Ace awoke suddenly. He looked around wildly, searching for whatever had woken him so abruptly. He didn’t recognize where he was, but then that wasn’t uncommon for him. The beginnings of morning light filtered through the curtains, softly illuminating the room. Ace looked down next to him and saw a mass of brown hair that seemed to have exploded during the night.

 

Last night! Ace remembered frantically.

 

Memories came flooding back to him: Fiona and her friend walking into The Crabtree; realizing Fiona was about as far from a biker babe as you could get; kissing her in the back office, feeling her kiss him back; feeling her wrap her arms tight around him as she rode on the back of his Harley; lapping at her sweet pussy from behind as he gripped her perfect ass.

 

Ace felt his cock begin to stir once again as he remembered eating Fiona out. Never had he known a woman could taste so good. He thought he could have her breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and still be hungry for dessert.

 

He started to slowly inch his way down the bed, thinking he could wake Fiona up by having some breakfast in bed. Ace gently slid the sheet down her naked body, growing harder by the second.

 

Fiona shifted, murmuring in her sleep. Ace froze; after an entire night of eating the girl out, that was how he wanted to start his day?

 

Ace was not what Katie, or any of the other women he’d been with, would call a generous lover. Of course he was always willing to help get a lady going, but even Ace would agree: he was never overly concerned with who finished first, as long as he got to finish.

 

So, spending that much time face-first in a vagina was more than a little odd for him.

 

Why did I do that last night? Ace wondered, staring at the beige carpet on Fiona’s floor. She’s supposed to fuck me for help with Alexei, not use me as her personal vibrator! She manipulated me! Deep down, he knew that wasn’t true. He had been the one to initiate things with her. He had been the one to set her up on the counter; hell, he had practically thrown himself to his knees to get to her. If the gang had seen him, they would have said he was whipped, which he was most certainly not.

 

Ace stood up angrily, not caring if he woke Fiona. He hurriedly put on his pants, quickly followed by his socks and shoes. He grabbed his shirt, throwing it on as he walked into the living room.

 

Ace refused to look at the kitchen, secretly afraid that if he saw the countertop it would cause him to run back into Fiona’s bedroom and dive beneath the covers head first. He stormed to the door and ripped it open, slamming it behind him. A moment later, he had started his bike and was roaring down the street, headed for downtown, letting the wind blow his thoughts away.

 

He killed the engine as he pulled up; everyone in The Hell Brothers was a heavy sleeper, usually passing out versus actually going to sleep, but Ace wanted to be especially careful of waking a certain someone.

 

The Hell Brothers—most of them, anyway—lived in a large, decrepit house that had about a million things on its to do list. Katie slept in Ace’s bed more nights than not, but he doubted he would find her there now. Worse, he was surprised to find he wasn’t all that upset about it.

 

He had been rocking at least a quarter-staff for the last twelve hours, yet he had zero desire to go upstairs and find Katie and convince her to help him take care of it. He considered jerking off, but that felt incredibly juvenile. Plus, Ace had a strong suspicion that even if he did handle it himself, it was the sort of hard-on that could only be solved by burying it into the hot, sweet pussy of a fiery woman.

 

He had complicated things for himself by leaving so abruptly, he realized. Fiona was most likely going to be more than a little upset that he had bailed on her. She had worried that he was going to fuck her and leave, and that was pretty much exactly what he had done. He cursed at himself. Fucking idiot! The whole point was to get Fiona to give herself up willingly to him; that was the only way this thing with Alexei was worth it. He seriously doubted she would be so willing when she woke up alone this morning.

 

Ace adjusted the front of his pants and walked into the house. He went up the stairs, cringing at every squeak the wooden floorboards made. Taking a peek through the door crack, Ace saw his bed was empty. Good. He hurriedly kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed, sighing with relief. He needed sleep. Sleep would make things clearer. Ace was just a little confused right now, but a good night’s rest would put him right back on top, where he belonged. He was sure of it.

 

Ace rolled onto his side, punching his pillow to flatten it out. This made his elbow uncomfortably dig into the bed, so he flipped onto his stomach. This wasn’t good either—now he felt like his airflow was restricted. He lay on his back again; it was how he usually slept. But no matter what he tried, he could not remember how he positioned his hands. Everything seemed awkward and wrong. He tiredly wondered if someone had stuck a green bean under his pillow, or whatever that old fairy tale was.

