Ride or Die (Rejects Paradise 4)

“This is messed up,” Colton mutters under his breath, staying close by my side.

I follow Christian, and as we walk deeper into the large basement, he walks over to the side of the room and turns on the clinical lighting above.

I suck in a breath.

There are three men scattered throughout the room, one I was expecting, and the other two a complete mystery. They dangle from the roof, their tippy-toes barely meeting the ground as the massive meat hooks hold them up by their wrists.

It really is like a horror movie in here.

I keep my attention on the man in the very center of the room.

Vincent DeCarlo.

Within seconds, understanding begins to dawn on Colton, even more so as Vincent glances up to find Colton and instantly starts thrashing in his binds, desperate to get free. After all, I was there the day that Colton made him a very specific promise, one that I’m sure lingers in the front of his mind every second of every day.

I don’t need to look up at Colton to know that he knows exactly why I brought him here. While he probably had his own brilliant plan set in place, he doesn’t seem too displeased with mine. Though, to be fair, I thought it’d take the Wolves a little more than one night to find the bastard. I have to give them credit for that.

I make my way across the room with the Wolves at my back and Colton still right by my side, not willing to risk letting me out of his sight for one second.

The Wolves begin to crowd around Vincent and as they do, I turn to face them, waiting until every last one of them are here and ready.

Russo moves through the Wolves until he has a front-row seat, still looking like absolute shit as he leans against a cane, his eyes quickly scanning over Colton. “Why have you brought us all here?” he demands, cutting to the chase and looking as though he could tear Colton apart where he stands.

I stare him down, making a point that I don’t like being rushed. I mean, if it also rubs dirt into the wound that I currently have his men at my disposal, even better. He made his bed, and now it’s time for me to fuck all over it.

I tear my gaze away from Russo’s, letting him know that I’ll be doing things my way and not allowing him to try and run my show. “You’ve all been waiting for me to make some kind of move, well here it is,” I tell them. “I’m assuming that many of you have heard of the DeCarlo family.”

“Yeah,” one of the Wolves in the front says with an arrogant grunt. “What of it? Every fucker around here knows of them. The whole fucking country knows them. So what? They have nothing to do with us.”

“I know,” I say, sending a gare his way. “They have nothing to do with us because they have everything to do with the Widows. They’re their main source of income right now. Dominic struck a deal with them last year, now every cent of their illegal businesses run through the Widows. Without them …”

I let the thought linger in the air and watch as understanding beings to dawn on their faces, and along with it comes respect. They're no longer seeing me as just a dumb girl, but someone with brains, a chip on my shoulder, and the overwhelming need to prove myself.

Christian steps in closer, his eyes narrowing as he looks over my shoulder at Vincent. “They’d have nothing without this fucker. No cash flow, no access to weapons or drugs. They’d be out of business within weeks.”

I nod. “I mean, I’m sure they’d find other connections and make more deals, but this would be a massive hit. This would set them back years, and they’d never fully recover, leaving the Wolves as the only major players in town. Dealers will have no choice but to run their drugs through us, weapon dealers, and everyone else in the fucking game is ours for the taking.”

I glance back at Russo to find his brow raised, looking somewhat impressed as his men grin, looking as though they’re already prepared for a massive payday.

“Alright, then,” Christian says, pulling out his gun and stepping up in front of Vincent. “Say no more.”

“Hold up,” I say, reaching out and taking the gun right out of his hands, only to have him gaping at me as though I just committed some terrible, offensive crime. “That’s what Colton is here for.”

I hand the gun back to Colton, and Christian instantly tenses, not trusting him for one second. Ignoring him, I continue, not about to let this bullshit come to light, especially while we’re down here. “A few months ago, Vincent had his sons come through Colton’s home, my home. They terrorized us, destroyed our home, and killed a good friend of mine. Colton made a promise that night to destroy the whole DeCarlo name and so far, has solely been responsible for dealing with every single one of them. Now, there's only one left. Call it two birds, one stone.”