Page 86 of Wicked

I smile gently at her, pressing a kiss on both of their heads. “It’s what I do, remember?” I close the door gently and turn to see Val standing near the curb, a cigarette in his mouth.

“I want fucking in.”

“Jesus Christ.” Shaking my head. “You know I get that Ivy is yours and Mikhail’s little plaything, but Ruby is more than that to me, Vasili Kozlov.”

Val steps closer to me, flicking the cigarette down onto the ground. “I respect that, but I was beside that girl for years, Wicked. I loved her like she was one of my own even thoughit went against everything I was raised to do.” I clench my jaw, baring my teeth.

“Fine.”

Reaching the door handle, I stop. “Thank you, by the way.”

“For what?” Val flashes me a smirk.

“For always looking after her. Even with Victor. I know you and Mikhail both did that for her, whether you want to admit it or not. You knew her being involved in killing him would have been too much for her, because even if she meant nothing to him, she spent all her life loving him.”

Val smiles sadly, and I know the words got to him. “He never deserved her.”

“We know.” I slide into the driver’s seat. “The clubhouse.”

Val nods his head, turning when movement catches our eyes as Mikhail carries Ivy over his shoulder. Val steps forward to help and I drive the car away from the curb, needing to get both Pearl and Ruby all the fuck away from this mess.

We haven’t got onto the highway when Ruby pipes up. “Where is she?” Pearl’s eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror.

“She’s with her family, Ruby. Like you are right now. Go to sleep.” I squeeze the steering wheel as Juno shuffles in the passenger seat.

“Why the fuck did it take so long for you all to get here?” I clench my jaw so tight my teeth crack. I’m a second away from exploding and killing someone, preferably Juno since he’s closest.

“We ran into a problem.”

“A bigger problem than me?” I keep my tone flat.

“Unusually, yes.”

“What is it?” I snap, turning to face him.

“You want to do this now?” Juno turns over his shoulder slightly.

I sigh. “Yeah, no. Wait.”

“Fuck you. Yes, do it now!” Ruby snaps from the back seat. “I did not just get beat up and—for you to not tell me what the hell is happening too.”

Juno clears his throat. “Okay. We ran into a problem at the entrance. Turns out, before Papa La Rosa died, he put a bounty on the head of the entire La Rosa family in the event of his death.”

I can’t stop the growl that leaves my mouth. The anger is primal now, and I’m about to drive straight to the clubhouse instead of dropping the girls off. “Continue.”

“He used someone who is renowned for getting shit done post-death. He only takes jobs of that caliber as it’s more money.” I’m aware how it works and I don’t bother to tell him how.

“So, how did you stop him?” I ask, turning to look at Tobias. When he doesn’t answer and the lights from the highway light up his face, I glare at him. “Youdidstop him…”

“Yes and no. It wasn’t him who was waiting for us there, it was a man called Niko Davis. You know him?”

“The Antichrist?” My eyes drift onto the road ahead of me. “Yeah, I know of him.”

“Turns out, you have a hit that you’re to complete after his old lady is…”

“Happy, in love, and married,” I finish his sentence. “Was one of the last Hangman posts I got. I have to wait for when she least expects it. I didn’t know it was his old lady though, I just know her name and have the photo of her and the date he wants it done.”

“Well, they found out about that hit…”

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