Lord of London Town

Vinnie laughed manically as he pounded holes in heads and hearts. Ronnie screamed bloody revenge, tears streaming down her face as her bullets hit their targets. We pushed and pushed forward, until Eric shouted, “Now!” and gave Mikey and Jim the signal to split off with their men into the other buildings.

Seeing the garage right before us, my family and I brought down the last few stragglers at the front of the old building and stormed inside. I threw my gun over my shoulder and strode toward the door that led to where Cheska and Gene were being held. I stopped at the door and took an inhale of my cig.

Then I closed my eyes and let the rage I’d been holding back for hours fill my muscles and bones, fucking infuse my blood with lava, ready to unleash hell on the cunts behind the door.

I kicked the door open, and right in front of me, sitting on a fucking old armchair, was Ollie Lawson. And around him were heads. Motherfucking heads on spikes. Heads that had been severed from their bodies. I scanned my eyes over them and knew them immediately.

Cheska’s old man.

Hugo, and—

My fucking heart stopped dead as my eyes fell on the third head. Brown hair, olive skin, open green-brown eyes, full fucking lips. I was about to explode. About to lose my fucking head and tear this fuckwit apart with my bare hands, when I looked closer.

It wasn’t Cheska.

My fucking heart jumped back to life. It wasn’t fucking Cheska.

“Be honest,” Ollie said, his legs crossed and his hands clasped on his lap. “I almost had you.”

The door slammed shut behind us, footsteps charging toward me. I knew who it was without looking. But before Freddie could get to me, Eric smashed the butt of his gun into Freddie’s face and grabbed him, pulling his arms behind his back.

“Same fucking move you always do, tosser,” Eric snarled. “Should have known you’d be too fucking thick to try something new.”

I heard Freddie fighting against Eric. But that fucker wasn’t getting out of Eric’s hold anytime soon. I flicked my cig at Ollie’s feet, unconcerned about my traitorous brother for now. Ollie watched the butt nearly hit his shoes and smiled at me.

I was going to wipe that smirk off his ugly fucking face.

“So?” Ollie sat back in his seat like we were having a casual conversation. “What brings you to my neck of the woods?”

“Where is she?” I growled, playing the fucking game. Freddie could stew a little in Eric’s arms until I was ready to end him. I had to deal with this piece of shit first.

“Oh, you mean Cheska?” Ollie got to his feet. He gestured to the heads of her old man and Hugo. “She was feeling a little unwell after seeing these two. After believing they were dead.” He paused. “They weren’t, in case you didn’t know.” I did know; it was what I’d told my family back at my church. Ronnie’s file had told me they had sold her to Lawson. They had been on their way to the Caribbean to start their lives over. But when Cheska had escaped Lawson’s attack at the spa, he’d held them captive until she was found. Clearly, he’d never planned on letting them get abroad.

I let Lawson have his little fucking speech. Let him believe he was running this show. “You see, they sold her to me, Adley. Technically, she’s mine. Payment for their debt.” He shrugged. “You know the drill. You dabble in loaning money yourself.”

“She’s fucking mine,” I said, my voice guttural and deadly.

“Now that’s where you’re wrong.” I waited for him to continue. “You can’t have her if you’re dead.”

The door to the room I knew Cheska and Gene were in slammed open, and two men opened fire. But we had been prepared. We’d read them fucking perfectly. Ollie wasn’t the leader his old man had been. He was a sniffling, spoiled little fucker who had no idea what it took to run a successful fucking crime empire.

Vinnie and Vera were already there, firing bullets into their skulls. Brains spilled onto the floor.

Ollie went to draw his gun, but I was there in a second, sending my fist into his ugly mug and slicing through his hamstrings with my knife. He screamed and fell to the floor. I kicked away his gun, circling him where he lay clutching his legs.

Then Cheska and Gene were dragged into the room by the last two of Lawson’s men. Ronnie and Betsy checked the other offices, searching for anyone else. But my eyes were fixed on Cheska. On her beautiful fucking face. Her perfect face that had been beaten, blood running down it. The entire room filled with red as a murderous mist descended over my eyes.

They’d touched my girl. This cunt had touched my fucking girl!