My nerves flared. I pushed through it and picked my menu up. “I can’t wait.”
Misha didn’t touch his menu. Instead, his attention focused on a group of men entering the restaurant.
There were eight of them. They were all Asian and exquisitely dressed—blood-red pants, black mesh turtlenecks, white leather jackets, and boots. The most muscular of the group stood in front. He wore black and white paneled driving gloves on his hands and sucked on a red lollipop.
Hold up. Are these the Xecutioners?
Mrs. Hightower talked while she checked out the menu. I couldn’t comprehend any of her words. This group had captured all of my attention.
The biggest difference between the men was their hair. The man sucking on the lollipop had black hair with a red streak in the front.
The man next to him had a slim figure. Brilliant blond hair fell around his pretty face which revealed the eyes of a devil.
And the differences continued, blue hair or silver. Pink or short brown curls. One of them stood in the far back with a black hat.
This has to be them.
My body tensed.
“Ava?” Barbara smiled at me. “Are you okay?”
“Y-yes.”
“Oh, I see my friends. If you two don’t mind, I would love to say hi to them.” Misha rose without our response. “Ava, please order for me.”
“Okay.”
Barbara declared, “Everything looks so amazing. Remember this meal is on me.”
“No way, Barbara. Today we’re celebrating Ava’s new opportunities. This meal is on me.” Misha buttoned his jacket and gestured for Maxwell and Naveen to come with him. “I’ll be right back, Ava.”
Will you?
A cold shiver crept up my spine.
They walked off.
Our waiter appeared.
I gestured for Barbara to order first. My attention followed Misha, Naveen, and Maxwell, as they headed to the group I believed were the Xecutioners.
In one movement, the faces of the eight men snapped to Misha. It was if this group was one unified being. The Xecutioners eyed Misha in silence. When he arrived within a foot from them, there was no move to greet him and all the pairs of eyes held intrigue.
The waiter grabbed my attention.
“I’m still. . .deciding.” My heart boomed in my chest. “More wine please.”
The waiter nodded.
I took another sip of my wine.
Misha and the rest left the restaurant, taking the view of them away from me. Instantly, I spotted an X branded on the back of one of the Xecutioners’ neck.
Please be careful, Misha.Chapter 20
Misha
When I walked up to the Xecutioners, I kept my back to Ava’s view and sneered. “We don’t talk in here. We do this outside.”
The Xecutioners gave me no response. The one with the black hat opened the door and held it for his brothers. When it came time for me to walk out, he let the door close.
I stopped at the closed door and glanced at Naveen. “That one is not much of a gentleman.”
“I told you this was risky.” Naveen frowned. “We should have stayed underground.”
“Ava needed to meet her new agent.”
“Fuck her new agent.”
Maxwell shrugged. “I would.”
Naveen and I turned to him.
“The agent.” Maxwell looked serious. “I would fuck her.”
Sighing, Naveen opened the door for us. I left. Maxwell and Naveen followed.
The Xecutioners stood outside of the restaurant in a half-circle. Hiro was positioned a few feet in the center as if they practiced this stance many times. They were definitely a well-knit team. While we considered the Bratva the true Brotherhood, the Xecutioners took it to a whole other level.
Naveen stood on my left. Maxwell was on my right, appearing ready to pull his gun out if necessary. There were no other men I would want with me and charging into war.
But will we win, with this creepy squad breathing up my neck?
The sound of the door came behind me.
I knew without checking that Dima, Anatoly, and my other men hurried out. Several of them swarmed around the Xecutioners. Dima reached for his gun.
I held up my hand. He put the gun back. We couldn’t have the violence around Ava.
Hiro gave his lollipop a long lick.
“We’re here.” I gestured around us. “What did you need to say that couldn’t be said in a phone call or email?”
“I don’t have your email address.” Hiro placed the lollipop to the side of his mouth and kept it there. “If I did, perhaps I would have used it.”
“What do you want to say?”
“You outbid one contract. The other’s deadline is here.”
“You’ve come to kill me?” I stepped to him.
Some of the Xecutioners shifted to a fighting stance—hands in the air. One pulled a katana out. Another whipped out a sword.
This triggered Maxwell to respond with two guns aimed their way—one at Hiro’s dome and the other at Mr. Katana. Naveen’s gun targeted the pretty blonde of the group.
The few pedestrians on the sidewalk hurried off. One woman screeched.
Unbothered, Hiro studied my face. “You think we would kill you outside of this fancy restaurant, so your lover can rush out and see your bloody body all over the sidewalk?”