a man with a hole between his eyes crumble to the ground behind him, a gun clattering as it slid a few feet away, disappearing under the partition.
He breathed in deeply, then turned his attention back on Dante, who stepped toward him, gun hanging loosely in his right hand. He extended his other hand toward Kaz, his lips lifting in the shadow of a smile.
“Thank you,” he said as he let Dante pull him up.
He never heard Dante’s reply because movement caught his eye, and then he was pushing Dante aside, raising his gun, and pulling the trigger. Bullets ripped through the two gang members who’d snuck up on them from behind the partition.
Dante was on the ground, his gun clicking loudly when it emptied. Kaz breathed out, his chest heaving as his pulse raged.He walked toward the bodies, checking to make sure they were dead.
Dante got up, a hand pressed against his upper arm, blood seeping through his fingers.
