Absolution (Road Kings MC And Underworlds 1)

“With access to money, drugs, and munitions, few have,” I pointed out.

“Which is why the Road Kings holding the biggest routes through the Americas is inconveniente, but they too will be standing down.”

Nodding like I agreed, I glanced to the side to see Nick rolling his eyes.

“And the Greek, Italian, and Irish routes?”

“Power makes others weak, and that’s what they are now.”

The door opened behind us, and Raig’s tall form filled it. “Now that’s some mantra, Ribeiro. I don’t speak Portuguese like Fedorov does, I only learned to swear in every language I could because it’s all I give a fuck about. But,” he sat down in one of the small wooden chairs and stretched his legs out, “let me fill you in on some of my international knowledge.”

Ribeiro was tense, his eyes watching everything like a hawk. “Ah, Ryan.”

“Call me Padraig, friend, but none of that Patty shite. It messes with me head.”

He was deliberately making his Irish accent stronger, something Ribeiro would pick up on if he’d done his homework.

Raig had lived most of his life in the USA, but he still had a gentle Irish accent. By making it stronger, he was testing the man to see how much he could fuck with him.

“What is this international knowledge of yours?”

Smirking at him, Raig spun his gun in the air next to his thigh. “See, me mates have just hit a red button—I love those, don’t you?—on a house where your friends were staying in Egypt.

“They’ve also handed in the evidence they’d compiled on them to the government, meaning your other buddies, like the head of the army you had waiting, are now distracted.”

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath in, he made a dramatic humming noise. “Me family’s also got pals in the DRC, and seems none of them were happy to hear that São Tome was planning to drill their mines.

“I hear some of them have some radiation problems, and the locals don’t want that getting out into the country. Terrible thing that radiation, isn’t it?”

Ribeiro’s eye twitched, but he said nothing back.

“So, like I was saying,” he scratched the side of his head with his gun.

“The DRC and Egypt are otherwise occupied, so next on my list is Angola. They went through a terrible war, had embargos and problems with the Russians, but now they’re a virtual paradise, and they want to stay that way.

“Hearing what you had planned means they’re mighty pissed off. And right now, your soldiers there are scattering into the winds, trying to get away from them.”

“You’re lying,” Ribeiro ground out. “No way.”

“I wouldn’t believe me either, that’s why I always like to have what the kids call ‘receipts.’ Look at this photo, and tell me what you think.”

I could see the screen from how he’d angled it, and there was a photo of Vadim and Valka, standing next to a body, who’d been treated to the same as his men had done to ours. On his torso, was the word karma.

“I understand that’s Abar’s brother, your ghost. Shame the other one got away, but I’m sure we’ll catch up with him. Your operation’s kind of fucked up now, though.”

“Never.”

Waving away the comment, Raig smiled at me. “You didn’t have anything to drink, did you?”

“No.”

“Did you touch that pot of coffee?” he nodded at an old metal pot sitting on top of a two-ring portable stove.

“Again, no. I didn’t come here for coffee and a chat.”

“Ah, that’s good. See, we love our friends, and when I got the call from Taras, I spoke to some of the Council, and they decided we didn’t need you anymore, Ribeiro.”

Ribeiro tensed as Raig suddenly got to his feet and walked over to the door, letting in a guy I hadn’t met before. Judging by the look of recognition Ribeiro gave him, though, he knew him well.

“You’ll know him as Jesús, right, pal? But the truth is he’s closer to death than Jesus. See, he managed to put Polonium in your coffee, so you’re about to be going through some stuff.”

Hearing the name of the radiation element, I took a step away from him.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered,” Raig waved his hand at me. “But we couldn’t let this cunt get away with what he’s planning. There’s a balance when it comes to power, mate, and someone upsetting it…” he sucked in a breath between his teeth. “Well, a message has to be sent.”

Ribeiro swallowed harshly as he looked around the three of us, his fingers twitching around the gun in his hand.

“I wouldn’t do that if I was you,” I warned, holding my weapon up.

Almost like he hadn’t heard me, he lifted it and fired it once at his head. The instinct in all of us was to fire before we knew exactly what direction he was going to shoot in, so his own bullet likely killed him, but the ones we shot at him definitely made sure the job was done.