Page 133 of Never Say Never

"The kids are gone."

"How the hell are they gone?" he roared.

I smiled. Navy and Nyra had been well trained since they could walk. They both knew the drill; if someone took them, they were to stay together, look for a way out, stay out of sight, and wait for help. Relief flooded me knowing that they weren't at the mercy of some goon. That was all I needed to move.

"Stay right where you are," I snapped at all of them.

I moved forward swiftly, crouching beside Paolo when I reached him. My fingers pressed against his throat. His pulse was still there, but weaker than it should be, faint and fluttery. I swore under my breath. The desire to kill each and every one of them coursed through me, but if I moved off Qiang, I knew we were all dead.

"What now, Agent?" Qiang asked. "If you make one bad move, you're dead. Or he's dead. I can't decide who I would enjoy killing first and seeing the other suffer. You're both a pain in my ass."

"Good. Glad to know we’ve made an impact. You’re going to prison."

Qiang smiled. "You think prison scares me? I can run more from behind bars than I could out here. My empire will still be mine. And I'll live like a king in there." He chuckled. "You really don't understand shit about this world."

My hand shook. The thought of this asshole living like a king and continuing to kill even while he was locked away, cemented the rare switch in my psyche. For once, justice wasn't justice if it meant he was locked away instead of six feet under the ground. I wanted Qiang dead.

The longer we stood there, the factory so quiet you could hear a pin drop, the more the tension weighed down on my shoulders. It was so thick you could slice into it and it would bleed. One wrong move and this would all erupt into chaos.

What do I do? There's too many of them. If I move this gun, I'll die. If I shoot, we'll die. What do I do?

"Hold on." Paolo grunted as he dragged himself to his knees. "Give it a minute."

"What?" I asked.

"Shhh, baby. You'll hear it soon." He shuffled a little to the left. The sound of grunting followed. When I dared to spare a single glance, he had relieved one of the men of his gun only after he elbowed him in the face. "It's coming."

"Hear what? What's coming?"

I stole a glance at Paolo. His face was a tapestry of pain, blood splattering one side of his face and his right eye was swelling up before my eyes. However, he was still grinning. He coughed hard, spit up blood, and kept right on smiling.

"Paolo, I'm a little afraid that they might have hit you in the head a bit too hard," I muttered. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Never better, sweet cheeks." He yanked me against his side, raised a finger, and pointed it at Qiang. "You're going to die the worst. Oh man, I can't wait to see it."

"Shut him up," Tasso shouted. "I've had enough of this bullshit!"

My aim switched from Qiang to Tasso as soon as he raised a gun and leveled it at us. I pulled the trigger. The shout that left his mouth was almost satisfying. One minute he stood up, the next, he fell to the ground, shouting about his fucking arm.

"Hurts like a bitch, doesn't it?" I asked.

Gunshots rang out. I ducked on instinct, pulling Gianpaolo down with me to get out of the line of fire. People poured into the factory. At first I thought it was feds, but then I noticed a familiar face. Benito Vitale was front and center, and along with him was the man I had only seen in photos; Harlow Vitale.

The factory descended into mayhem. As soon as we were no longer the sole focus, I grabbed Paolo, dragged him behind a stack of crates, and crouched down beside him.

"You're too fucked up to fight," I told him. "Stay here."

He groaned. "No way in hell. I have a few promises to keep."

"Sorry, but I'm putting my foot down. Stay here. Don't move."

"I can't promise that."

"Do it or be killed," I said. "By me."

Gianpaolo smiled. "So violent. You're like an animal, York."

I punched him in the arm and he grimaced. "See? Stay here."