Page 34 of Empire of Carnage

Ethan spread us apart before spit went flying everywhere from how hard the man was seething.

“Get the fuck out of here.” Santos pointed to the door, with his gun in hand once the distinction of who would be aligning themselves with Hughes and Dez, and who would be coming to Mexico was decided.

To join the fucking cártel.

16

Santos

“Faster,” I shouted at the remnants of traitors who scurried out of the compound.

It would be a game of speed now between us to recruit soldiers to our side, see how many men Ronan would want to take back home. Saying it was weird, not saying it was… well, wrong for one. Itwashome.

Because she was there.

I wasn’t sure if the surreal part was that it was with her, or that I was finally getting to live in the place where my family came from. Reconnecting made you feel like an imposter somehow, like an outsider intruding in.

Which meant Kane and Zerkos were feeling a thousand times more weird about it, poor gringo-ass motherfuckers. I made a mental note to put some effort into checking in with them about all of these changes. Culture shock was a real fucking thing, and I wasn’t even sure the last time I’d seen Mateo eat anything not seasoned with mayonaise.

“We should end this thing with Archer Jr. before it gets out of hand,” I told Zerkos without even looking back at him, gun still pointed at absolutely nothing since the last of the Crow traitors had evacuated.

“Killing him won’t end this beef with the Russians,” he said, his jaw clenching tight, making me realize Archer was just a fly on his food.

He wasn’t threatened.

That was a mistake. It was always the smallest bugs that left the worst bites.

“Killing him will stop it from getting worse. Stop the men that up until five minutes ago were considered our family for the last seven years from getting killed in the process too.” I scowled, my anger rising to the surface.

“Do you all feel that way?” Ronan asked the room.

“He needs to die brother,” Fletcher said plainly.

“Traitors don’t get to live,” was my only contribution.

The rest of the men in the room all gave their silent agreement.

“How do we find him?” Ronan asked, accepting the fact he couldn’t declare he wasn’t the boss anymore while still trying to hold authority over our men.

We were all equals now.

“If he’s cozying up to the Bratvas then he’s hiding out in all their spots too, he wouldn’t stray far from their protection,” Ethan answered.

“Is Sokolov’s daughter still here?” I asked.

“Yup. Looks like she’s real comfy too.” He smirked.

“I’ll go find her,” I announced before turning on my heels and exiting the room.

She wasn’t in the main area with the bar and all the pool tables. I took the stairs up, skipping one or two at a time until I got to the top before I realized I had no idea which room she’d be in. I wasn’t gonna be barging in on any of these fuckers’ privacy. I didn’t have a death wish.

Well, I did. But being pulverized by a biker wasn’t how I intended to go.

A prospect tumbled out of his room with one of the little club bunnies in tow. He practically jumped when he saw me, distancing himself from her and scratching his head suspiciously. I could use a dumbass right about now.

“Hey kid,” I beckoned him over and his eyes jarred open anxiously.

“Uh… What’s up?”