 

He lay there, tossing and turning, waiting for the sleep that never came. He listened as the house began to slowly wake and move around him.

 

Ace heard Smalls in the room next door get up, heading to spend his habitual twenty minutes in the bathroom before going downstairs to make a giant pan of hash browns and sausage. It was first come, first served, and Ace was always served first, but this morning he had no appetite.

 

There was a loud knock on the door.

 

“Go away!” Ace called as he stared at the ceiling, his hands behind his head.

 

The door opened anyway, and Ace mentally cursed never having gotten around to putting a lock on it.

 

“Where the fuck have you been all night?” Katie stood at the foot of his bed, one hand on her hip.

 

Ace audibly groaned. “Can we not do this?” he begged her. “I got no sleep.”

 

“Gee, I wonder fuckin’ why,” she said with a mocking innocence. “Could it be because you spent the whole night dick-deep in some cager?” A biker term for a person who drove a car.

 

“You know, you sound like a real bitch when you’re jealous, Katie,” Ace said, not bothering to ask her how she knew Fiona and Melanie had been lying. He sat up on his elbows to glare at her. This was an old fight of theirs, and an exhausting one, in Ace’s opinion. It was getting worse and worse every time, and Ace was starting to have trouble justifying them.

 

Is what I have with Katie worth tiring myself out over and over again over a situation that will never be resolved? It obviously wasn’t worth enough to him that he was willing to give up other women, or he would have by now. Think of the gang, he reminded himself.

 

Whatever he decided about Katie, today wasn’t a good day for fighting. Today, he had to tell The Hell Brothers that they would be going after Alexei. It wasn’t something he was looking forward to.

 

Figuring he might as well get the worst of it over with, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up to face Katie. “I’ve decided we’re going after Alexei,” he told her as he pulled on his jeans.

 

She went still, her beautiful face rigid with shock. Ace knew the shock would soon wear off and become anger.

 

“You’re doing what?” she cried disbelievingly.

 

There it is, Ace thought, amused. He carefully constructed a confused look on his face. “What?” he asked innocently. “I’m just doing what you suggested. Last night at The Crabtree you said we needed to do something about Alexei. I decided you’re right.”

 

Katie stared at him. “I said we needed a plan! I didn’t say we get ourselves killed!” she hissed.

 

“I got a plan,” Ace said distractedly, searching for a semi-clean shirt in the various piles of clothing on the floor. Finding one, he pulled it over his head. “We go after Alexei.”

 

“That’s not a plan, Ace! What’s going on?” she accused, suddenly suspicious. “Last night you were preaching safety and precaution, and now you’re talking about…” Katie stopped abruptly. “Does this have something to do with that girl? What were you two talking about the back office? If you were talking, that is,” she added derisively.

 

Ace gave Katie a hard look. “Did you forget what fucking patch you were wearing?” he asked viciously.

 

Striding over to her, Ace grabbed Katie by the elbows, pushing her back until she was pressed up against the wall. He turned her around roughly, ripping her leather vest off one arm at a time. Ignoring her protests, he spun her back to face him, shoving the vest in her face.

 

Katie shoved her hair out of her eyes to see The Hell Brothers patch staring right at her. Ace’s finger was meaningfully pointed at the empty space near the top. Wrenching his own vest from the back of the door, Ace showed Katie his patch.

 

“Right fucking there, Katie,” Ace said, pointing at the word Leader stamped across it. “I’m the leader, not you. That means I make the decisions, and I don’t have to tell you jack shit why, got it?” Ace crept close, his thrice broken nose inches away from Katie’s proud, straight one. “You let me know next time you need a reminder,” he threatened.

 

Thinking that was that, Ace stormed his way down the stairs, hoping he would be able to still get some sausage. He realized he was starving. So focused on the food was he, that he never noticed Lucky stealthily creeping out of Riley’s room.

 

Ace walked into the kitchen. All of the pots and pans were empty, and everyone at the table looked well-fed. He pouted, thinking of the missed food, and his stomach grumbled.

 

Someone tapped Ace on the shoulder and he turned around. It was Smalls, holding a plate full of sausage, hash browns, and scrambled eggs. Ace couldn’t help it; he hugged Smalls, his arms barely fitting around the large man’s middle.

