Page 30 of Vengeance

Either way. It’s not good. And either way, after tonight, my cover is going to be blong. Because there’s no way I’m leaving Dele to fend for herself against Pray regardless of what the consequences are.

In less than twenty minutes, I’m on my jet on the way to New York.

It’ll only take two hours since I had the forethought to move the bases of all my operations to a central location in the country. Illinois. Easy to get to Pray and easy to get to Dele in case of an emergency. But it’s still not fast enough. There’s little I can do about it, though, except anxiously pace my jet the whole time restlessly, completely high on adrenaline and cortisol by the time the plane lands.

“Sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Revnor says as I walk off the jet and he stands at the top of the stairs.

He’s temporarily serving as executioner and right hand until this is all over and Eileen is back to take her place in that role. Something that Pray has only allowed because of all the necessary reshuffling since the war and my sporadic but systematic elimination of the key players in his power hold.

“No. You make sure Cres and all the people in my employ and their families are protected and put into hiding. Just in case.”

Revnor furrows his bushy eyebrows and asks, “Just in case what?”

A difference between him and Eileen. Revnor is prone to ask clarifying questions.

“Just in case,” I reply before getting in the car and directing the driver to drive.

There’s no telling who Pray has managed to get on his side in the city. So we were forced to land in a strip outside of it. There are only so many private jets. So no doubt someone is looking for something suspicious. But there are millions of cars. Thousands of them luxury and transporting a rich client. So I won’t be drawing any attention to myself.

I’m rarely nervous, but as I grip my mask in my hand. This mask that has inspired terror in thousands from the shadows and that’s not counting the terror my own face has inspired because I was no angel of light before becoming this. Viper. As I hold it, I notice a tremor in my hands. Because there are so many unknown variables in this whole situation, and something tells me tonight is a turning point.

I message Eileen that I’m in the city, and she immediately replies that they’re heading back to the Uccello Long Island Estate. It’s a good call. It gives them the home advantage to wait things out until I arrive. If they haven’t taken any chance they get to kill Pray and be done with it. To hell with his criminal empire. We can work with what we have. But it’s not worth anything if Pray kills Dele.

I have the car stop a ways away from the estate and walk the rest of the way. I would run, but it’s a waste of energy I’m going to need to fight through Pray’s people and whoever the hell he’s allied with to let him in the city. And there’s no telling who. Though the Italians are the biggest, there are many criminal families, gangs, and organizations that operate out of New York City. Most of them are all either allies of the Italians or have an ambivalent relationship at worst…. The Irish. The Russians. There’s some French presence in the US, but not a huge one.

Wait.

The Russians. They’re no longer ambivalent. Outright accusing Dele of killing their boss isn’t an ambivalent stance. Of course they’d help her biggest enemy.

I make a mental note to deal with them when this is all over. But first getting to Dele and the children.

I get to the brick and gated wall that encircles the estate. But I was expecting that. What I wasn’t expecting or wasn’t sure to expect was the entire estate to be encircled by Pray’s men and the Russians I’m assuming he’s allied with. Their guns point through the main gates and toward the top of the wall at a stalemate with Dele’s men and women.

I can’t say I’ve ever been particularly eager to go even one on one with men from the Bratva, let alone with however many are mixed in with Pray’s people. But, at the very least, this is going to be fun. Hopefully Dele’s and Isabella’s men are competent.

I stay to the shadows and first shoot and take out the ones who look like they’ll give me the most trouble. Once they’re alerted to something amiss, I move through the shadows to stand amongst them before taking them out one by one.

But as capable as I am, even I couldn’t take all these men out without suffering damage. And that’s not something I can afford if I want to get to Dele.

I have to take a punch or two or three to avoid worse injuries like stabbing and hits to the head, but I don’t feel the pain. I keep going, channeling all my anger that Pray would dare begin to threaten what’s mine. Whether he knows that or not.

Thankfully, Dele’s and Isabella’s men turn out to be competent and begin to take advantage of the chaos to shoot into the men gathered, causing them to turn their attention away to return fire. With their forces sufficiently diminished and the remaining distracted, I take the time to scale the gated wall and land on the other side, only to come face to face with the two men I recognize as Dele’s preferred bodyguards.

They don’t hesitate to come at me, and I have to admit that they’re trained well. I’d applaud them if I weren’t so annoyed.

“I’m on your side,” I snap ducking a punch and then baking away from a kick.

It would take little effort to take them out, even as well trained as they are. But Dele has a soft spot for them, and they’d die to protect her. People like that are hard to come by.

“You think we’re stupid, Viper?” one of them ask. The blonde. I don’t know their names. I never bothered beyond recognizing that Dele frequently has them with her.

I don’t have time for this. So I do something that may come back to bite me later, but really doesn’t matter right now.

I snatch my mask and hood off so they can see my face.

It gives them both pause. They exchange a look without taking their eyes off me or letting down their guard. Very well trained it seems.

“Adrian Blake?” the one with sandy brown hair says.

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