I detached myself from everything with the third.
Almost there.
I floated outside of myself as I stabbed him the fourth time.
Now I was chasing pure darkness.
Succumbing to the needs I’d forced to the far edges of my soul.
Running like a madman towards the evil that infected the parts of me I could never eradicate.
His blood was my blood.
I fucking bled the same pain he did.
His cries were my cries.
And finally, when he took his last breath, he was as dead as I was.
My frenzy finished when blood and guts lay sprawled out before me, a feast for my black heart.
I stood and dropped the knife on his dead body. Blood covered every inch of my skin. I barely noticed it, though. The high buzzing my veins stole my attention. Every single last speck of it.
I was just getting started.
Tonight we would blaze chaos through this city.
Anarchy was the only answer to Romano’s deeds.
Hyde stepped in front of me and snatched up the knife. “It’s done, brother.”
My eyes cut to his briefly before glancing around at the slaughter. Death surrounded us. It filled my senses in exactly the way I needed it to. But my wrath still raged, and I knew it wouldn’t be sated until I had Romano’s blood on my hands.
I looked at Hyde. “Everyone?”
He nodded.
I picked up my gun. “Light the fucking match.”
Sweeping my gaze over the room one last time, I stalked out, my mind already shifting to the next stop on tonight’s death train. My men followed, Hyde and Devil torching the joint, leaving Romano’s empire in a state of destruction. Next stop, his allies. If they didn’t agree to our terms for how we would conduct business going forward, they would suffer my wrath, too.
2
King
The headache I’d had for days sank its claws deeper into me. Nothing I took came close to easing it. Not even the shit Lily had given me.
Fuck.
I exited the clubhouse bar and headed to my office. Shutting myself in, door closed, I dumped my phone on the desk, switched the lamp on, and reached for the bottle of whisky that had become my saviour. I guzzled a mouthful, hardly noticing the burn as it slid down my throat.
Sitting, I rested my head back against the top of the chair and took another swig of whisky. I couldn’t get this shit into me fast enough. My only goal tonight was to knock myself the fuck out and silence the thoughts and feelings slowly killing me.
Last night we’d cut a path through Melbourne, making it very fucking clear Romano no longer held any power in that city. Blood had been spilt. Fuck, for some, it had flowed. But in the end, I’d made every last motherfucker understand that Storm now ran Melbourne. And they’d spread that news around today. I’d taken a lot of fucking calls when we’d arrived back late this afternoon. We’d stepped on a lot of toes, pissed a lot of people off. I couldn’t have cared less. I’d already told Winter to pack his bags and prepare to move to Melbourne. He’d be heading up our operation down there. I’d never been interested in that city; now I’d take it over.
A knock sounded at the door, and Axe stepped inside. His gaze landed on the whisky in front of me, and he frowned. “You okay, brother?”
“Yeah. What’s up?”