 

“Easy there, boss,” Smalls laughed, patting Ace on the back with a meaty paw. “I made sure to keep some on the side for ya.”

 

Ace sat down, shoveling the food in his mouth. A shadow fell over him and he looked up. It was Katie.

 

“Can I eat first?” he asked her, irritated.

 

“Absolutely,” Katie said, patting him on the back. Ace eyed her, dubious, but went back to eating.

 

“Hey, everyone,” Katie called loudly. Ace swore, throwing down his fork. “Ace’s busy eating, but he wanted me to tell you all that we’re going to be attacking Alexei and the Russian mob. With no plan!” she added brightly.

 

Immediately, the kitchen broke out into anarchy.

 

Diego whooped loudly. “Dios mio, finally!” he cried.

 

“Is that a good idea?” Smalls asked fretfully. “Alexei and his men outnumber us almost two to one.”

 

Ace glared at Katie. “Was that really fucking necessary?”

 

“Yes, Ace!” she exclaimed. “It’s necessary for your gang to know what’s going on! Especially if you’re counting on them to have your back!”

 

He let out a half groan, half growl, and stood. “All right!” Ace roared over the din, standing on his chair to silence the crowd. A dozen pairs of eyes turned to stare at him. “Yes,” Ace said with conviction. “Last night I decided enough is enough! It’s time for Alexei and his mob to go back to Mother Russia.” He looked around, making sure to look each and every one of them in the eye. “They think this is their territory, and I think it’s time to show them otherwise.”

 

Katie scoffed loudly, but no one heard her. They were too busy listening to Ace.

 

“Some of you are scared. You’re worried Alexei is too strong for us.” He glanced at Katie, who scowled at him in return. “I’m here to tell you that when it came down to it, going after Alexei was an easy decision to make. That’s how much faith I have in us, in The Hell Brothers,” Ace continued, his voice rising in both pitch and volume. He punched his palm with his fist, emphasizing his words. The members began to excitedly press closer to him. “We, who were born in hellfire! We walk through life with the Devil on our right, and Death on our left! We are The Hell Brothers, and we will burn all those who stand in our way!” Ace was shouting with all his might; the crowd had worked itself into a frenzy.

 

Despite the fact that it was ten in the morning, bottles of whiskey and cans of beer immediately began to get passed around, everyone cheering to Alexei’s imminent end, and the inevitable rise of The Hell Brothers.

 

Ace hopped off of the chair, shaking hands and clapping backs with his members, promising to celebrate with them soon. He tried to slip out, but Katie caught him at the front door.

 

“I couldn’t help but notice you didn’t mention any sort of plan, or the fact that the reason you changed your mind about Alexei is because of a cager,” she said matter-of-factly.

 

“Why don’t you go tell them,” Ace said, shrugging on his leather jacket. “You seem to enjoy talking about shit you don’t understand.” He was rapidly losing patience with Katie and her jealous attacks on him. How did she expect a man like him to be faithful to one woman?

 

His father hadn’t been; in fact, the first time his father had ever beaten his mother was because his mother just wouldn’t leave his father alone about the other women he was seeing. Ace knew he wasn’t a good man, but Katie was lucky he was a better one than his father had been—barely. Ace didn’t presume to think murderers ranked much higher than woman beaters in the eyes of God.

 

“If I don’t understand something, then why don’t you fucking explain it to me,” Katie shot back.” Katie could not for the life of her grasp why leaders always thought they were protecting people by keeping them in the dark. No matter what Ace had said in the kitchen, she didn’t think he had very much faith in them at all if he couldn’t tell them what was going on.

 

“Look, Katie. I don’t have time for this right now,” Ace said, pulling on his boots. “I’ll be back later.”

 

“Oh, you don’t have time to hash out a real plan with us, but you have time to spend all night with some civilian?” Katie asked bitingly.

 

“Enough!” Ace bellowed. The party in the kitchen died down for a second, startled by the outburst, but then immediately resumed. “Not that you deserve to fucking know, but I’m going to get some intel on Alexei. We can’t make a plan without any information.” He threw open the door, pausing to look back at Katie, who stood with her arms folded and her eyes pointed at the floor. Ace sighed, the anger rushing out of him. “I know you’re just trying to help, Katie. But you are so far up my ass, I can’t even sit down to ride my bike. I’ll be back later and we can talk plans then.”

