Page 9 of Dark Knight (Knight's Ridge Empire 10)

DAEMON

Tonight has been… Fuck. I drag my hand down my face as I think of the events that have unfolded.

We knew Jonas was fucked in the head. But I don’t think any of us truly appreciated just how fucking crazy he was.

Toby was adamant that Jonas would hurt Jodie and Joanne, and while I was hoping he wouldn’t, the past that Toby and Maria have suffered sure points toward the fact that Jonas is more than happy hurting his own family.

We just hoped that Jodie would be different. But then, why would she be? He sent his own son to the fucking slaughter by pitting him against us.

Did he really have such little faith in the soldiers he helped to train?

I shake my head as I slouch in my seat and close my eyes for a beat.

The image of those houses exploding right in front of us fills my mind, along with the all-too-fresh panic I felt in those few moments of not knowing if we’d all made it out.

I might be the outsider in our little group, but hell if I want to see any of them hurt. Or for Jonas and the Italians to take something from us. Not when we’ve been working so hard to bring them down.

While Damien, the boss, and Evan, the underboss, had been dealing with the shit with the Reapers and the Wolves that Theo and Emmie found themselves tangled up in recently, my father had been focusing his efforts on the Italians.

After they confessed to working for Jonas the night of the last Circuit fight that went up in flames—quite literally—they’d gone quiet.

Too fucking quiet.

And we discovered there was a very good reason for it when Dad managed to plant a snake and uncover their plans for taking over our businesses that border their side of the city.

They tried with Marco’s diner last year but failed. We’d hoped they might have given up, but it seems that was wishful thinking. They’d just gone back to the drawing board and had come up with a plan that included a lot of intentional blood loss on both sides.

It’s just a shame they didn’t grass on Jonas’s most recent plans. That could have saved Toby yet another week of suffering at that twisted motherfucker’s hands.

It’s no surprise that the peace that’s existed between the two families for years has been shattered so soon after Ricardo took over as Boss, his father standing down because of bad health.He’s always been unhinged, power hungry. It was inevitable that he’d drag us into a war sooner or later.

I glance over at the car parked beside mine and lock eyes with Theo’s. Bloodlust for these motherfuckers who are trying to take things that belong to us shines just as bright in his eyes as I know it does in mine.

We’re parked on the street over from the Italians’ warehouse. The rest of our soldiers are planted at intervals around the building, waiting for the second signal from my dad.

This isn’t their main headquarters, but from the intel we’ve managed to get, it’s where the majority of them are tonight. Enough to send a message to Ricardo, at least.

Pulling out my weapons from my glovebox, I double check that each of my guns are loaded before tucking two into my waistband and another into my shoulder holster under my jacket. Spare rounds go into my pockets before I strap one knife to my ankle and secure another into the holster.

Then, I wait.

The second my phone buzzes and Dad’s name pops up with the signal, I push my door open and climb out, while Theo, Seb, Nico, and my twin, Alex do the same, before Toby appears.

I do a double take, not expecting to see him here after the night he’s had. But I don’t let his presence distract me. If he wants a hand in delivering this hopefully bloody message to the Italians, he’s more than welcome. I nod in their direction, but my focus is solely on the building before us.

As far as we’re aware, this is going to be an ambush. But while we’ve had a mole in their ranks, it would be foolish to think this attack might not have got back to them.Recent events are proof enough that we might just have loyalties in the wrong places. The two almost dead bodies we have currently locked away are evidence of that enough.

We surround the building, hiding in the shadows before we get the final signal.

A smile curls at my lips as we storm inside with our guns raised and discover that the Italians couldn’t be any less unprepared for this attack.

The stupid fucks scramble to defend themselves, but they’re too slow as the boys and I take them down with little effort.

Alex, Nico, and Seb go for them using their fists, while Theo, Toby, and I use our guns, the silencers ensuring we don’t get jumped by any of their members who might be hiding out in their rooms.

We don’t shoot to kill. We’re not here for that. We’re here to deliver a message. To point out that we’re always one step ahead of them, and that if we wanted to cut down their numbers, we could easily do so.

“Go check all the rooms,” Dad booms at the six of us when it’s clear we’ve got control of the little party they were having.