Page 91 of Caught in the Crossfire

“Daniele, back off,” Max barked. Daniele sneered, lowering his weapon slightly and stepping back. Cas didn’t take his eyes off him.

“Where’s Orik Vokshi?” Max asked. “His men?”

Orik still sat bound and gagged at Ryuji’s feet. He was hidden behind the counter, so Max couldn’t see him.

“Why?” I asked.

His eyes narrowed. “Because I’m going to fucking kill him, that’s why.”

“Sorry,” I said with a shake of my head. “That’s not happening.”

“Is he dead?”

A muffled shout came from behind the counter, along with Ryuji kicking the asshole to shut him up, but the jig was up. Max heard him.

“Give him to me,” Max demanded. His eyes flared with rage. “Now, Leona.”

“No. We got here first.”

“He hit my casino tonight.”

I took him in again. His blood-spattered shirt. His clothes askew. He must have been chasing Orik all night.

“We were closing in on his safe house when he bolted,” Max added. He must have run here to meet up with more men. That must be why they looked like they were waiting for us, except they weren’t waiting for us; they were waiting for Max. “Give him to me. He’s my kill.”

“He’s ours.”

We sounded like bickering children again, but I didn’t care. Vokshi wasourkill. We needed his information.

Tension radiated from all my men. Obi’s chest pressed against my back, and his arm curled around my waist. Ciel and Wynn flanked us, while Ryuji palmed two of his knives. With one throw, his blade could land in any of Max’s men.

“Back off,” Wynn demanded.

“Leave, Volpe, before you regret it,” added Obi.

Max sighed. “Must we do this again? Your threats to kill me lose their sting after a while, you know.”

I grimaced. He wasn’t wrong, and it was like rubbing salt in a wound. Weshouldkill him, but now?

A flash glinted for only a moment before one of Ryu’s knivesembedded in the doorframe behind Max’s head. A small drop of blood oozed from a cut on his cheek.

All hell broke loose.

Guns went back up. Max shouted. Daniele swung at Cas, but Cas blocked his punch and clocked him in the jaw. Wynn and Ryuji leapt at Max. Obi tried to maneuver me behind him, but I shrugged him off.

An all-out fucking brawl in an auto-repair shop.

A hand clamped on my leg, and I screeched in surprise. Orik Vokshi clawed at me, hands digging into my ankle. The ropes tying him were nowhere to be found. I stumbled back, tripping into Obi’s back.

Suddenly, Orik’s head snapped back, a spray of blood exploding behind him. His hand on my leg loosened, and he face-planted the ground. Dead.

The entire room turned to see Wynn, gun in hand, eyes manic with terror. My chest heaved while I tried to catch my breath and process what just happened.

Obi clutched me to his chest. “Are you all right?”

I nodded. He sighed with relief.

“Wynn—” I started.