 

Katie stepped forward, and Ace unconsciously pulled away from her. He knew she wanted a kiss, but he was feeling less than affectionate right now.

 

“I’ll be back later,” he repeated as he hurried out the door, slamming it firmly shut behind him.

 

***

 

As the morning came and went, the bright afternoon sun slowly began to make its way across the sky, filtering through the tiny crack in Fiona’s pale blue curtains, beaming straight through her eyelids.

 

Fiona stirred, the shining light disrupting her sleep. She opened her eyes and immediately regretted it. It felt like her corneas had been burned away with a hot poker. Her head throbbed, and she groaned aloud.

 

“Uhhh….” Arduously pushing herself into a sitting position, Fiona took stock of her surroundings.

 

She was in a dark room. Fiona pushed her hair out of her face. The whole place instantly brightened and took shape. She was in her bedroom.

 

Breathing a sigh of relief, she carefully stood up, one hand to her aching head. She didn’t think she drank that much last night, but apparently the Hawg Ear was so named because your tongue felt like one the next morning.

 

“Ace?” Fiona called, wincing at the volume of her own voice.

 

She reached behind her to grab the top sheet, wrapping it around her naked body as she shuffled over to the bathroom door. Fiona knocked gently, but the door wasn’t shut and swung open—no one was inside.

 

He’s probably in the kitchen, Fiona figured.

 

After a night like that, who wouldn’t be hungry? She was ravenous, which meant Ace was to the point of starvation. Unfortunately, if he was trying to scrounge up something to eat, he was going to find himself shit out of luck. Fiona’s fridge was practically empty.

 

She hurried to the kitchen as fast as her hangover would allow. “Sorry, I don’t have anything,” she said as she rounded the corner. “I meant to go grocery shopping…” Fiona stopped, realizing she was speaking to an empty room.

 

She turned in a circle, double checking to make sure she hadn’t somehow missed him in her six-hundred-square-foot apartment. “Ace?” she called once more.

 

Fiona peered out one of the bullet holes in her front door—a new, custom peek-hole courtesy of Alexei. Ace’s motorcycle was gone.

 

Must have taken one look at the kitchen and gone out to get breakfast for us, Fiona optimistically thought, even as her stomach sank. She hobbled back to her bedroom to put on some clothes.

 

As she was pulling a tank top over her head, she heard a loud pounding coming from the front of the house. Thinking it was Ace, she hurriedly went to answer it.

 

She slowed suddenly. What if it was Alexei? Fiona bent into a crouch, and cautiously snuck over to the door, peeking through one of the lower holes in it.

 

It wasn’t Ace or Alexei; it was Melanie.

 

Fiona watched as her friend raised her fist to hammer the door again. She quickly shot up to quickly to open it, almost getting punched in the face in the process.

 

“Come in, come in.” Fiona ushered Melanie inside where it was safe.

 

Melanie said she was okay taking the risk, but Fiona didn’t see the need to hang around on front steps chatting, completely open and vulnerable to a certain Russian mobster who might decide he was tired of waiting around, and that today was a good day to go for a ride his car with an AK-47 hanging out the window.

 

Fiona shut the door and turned to look at Melanie. “Do you have any food?” was the first thing out of her mouth.

 

Melanie’s jaw dropped and she stared at Fiona. “Are you fucking kidding me?” Melanie asked. “After the shit you pulled last night, the first thing you do is ask me for food?”

 

Fiona grimaced. “I’m sorry, but I’m really hungry.”

 

She knew it wasn’t cool of her to be making requests from Melanie right now, especially when she was already doing so much to help Fiona.

 

“Well, if we had gone home together like we had planned, I could have driven you to get breakfast this morning,” Melanie replied scathingly.

 

Fiona felt bad, but she was in no mood to be yelled at right now. Her head and stomach felt like they were joining forces against her in an effort to make her life hell. “You’re pretty upset for someone who didn’t even seem to notice I was missing.”

 

Melanie froze. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“It means,” Fiona began, growing angry, “I was gone for almost an hour, and when I get back, you were hooting and hollering, having a grand ol’ time with them! You had no idea where I was, and you were having too much fun to care—as usual.”

