Page 38 of Climbing Everest

Maddox

“ T his is bullshit,” I grumble as I watch Kato chatting with one of the men in the three lines.

Some shit has been going missing. As in, our cargo has been short lately and we’re not sure whether the assholes we’ve partnered with are trying to fuck us over or if one of the people we have on our payroll has been helping themselves.

The only thing the three of us refuse to be involved with is the skin trade. I don’t give a fuck if a woman chooses to sell her pussy to make money, but that whole trafficking bullshit is downright disgusting.

I might have taken out my anger over the loss of Everest on a few traffickers and rapists over the years.

“Quit bitching,” Brix mutters back to me.

We’re far enough away no one can hear us, but we still have to put on airs, looking as though we’re two seconds from taking someone’s life.

Which, honestly…I really am. Because whoever the fuck is causing this bullshit is keeping me from Everest.

Yeah. I have a job to do and all that shit. But we just got her back, damn it. I want to spend every waking second with her, not standing in this cold as fuck warehouse surrounded by men who look as though they’re struggling not to piss their pants.

It’s not only the fact I’d rather be with Everest than here. There are people in our house. They’re there with her and we’re not.

Okay, yeah. There are guards watching over her, both inside and out. We’d intentionally left Dimitri and Karolos – our two most trained and trusted guards – to stay inside while the planners or whoever the fuck she called in were there.

Flora invited herself. Or Everest invited her, I don’t know. Flora tends to have her own security when she’s out and about too, since her father is the Pakhan, the position Dima Sidorov has dreamed of as long as I’ve known him.

I wonder if the Pakhan is aware of the way Dima treated his own daughter.

Not a whole lot of mafia parents care about their kids for anything more than an heir to the dynasties and empires they build, but Flora actually has decent parents who give a shit about her.

Her mother didn’t treat her like competition and was a good person until the day she was caught up in crossfire when someone was gunning for her husband.

The Pakhan has always been super protective of his only child, his princess, but even more so since his wife was murdered.

Hence the constant security detail.

That shit used to piss off Dima, knowing the Pakhan didn’t trust one of his soldiers to keep his daughter safe and sent his own men. But I get it. When I finally have a kid – especially if I have a daughter – no chance in hell will they go anywhere without a gaggle of armed guards.

Everest will be fine. There are guards, and I highly doubt the event planners want to risk having their throats cut for fucking with our girl when they could be making bank by catering to Everest’s vision for the engagement party and wedding.

Damn. In a matter of weeks, Everest will officially be Everest Antoniou. She will forever be tied to us…by fucking law.

Divorce in our world – nah. That shit rarely happens. The wives know far too much. If for some reason their husband dies or ends up in prison for life, they end up marrying someone else in the syndicate.

Not Everest. We’ll make sure if something happens to the three of us, she’s set for fucking life. The guards will stay on our payroll long after we’ve been put in the ground to keep away any and every asshole who thinks they can stake a claim on her after our deaths.

Has Kato bothered informing her of any of this yet? Doubtful. He finally pulled his head out of his ass long enough to hear what Everest had to say, to hear the reason for her disappearance only after she smashed his balls with her knee.

Damn. The mere memory of her standing over him yelling, the anger bright in her grey eyes has my dick twitching.

Reaching down, I adjust my boner to keep from ending up with a permanent zipper imprint.

“Dude,” Brix says under his breath.

I don’t respond. Not like he doesn’t know why I’m hard. And neither he nor Kato can say they haven’t walked around with hard dicks since we dragged Everest back home.

“So none of you have a clue what happened to my merchandise?” Kato says, his voice rising.

Which, of course, indicates his anger is also rising. He’s never been very good at hiding his emotions. Instead of wearing his heart on his sleeve, his voice reveals the level of his ire.

“Looks like you’re up,” Brix says with a smirk.

I stalk closer, glancing at Kato for the green light. Brixton’s size and intimidating appearance often is enough to loosen someone’s lips. Me? I’m more of a shoot now, ask questions later kind of soldier.

Anyone who’s worked for us long enough knows I have zero problem putting a bullet in their brain pan or opening a jugular.

He dips his head once and takes a step back, crossing his arms over his chest. “One chance,” I call out.

Only a few people are looking at me; everyone else has their eyes glued to their shoes as though a glance in my direction will turn them to stone.

When no one offers up any answers or admits fault, I pull my pistol from the back of my pants, aim it at the head of the first asshole to my right, and squeeze the trigger.

The sound reverberates throughout the warehouse and those close enough are splattered with blood, pieces of skull, and chunks of brain.

One dude pisses himself. Another doubles over and pukes, the contents of his stomach mixing with the gore seeping from the dead dude’s head as he lays crumpled on the concrete floor.

