Page 86 of Erik's Salvation
He waited two beats, then opened the door slowly, pistol at the ready. Just as Chandler had said, there was no one in front of him. But he heard voices, all coming from behind the stairwell, near the edge of the roof.
He stepped into the cool night air, spotting Marco on the other side of the roof, hiding behind a similar stairwell exit. Marco held a hand up, fingers splayed, indicating they were going in five.
Erik closed the door silently, then shifted to the edge of the staircase enclosure, focusing on the voices. On differentiating them.
Chandler had already reported eight men on the roof. Four on each end, all supposedly watching the streets to the front and back of the building. When he was down to his final minute, he dragged in a long breath, blanked his mind, and raised his weapon. He looked back at Marco…
When he got the signal, he stepped around the alcove and fired, getting the three closest assholes in the span of a second. All shots to the head.
The men dropped.
Marco got three as well before return fire came.
Erik swung back behind the structure as bullets peppered the bricks. He turned his head to see Marco also crouching.
Two men remaining. They were covered by the backside of each alcove, firing in the opposite direction, Marco’s man pinning down Erik and vice versa.
The bullets continued to spray the area—until they didn’t.
During the tense silence, Erik quickly shifted to the other side of the alcove. He was about to move when a large figure appeared in front of him, gun aimed.
Before he could get a shot off, a bullet exited the asshole’s forehead.
Erik eased his head around the structure carefully and flicked his gaze toward Marco, seeing his fourth guy was also dead.
Marco’s smile shone from his position across the roof. “You’re welcome,” he shouted.
Erik rose and crossed the roof. “We’re done, Marco.” He removed the silencer from his weapon. “I did you a favor tonight, helped you kill your enemies. You domea favor and stay away from Redwood. You and I don’t have anything more to do with each other.”
Marco lifted a shoulder. “Until the next job pops up.”
Erik stilled, every muscle in his body going tight. “This was it. Thiswasthe last job. We’redone.”
Marco smiled slowly as he crossed the remaining distance between them. “Come on. Separately, we are good. Together, we are the best. We could make great money.”
“No.” When the asshole just smiled again, Erik took two steps closer. “The agreement was one fucking job, then you leave.”
“Maybe I changed my mind. Maybe there are very lucrative jobs out there for you and me. Jobs I’ve already accepted on our behalf.”
Erik lunged, grabbing him by the shirt and shoving the muzzle of his gun against Marco’s head. “I’m not doing more fucking contract jobs with you.”
“You said that aboutthisone. Didn’t take much to get you to change your mind. Tell you a sob story about my brother. Threaten your loved ones. And here you are.”
Erik growled. “I’m gonna kill you.”
“No, you won’t.”
The door to Marco’s stairwell opened—and two men stepped out, both aiming pistols at Erik.
“These two men are already part of my new business.”
“Why the fuck have you pulled me into this?”
“Because we’re both the best,” he said simply. “Imagine if we team up. We can charge whatever the fuck we want.”
Every part of Erik was begging to pull the trigger.
“I suggest you walk away and think about my offer.”
