Page 86 of The Brigadier

Meanwhile, given Maxim hadn’t liked being smashed in the head, he immediately tackled Tanner, but not before a bullet tore through Tanner’s shoulder.

I tossed the weapons to my men, taking aim at several soldiers. With every brutal pop of my gun, and those from Vadim and his soldiers, another two or three of the bastards went down.

The noise was horrific, grunts and animalistic sounds filling the dense space. I couldn’t help it but the owners of this place were going to have to do a full renovation afterward.

“On your right!” Vadim yelled.

I had a split second to react, lunging to the right before a string of bullets hit. As soon as I dropped, skidding across the floor, I twisted my body and with both hands on my weapon, fired directly at the soldier still determined to end my life.

Between the force and from just how close the man had managed to get, his body was pitched backward, slammed against the lovely, smashed counter. The entire moment was as if slow motion had usurped natural time, the echoes of gunfire not nearly as powerful as the shock in his eyes when he realized his world was fading into black.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Maxim dropped near me, firing off a heavy round before finding a moment to glance in my direction. His grin meant he was having way too much fun as usual.

God love the man and his enthusiasm.

More gunfire filled the air, the stench of gunpowder and blood permeating my nostrils. One of the assholes appeared out of nowhere, taking aim at my head. It was close range. Too close. I managed to grab the man mid action, first breaking his arm before tossing him against the wall.

With a single shot between his eyes and a bloodstain on the wall as his body started to slide, I was completely certain the fucker was dead.

I noticed Vadim was standing over another asshole, his normally impeccable suit covered in blood and gore. He wiped his face, shooting me a grin before ending the life of what could be the last enemy soldier.

Slowly, I rose to my feet, checking to ensure my men were safe and unharmed. Danny half laughed.

“You know how to have fun, boss.” He kept his voice low, just in case other assholes were waiting in the wings.

Everyone in our crew was doing the same thing, two of Vadim’s soldiers racing to the back door to ensure there weren’t more of them outside, waiting like vultures.

Within seconds, the quiet became eerie, so much so I continued scanning the area, certain more of the sons of bitches would appear from the shadows.

“Check the front,” I said to Danny, who immediately headed to the door. I could only imagine the fear resonating in the area. All I needed to do was to glance out the busted front window, noticing it wasn’t just quiet on the two-lane street.

There was literally no movement, not a single customer hanging out on the sidewalks or foot traffic of any sort.

This attack had been a lure.

And well planned.

Vadim rose to his feet, shaking his head as he walked closer. “I can’t let you go off on your own at all. Can I?”

“How did you know?”

He glanced around the room, settling his heated gaze on Tanner. Now both my men were roughing him up, tenderizing the man as Maxim would say.

I let them go. I was angry enough to break every bone in the man’s body, but what good would it actually do? None.

I paced the floor, cursing under my breath. When I looked again, Tanner was being dragged closer.

“Something Luciano said. We both knew there was someone in your midst who had an ear to the ground at minimum. I’m certain I need to clean house as well.”

“Yeah, but I wonder if the person in your world hits so close to home.”

“You never know with these things. What you should realize is that whoever is behind this thing carries a lot of weight. If he could turn Tanner, then you bet he has enough money and clout to do that to a dozen other of our people.”

“Then we need to weed them out.” My words were laced with absolute venom. I couldn’t believe this kind of thing had happened. Not only in this period of existence but guided by someone I’d believed to be a friend.

Danny returned, nodding. “All clear.” He noticed Tanner and his eyes turned to black. “Fucking asshole.” He took long strides, immediately issuing a brutal punch to Tanner’s gut.