 

Melanie was always trying to drag Fiona out to clubs and parties, saying Fiona worked too hard and needed to learn how to relax. However, these outings more often than not resulted in her abandoning Fiona to find a taxi home alone while Melanie caught a ride with a handsome stranger.

 

“What did you want me to do, Fiona?” Melanie cried. “I’m in a biker bar, surrounded by people who wouldn’t think twice about murdering me, even if they didn’t know we were lying. Did you want me to completely freak out and demand you stay right there next to me?” Fiona looked at her feet. “I was terrified for you, Fiona,” Melanie said, putting her hand on Fiona’s shoulder. “You went into that back room all alone with that man, and then suddenly you were gone. I didn’t know what had happened to you, or what to do, so I stuck to our plan and I played the role of rowdy, partying biker babe.”

 

Fiona hung her head. “I’m sorry, Melanie. I didn’t mean to leave you.”

 

“Then why did you?” Melanie pushed. “What happened in there?”

 

Fiona bit her lip, avoiding Melanie’s gaze. Suddenly, in the bright light of day, the harsh reality of what she was doing hit her full force. She burst into tears.

 

Slowly, with many tissues and much coaxing from Melanie, Fiona told her how she had desperately pleaded with Ace for his help. “I told him I would do anything,” she said, sniffling. “He asked me if I meant…you know, anything, and I said yes.”

 

Once again Melanie found herself with no idea what to do or say, except this time she didn’t have a character role to fall back on. She didn’t want to be judgmental, but Fiona was being incredibly reckless, and Melanie didn’t think she fully understood the gravity of the situation.

 

Fiona was a little more reclusive than most, having often experienced the negative effects of partying secondhand from her father and brother. While that withdrawn lifestyle had protected Fiona from a lot, Melanie wasn’t sure that was a good thing in this situation. She worried it wasn’t in Fiona’s nature to even consider the possibility Ace might just screw her and then screw her over.

 

“I see why you felt this was your only option, Fiona,” Melanie began carefully. “I’m just not sure if you’ve entirely thought this through.”

 

Fiona frowned, puzzled. “Why do you say that?”

 

Melanie hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. Thankfully, she was rescued by the sound of Fiona’s phone ringing in the other room. Fiona gave Melanie a long look, then hurried into her bedroom to retrieve her phone.

 

Walking back to the living room, Fiona looked at the number on the screen. It was an unknown caller.

 

“What if it’s Niko?” Fiona said hopefully to Melanie.

 

“What if it’s Alexei?” Melanie countered.

 

Fiona bit her lip, then tapped the answer button. “Niko, is that you?”

 

“Yeah, it’s me, Fi.”

 

Relief swept through Fiona’s body at the sound of her little brother’s voice. She nodded, answering Melanie’s questioning stare.

 

“Where are you? Are you okay?” she asked frantically. “Why didn’t you call me from your cell phone?”

 

“I had to ditch my phone; Alexei has William trace them for him to find runners like me all the time,” he replied. “I got a burner phone so he can’t send anyone after me. You should probably get one, too. He might have bugged your phone to listen in, so I probably shouldn’t say where I am.”

 

“But you’re okay?” Fiona repeated. Her heart was racing and she knew she wouldn’t be able to calm down until Niko told her he was safe.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was able to shake Alexei’s guy right away, so they have no idea which direction I’m headed in. I’ll keep moving though, just in case,” Niko told her.

 

Fiona thought he sounded exhausted, but otherwise al lright. She let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding in.

 

“Were you able to visit our friend?” Niko asked, carefully avoiding names in case Alexei did have someone eavesdropping on them. Ace wouldn’t be able to do much good if Alexei had a forewarning that he was coming.

 

“Yes! I did. He promised he would help us, but he hasn’t said how yet,” Fiona told her brother, fervently hoping he wouldn’t ask how she managed to convince him to go after Alexei.

 

“Really?” Niko exclaimed, shocked. “That’s awesome, Fi! What did you say to him?” he asked.

 

Fiona froze, the word anything playing on a loop in her mind. She flashed back to Ace looming over her as she begged him from her knees and everything that followed. Images from last night kept creeping up on her, causing her to blush randomly throughout the day. At one point Melanie even asked her if she had a fever. Fiona blamed it on her hangover and hoped that excuse would suffice until she could control herself.

