The Hit (Team Zulu 1)

25

Shep

Sonofabitch.

I held in a growl as the footsteps drew nearer.

My mind worked overtime to come up with a plan, except I had fuck all to work with. I didn’t have time to undo all these damned knots around my ankles. Every injury in my body pounded with my pulse.

Cam rushed to help me with the ropes. The terror in her eyes told me she knew who was coming down those stairs.

I pulled her closer and put my lips to her ear. “There’s no time. The pillar over there,” I whispered and pointed to a concrete support column on the far side of the room. “Get behind it and stay there. No matter what, all right?”

She made a small noise but nodded and ran to hide. Thank Christ she didn’t argue with me because I couldn’t have these assholes getting their hands on her again.

Judging by the casual steps approaching, I guessed Franky didn’t know Cam was free and wandering around his club. And even though I had a serious beef with Landers, at least he’d remembered his allegiances before it was too late.

I worked to calm my breathing. Franky would say his piece now, and then he’d finish me. Whether we made it out of here alive hinged on this moment.

One, two, three sets of shoes came into view as they descended the stairs. Just enough time for me to put my hands behind my back, rest my chin on my chest, and stare at the floor. The picture of a subdued prisoner.

Franky came to stand in the middle of the room ten feet in front of me. I raised my head slowly so it appeared heavy on my neck, which wasn’t hard to fake. I felt pretty rough.

Two enforcers, the huge guy who’d dragged me off the airplane, and the redhead who’d laid into me earlier, took up positions at the wall behind Franky, flanking him.

No one suspected Cam’s presence in the room. And if they noticed I looked like a drowned rat, they didn’t mention it.

The mob boss wore an impassive expression that I wanted to drill into the ground.

“Mr. Shepherd.” Franky clasped his hands behind his back. “It’s been some time since we were face to face. You’re looking significantly more… haggard than our last meeting.”

“What, this?” I licked the side of my mouth where blood still leaked. “I’ve taken worse beatings from the guys on my team when we were fucking around. Your crew are pussies.” I scowled at the ginger jerk on the left.

A muscle in Franky’s jaw twitched. “You have nothing to gain by being disrespectful. Not after the trouble you’ve caused me.”

I shook my head and leveled him with a hard stare. “You shouldn’t have sent your men to my home.”

“Youshould have done what you were paid to do.” Franky raised his voice, a rare display of emotion from the unfeeling bastard.

“You’re taking things too far, Franky. Hit contracts on innocent women? What next? Children? You’re barely human anymore.”

“I will do whatever it takes to keep order among my organization. My methods may seem brutal, yet it’s because of my ruthlessness that I control this city and everyone in it. I even had your own friend track you down. How did it feel to be betrayed by an ally?”

Fucking Landers. It would be hard not to kill him on sight if I ever made it out of this basement.

I shrugged and spat a little blood on the floor at Franky’s feet. “People only do what you want because you threaten to destroy something they love or you pay them off, not because they respect you. Your empire is built on fear and manipulation.” I laughed and leaned back in the seat acting casual and insolent as fuck. “You’re gonna lose it all. One day soon when you’re dead, those of us who know what you truly are will celebrate. Good riddance to Franky fucking Russo. The biggest piece of shit this city ever produced.”

Franky’s nostrils flared as he eyed the red stain on the floor, his hands clenched into fists at his side. When his eyes came back to mine, simmering with anger, I knew I’d hit my target. I needed all of Franky’s masks to be stripped away. I needed the raw beast before me. The one whose wrath and vengeance led him to commit unspeakable acts.

He sneered. “When we spoke on the phone last week, you never mentioned how lovely Ms. McKenzie is. A rare natural beauty. Not long ago she begged me to spare your miserable life. On her knees, right before me.” Franky adjusted his crotch. “She was so… convincing that I was almost tempted to give her what she asked.”

Fuck, no. Cam had said she was fine, but would she let on if she wasn’t? And why was she wearing those clothes? The too-tight cami exposing plenty of skin and a scrap of material for shorts? My biggest fear for Cam had always been the abuse she’d suffer if Franky caught her.

My limbs trembled with rage. That Franky or his guys would put their filthy fucking hands on her made me want to charge like a raging bull and tear them limb from limb.

My teeth clenched and chest heaved with every fury-filled breath I drew. A roar threatened to burst from my lungs. I’d been trained for torture and interrogation, but it didn’t make this any easier to endure. What small sense I had left told me to focus and stick with the plan. It took all of my strength to keep my hands glued behind my back, because Franky still hadn’t done what I needed him to do.

But he’d discovered my weakness. Cam was the one thing that could bring me to my knees. I snarled like a rabid wolf and hoped Franky read my death stare as the promise it was.