Dante
The city never sleeps, and neither do I. I sit in the back of my black Maserati, fingers drumming against my knee as we pass through the streets. The call from Carlos earlier still lingers in my mind, each word a slow burn against my patience.
Javier.
The bastard's getting cocky. And worse? He's got Nikolai at his back.
That name alone is enough to make most men hesitate before trying anything. Nikolai Volkov, the Russian devil himself. Ruthless, unpredictable, and the last person I want involved in my business.
But first, there's Ricardo.
Carlos said he's holed up in a warehouse on the Lower East Side. It stinks of a trap, but I need answers. If Ricardo has any connection to Javier's recent moves, I want to know now.
Luca, Enzo, and five others flank me as we approach the warehouse. The place is a rundown mess, rusted metal, broken windows, the faint stench of oil and rot in the air.
Something feels off.
Luca murmurs beside me, "Too quiet."
I nod. "Stay sharp."
I push open the heavy metal door. The second I step inside, every instinct in me screams danger. Then, BOOM.
The explosion detonates, heat and fire ripping through the air. The shockwave slams into me, throwing me backward. My ears ring, everything spinning as smoke and debris fill my vision. Gunfire erupts.
"It's a setup!" Enzo yells, dragging me to my feet.
No shit. Bullets fire through the smoke, whizzing past us as Ricardo's men move in. I shake off the disorientation, pull my gun, and fire back. One man drops, then another. But we're outnumbered. And then, sirens.
"Cops!" Luca hisses.
Fuck. Ricardo didn't just set me up with his men, he called the damn police.
"Move!" I bark, pushing toward the alleyway behind the warehouse.
We sprint, dodging bullets, but two of my men go down. I don't have time to look back. Survival first. The second we hit the street, red and blue lights follow us. Squad cars screech to a halt, officers spilling out.
"Drop your weapons! Hands in the air!"
Luca mutters a curse, his grip tightening on his gun.
"Cover me," I order, heart hammering.
Luca and Enzo unload rounds at the cops, not to kill, just to stall them, while I bolt down a side street. Footsteps echo behind me. More sirens. More shouting. I duck into an abandoned parking garage, breathing hard. My phone buzzes—Nico. I ignore it. Minutes passed, and the sirens faded.
Luca and Enzo walk in through the side entrance, breathing just as hard as me.
"Two down," Enzo mutters. "Three arrested."
I grind my teeth. Ricardo's dead, because I will make sure I find him. But right now, there's someone else who needs a lesson.
....
We drove straight to Javier's club. I don't bother with subtlety. The second I walk into Eclipse, the energy shifts. The music keeps blaring, I push past the bodies, ignoring the women draped over rich men, the overpriced liquor lined on the table, the laughter that'll die in an instant if I pull this trigger. Then I see him. Javier.
He's lounging in his booth, whiskey in hand, the smirk on his lips tells me he's been expecting me. I didn't hesitate.
I walk up to him, yank out my gun, and press it to his forehead. The club music didn't stop, but the people around us freezed.
Javier laughs, a way to taunt me.
"Easy there, Dante." His voice is mocking. "You don't want your funeral to be tomorrow, do you?"
My grip on the gun tightens. He tilts his head slightly, not a single ounce of fear in his eyes.
"Go ahead. Pull the trigger." His smirk widens. "Or maybe you need a reminder. You kill me? Nikolai will make sure you don't see sunrise."
I know he's right. Nikolai won't hesitate. But that doesn't mean I won't put a bullet in this bastard's skull one day.
"Why the fuck did you set me up?" My voice is low, lethal.
Javier chuckles, taking a slow sip of his whiskey. "Oh, that? That wasn't me. That was Ricardo. I just gave him a little push."
I grind my teeth.
"You see, Moretti, you've gotten comfortable," he muses. "This city doesn't belong to you, you know the real owners. Nikolai is watching. And when he finally steps in? You're done."
My finger just barely presses against the trigger.
"Careful," Javier whispers. "You don't want to start a war you can't win."
I can't kill him yet. Not with Nikolai in the equation. But I can still send a message. I turn the gun to the side and pull the trigger—BANG. The bullet whizzes past his ear, embedding itself into the leather of the booth. The club erupts in panic, screams, bodies scrambling.
Javier flinches, but he recovers quickly, his grin still in place.
"That's a warning," I murmur. "Stay away from me Javier, this is the last warning. I might as well win this war if u rat me out again"
Javier leans in, his voice almost a whisper. "Or what? "If I don't stop, there's nothing you can do"
I retreated, and walked away.