He slapped me.
Pissed, I dove for him. Not many had ever gotten that close to getting me. Hiro had to get smacked at least once for the violation. I rushed for him. Hiro swiveled away. I pointed my gun at him. Hiro kicked it away. The weapon fell to the floor.
I gave a hard jab to his chin.
He slammed my side with brutal force. I swore he’d rearranged organs in my body.
But I’m not dead yet, bitch!
I delivered a blow that almost lifted the man off the floor. Shocked, he stumbled back. Blood dripped from his nose. He dapped at it with his finger, looked at it, and roared.
When he came for me, I drew back my hand and slashed it at his throat. He ducked it, pulled out a knife, and swiped my thigh.
“Ah!” I spun away from him. My thigh burned. I breathed through the pain. My pause was too long.
In seconds Hiro was in front, he head-butted me. Pain sliced through my head. I elbowed his jaw. Hiro twisted me around as if we were dancing, jumped into the air, and wrapped his legs around my neck.
What the fuck?
Unable to hold us both up, I fell to the floor. He came down with me. One of my men shot at Hiro. He let me go and rolled away.
“Wait! Don’t shoot him!” Grabbing my neck, I rose from the ground, pulled out the device from my pocket, and raised it in the air. “Hiro, listen to this!”
Four feet away Hiro kept his hands at his sides and whistled.
Most of the Xecutioners paused from fighting.
My chest heaved with pain. I scanned the space. More of my men lay dead on the ground. Naveen stumbled over to me. Maxwell still wrestled with the blond on the ground. Feathers covered their upper bodies. They must’ve somehow ripped open a mattress or pillow that was full of feathers.
Hiro whistled again.
The blond jumped off Maxwell.
“Come.” Hiro gestured to me. “The Mosquito wants to play us a song before he dies.”
I gritted my teeth. “When we fought, my death wasn’t guaranteed.”
“Then, why stop.”
“Because you’re growing on me, and one doesn’t fight unless he has to.”
“Or if he is guaranteed to win.”
I leaned my head to the side. “Can you guarantee that you’ll win?”
Hiro’s confidence left him. “Play your song.”
I stood for a moment and looked at the crumpled pile of dead bodies. Most were my men, but we’d added a few of the Xecutioners to the mix. Turning back to Hiro, I played the recorder.
Leonid’s voice filled the room. “When the Xecutioners finish the contract, kill them!”
Another man spoke on the device. “How?”
“Bomb the Alligator’s Den,” Leonid said. “That’s where they are now.”
“And what about the other Xecutioners that could come?”
“We blame the Brotherhood. The Lion likes to bomb things. The chinks would believe them.”
The recording ended. I stopped it and tossed the device to Hiro. “Have your people check it.”
Hiro studied it. “Where did you get this?”
“The device is mine. My man hacked into one of Leonid’s phone conversations last night. As you can understand, I was desperately trying to find him.”
Hiro looked at me. “Did you get his location?”
“Not yet.”
Hiro twisted the device in his hand and glanced at his brothers.
“You already know the measure of Leonid’s soul,” I continued. “Do you believe after you kill me, that he would hesitate to get rid of you?”
Hiro remained quiet.
Adjusting his torn jacket, Maxwell walked over. Naveen came to my side. Blood splatter covered the front of his shirt.
I directed my attention back to Hiro. “I knew where you were staying due to the recording. Leonid is correct about one thing. My cousin enjoys bombs. I do too. Why didn’t I just bomb the place?”
The rest of the Xecutioners gathered behind Hiro.
I placed my hands in my pockets. “I believe we share two enemies.”
Hiro tilted his head to the side. “Two?”
“Play the rest of the device. I have another phone call on there.”
Hiro looked down at it and pressed the button.
My voice sounded. “Who is this?”
The Dragon’s voice came next. “You shut down the power in my country, but do not know my voice?”
All of the Xecutioners’ faces shifted to rage.
I swallowed, needing this to convince them of my plot.
The Dragon continued, “You helped my enemies take something precious from me. Therefore, I will help your enemies take something precious from you.”
Hiro stopped the device and looked up at me. Fury stormed in his eyes.
“Feel free to keep that and listen as much as you want. The Dragon has a lovely voice.”
Hiro put it in his pocket. “This changes many things.”
“I want Leonid dead. You want the Dragon gone. Or am I making incorrect assumptions?”
“Can you kill the Dragon?”
“I can try.” I stepped forward.
The Xecutioners’ gazes shot to me.
I raised my hands. “Why fight each other when we have bigger enemies to get rid of? The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”