Savages (Depraved Sinners 3)

“What fucking choice do we have?” he demands. “We need Louis gone, and you three are the only ones fucked enough in the head to make it happen. Whether we like it or not, you’re here for the long haul, and when it comes to self-preservation, we’ll do whatever the fuck it takes. Too many lives have already been lost, and after our brother’s role in getting you locked in that fucking castle, we owe it to you. We will vow our loyalty under the condition that Louis dies.”

Roman watches them cautiously, studying each and every one of them. “You’ll back us against our enemies? Against your own fucking blood?” he questions. “You know this move has already ruffled feathers. The family is divided, and a war is imminent. It’s knocking on our door just waiting for us to let it in. Are you prepared for what being loyal to us truly means?”

Each of them swallows hard, quickly glancing at one another before finally nodding. “Yes, cousins,” the front and center dude says. “We’re prepared.”

Roman glances to each of his brothers and the blank stare on each of their faces gives absolutely nothing away, yet somehow, they read each other’s minds perfectly. “Okay,” Roman finally says, his expression darkening more by the second. “Consider it a deal. Louis’ head for a lifetime of loyalty,” he says, slowly scanning his gaze over each of his cousins. “I do not need to remind you what happens to men who cross me and my brothers.”

“We swore our loyalty,” the chaser cuts in, not liking being questioned. “We stand by our word.”

“Very well,” Roman says. “We’ll let you know once the job is done.”

“Good,” main dude says. “We look forward to it.”

And just like that, the four cousins slink away into the shadows, and the boys turn to make their way back up the stairs, acting as though they didn’t just get hired to complete a hit that they were responsible for in the first place. “Uhhhhhh,” I say, following them up the stairs and back into the big house. “You guys realize that you’re killing a man, to get payback for the other man that you killed?”

Marcus looks back at me, a wide grin stretching across his handsome face. “Poetic, isn’t it?”

I shake my head and grumble under my breath. “Fucking insane is what it is.”

We all make our way into the informal lounge room and the boys drop down onto the couches, instantly throwing ideas off each other for how they intend to take out yet another uncle. I shake my head as I cross the room and reach up over the fireplace, pulling down a fancy as fuck sword that’s been wasted as decoration. “Aren’t you guys tired?” I complain, striding across the room and laying the sword down on the ground before searching around the room and finding the long fire poker beside the fireplace.

I go to grab it as Marcus leans back in the couch. “Fucking dead tired,” he mutters. “But there’s too much to go over from that party. We need to work out where our enemies lie.”

I drop the fire poker down by the sword and scan the room again. “Shit, where am I going to find three more long pointy things?”

Levi grins. “I’ve got a long pointy thing for ya.”

I choke on my own spit as Roman glares, cutting off whatever bullshit Marcus was going to follow that one up with. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Trying to make a pentagram,” I murmur as I realize that I can use the sheath from the sword. “Figured I’d try and summon the devil so he can take you assholes right back where you belong.”

Marcus laughs and gets up from the couch before grabbing hold of me and dragging me back. “Fucking hell, babe,” he says, dropping back onto the couch and pulling me down with him. “If we’re going to the deepest pits of hell, then you better fucking believe that we’re dragging you right along with us.”

A grin plasters across my face and I turn into him, pressing my lips to his as his fingers lock onto the small zipper on my back. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

25

The moon hovers high in the sky as we barrel down the road, speeding through the twisty streets of the dodgiest area in town. My gaze lingers on the dark sky, watching the way the moon seems to travel with us, though I seem to get stalked by everything else, why not get stalked by the big old cheese ball in the sky?

“Why do we always have to do this shit in the middle of the night?” I question, my gaze flicking back to the guys.

Levi glances at me as Marcus silently sleeps like the living dead on my right. “You’re kidding, right?” he questions. “You’re not seriously asking us why we do shit at night.”

My eyes roll so hard that I fear they might roll straight out of my eye sockets. “Of course I know why you have to do this at night, I’m just over it. I don’t think I’ve had a proper night’s sleep since meeting you guys. Like, can’t you just wear a disguise? Grow a mustache or something?”

Roman’s irritated huff from the front seat has me wanting to reach through the front and nut punch the bastard, but when he turns off into an area that has every single streetlight shot out, I forget what the hell we were talking about. “Well, this ain’t shady at all,” I murmur, my eyes wide as the need to lock the door slams through my chest. “Where are we?”

Roman drives toward a big warehouse and pulls up around back, keeping the SUV hidden in the shadows. “This is my father’s warehouse,” Roman says as Levi reaches back and gives Marcus a shove to wake him. “Anything you need in this world, I can guarantee you’ll find it here. Drugs, guns, dirty money. This is the heart and soul of my father’s operation. Sure, he has other warehouses in case this one gets raided, but without this, he’s got nothing.”

Levi’s eyes flash with something dark as he slowly turns to meet my stare, and I see the twisted need to destroy his father glowing deep in his gaze. “And now, it’s all ours.”

Damn fucking straight!

The four of us pile out of the car and the boys fall in around me as though this is somewhere I need to be protected. The warehouse looks as though a good huff and puff could blow the fucker down, but something tells me that looks are deceiving. Giovanni DeAngelis is a smart businessman, and he’s not going to allow his whole operation to come undone with a simple storm. There’s more to the picture here, I’m just not seeing it yet.

The boys look left to right as though they’re expecting someone to jump out at them, but after Roman’s announcement during the party and the whole family divided, I wouldn’t be surprised. Feathers are ruffled, people are on edge and want to align themselves with who they think will come out on top, and everyone who chooses wrong will be punished. The boys were lenient, giving the family a few days to think it over and make the right decision, because in the end, anyone who stands against these three assholes is already considered dead.

We approach a back door and my gaze scans over it. At first glimpse, it looks just like any shitty old back door on an abandoned warehouse, but looking closer, it’s hard metal with an advanced tech locking system that my brain can’t even begin to work out. “What the hell?” I breathe, taking a step back to get a wider view, realizing that the whole building is made out of this stuff, but to the naked eye, it appears as anything but.