“That was the only chance. Now, I can either start picking you off one by one or someone can give me a reason to put my gun away.”

Honestly, I’m torn. This is the shit I’ve lived for over the past four fucking years. I love the adrenaline, the fear I tend to put in fuckers’ heads.

But it’s also keeping me from being at home. I know I need to do my job.

Protecting Everest is a way more important job in my books, and these assholes are keeping me from doing exactly that.

Lifting my arm again, I point at the next dude in line.

He throws his hands up and tries to back away. “I have nothing to do with it. I don’t know shit.”

I almost feel bad when I squeeze the trigger and there’s a split moment of terror and surprise at the bang just before the bullet enters his forehead.

“Like I said, I don’t give second chances. Mr. Antoniou tried to play nice with you. Being here is putting me in a shitty mood. So, I don’t mind executing every single fucking one of you.”

A man who looks somewhere in his mid-twenties steps forward, his head up, but eyes cast at my feet as though afraid to meet my gaze.

Lowering my arm, I shove men out of my way until I’m almost chest to chest with the dude. “You got something to offer up?” So I can go home and fuck my wife .

I keep that last part to myself. Not their business, don’t want to reveal shit about Everest or our private life, and Kato will ream my ass for saying shit about her.

“I didn’t steal anything. But I, uh…” His eyes cut to the side, not directly at anyone, but as though he’s worried about saying anything in front of his peers.

Doesn’t matter. The fact he stepped forward is telling enough. If any other of these jackasses are involved, they’ll either kill him for singing or snitch to whoever they’re working for.

“Someone here?” I ask him.

He shakes his head.

“But you know who’s responsible,” I say rather than ask.

Again, his eyes cut to the side.

Leaning forward, I whisper in his ear, “If you know who’s behind it, tell me now. Either you die, everyone dies, or the person responsible dies. Your choice.”

“Fuck,” the dude spits out with a shake of his head. “Dima.”

I jerk back and frown down at him. “What was that?”

“Dima Sidorov.”

“What about him?” Kato asks, moving closer, his arms still crossed over his chest.

“He’s been intercepting shipments. No one here is involved.” His eyes raise to mine, then dart back to the ground.

A tell. But what the fuck is he lying about?

Snatching him by the back of the neck, I drag him away from the group and toward the unused office, shoving him through the door and kicking it shut.

I probably should have told either Kato or Brix what I’m planning, but I couldn’t risk anyone else overhearing. We’ve all worked together long enough that they should trust I’ll do what’s best for Kato, for the Antoniou name, and for our syndicate.

“Spill. Now.”

“There’s a mole. He’s here. He’s part of the Bratva, but I don’t think the Pakhan is aware Sidorov put him in place.”

The fact Dima has been watching our shipments so closely makes my stomach turn. It would be so easy for a simple slip to alert him that his daughter is alive, well, and currently within the walls of our estate.

“You know the asshole’s name? Or can you describe him? Is he here?”

He nods and rattles off a description of said asshole’s appearance, even what he’s currently wearing.

I roll my neck, cracking the joints, and stare at this…well, he’s not a kid. He might actually be older than me but he stands maybe at five feet seven, barely an inch or so taller than Everest.

“How long have you worked for Kato?”

“I worked for Mr. Antoniou…uh, Christos since I was seventeen, then swore my fealty to Kato after the death of his father. My allegiance is to the Antoniou name,” he says, dipping his head like he’s bowing in reverence to Kato’s surname.

“What’s your name?”

“Nick, sir.” Of course. I swear all Greeks name their kids one version of Nick or another.

“You’re going to have to disappear for a while, until we figure out if there are any other plants. You got somewhere to go?”

His mouth pops open and his eyes go wide, then he huffs a relieved breath. Poor fucker thought he was a dead man regardless.

“Yeah. I got somewhere to go,” he says.

Pulling the gun from my pants, I aim it toward the far wall and pull the trigger three times in rapid succession.

He’s staring at me with a mixture of fear and concern, but I simply put a finger to my lips, step from the office, then pull the door closed behind me.

Brix and Kato turn to frown at me as they hear my approaching footsteps.

I don’t say a word, barely send them a ghost of a glance as I make my way to the man fitting the description Nick gave me.

When he realizes I’m glaring down at him, he lifts his head and meets my eyes.

In perfect Russian, I say, “You misplaced your loyalty.”

He replies in Russian. “My loyalty has never and will never change.”

All the answer I need.

Glancing at Kato, I wait again for the nod, take aim at the traitor’s forehead, and pull the trigger.

Finally . Finally, we can go home. We got an answer, not that the answer makes everything go away. But hopefully, it’s enough for Kato for the night.

I need my girl’s lips or cunt wrapped around my cock as soon as possible.