 

“Don’t worry about it, Niko. Just focus on keeping yourself safe.” She sounded like a liar even to her own ears.

 

“What did you promise him, Fiona?” Niko asked suspiciously. “I can take care of myself; don’t give him something you can’t give for my sake,” he told her determinedly.

 

“It’s not like that at all, Niko. Relax,” Fiona fibbed. “I just don’t want to talk about it on the phone. Alexei could be listening, remember? We should keep this short.”

 

Melanie gave her a look and Fiona glared at her, turning her back to Melanie. Truthfully, Fiona didn’t want to hang up; she was terrified this could be the last time she spoke to her little brother, but she didn’t want to have to explain how she convinced Ace and The Hell Brothers to help them. Niko would come back immediately, and then Fiona would lose everything she ever cared about.

 

“You’re probably right,” Niko said. “Thanks, Fi. You think of everything. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

 

Fiona bit back tears. “Get going—I don’t want you to get caught just because we’re being sappy.” She wasn’t lying now, but she also wanted to make sure her persuasion tactics didn’t come up again.

 

She told Niko she loved him and hung up the phone.

 

“Why didn’t you tell Niko about your arrangement with Ace?” she heard Melanie quietly ask from behind her.

 

Fiona closed her eyes, begging the Lord for patience. “I know what I’m doing, Melanie,” she said, turning to look at her friend.

 

Melanie stepped forward, concern in her eyes. “I’m worried about you, Fiona.”

 

“That makes sense,” Fiona said cynically. “There’s a high probability I’ll be murdered in the next few days.”

 

Melanie rolled her eyes, frustrated with Fiona’s attitude. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. This guy Ace is bad news. For all we know, he could be worse than Alexei.”

 

“Niko told me he would help us, and he’s helping us!” Fiona cried, conveniently forgetting she had accused Ace of taking advantage of her only last night. “How does that make him a bad guy?”

 

Melanie narrowed her eyes at Fiona. “I’m trying to help you, so don’t pretend like he’s some romantic guy, dashing off to protect your honor, Fiona. Ace is an opportunist and he sees you as an opportunity, that’s all. When he’s done with you, he’ll move on.”

 

“Please, Melanie,” Fiona scoffed. “You’re talking like I would want him to stick around. I know what he is.” After the way he abandoned her last night, how could she forget? She definitely wasn’t going to tell Melanie about that part—it would just add fuel to her fire. “I’m hoping he moves on. He and I made a deal, and the sooner it’s over, the better. Besides,” Fiona added, “you’re always after me to let loose, and this is a great opportunity for that!” She wasn’t ready to admit to herself how much she had liked what happened last night—or how upset she was Ace had left.

 

Melanie shook her head. “From the second you met this guy, you’ve been acting totally different, Fiona. Ditching me, lying to your brother.”

 

“That’s not because of Ace, Melanie. That’s because I’m doing whatever I have to, to keep my family alive,” Fiona said flatly. “Either way, it doesn’t matter. If I want Ace’s help, I have to have sex with him.” She was surprised to feel a rush of heat down below at the thought of Ace being fully inside of her. Fiona cleared her throat, hoping Melanie didn’t notice her sudden blush. “Since I can’t change anything, can we not talk about it? I don’t want to argue with you,” she finished, offering a crooked smile.

 

Melanie pouted for a few seconds, then eventually smiled back. “Okay, okay. You’re right. We need to stick together if we want to get out of this in one piece.”

 

Fiona fixed the corners of her own smile in place as she remembered what Niko had told her about Alexei. She wasn’t sure any of them were going to make it out of this, let alone in one piece.

 

***

 

Despite the fact that it hadn’t rained in days, Paul kept feeling droplets fall on him from above, the cold wetness rolling down his neck and along his spine. No matter where he stood in the dark alley, he got dripped on.

 

“Come on, William, where are you?” Paul grumbled, wiping the back of his neck with his sleeve.

 

William was Alexei’s pet rat at the local precinct. Privately, Paul thought it was a terrible idea to entrust someone who so very obviously looked like a rat to do their dirty work, but no one asked what he thought so he didn’t say anything.

 

Maybe that’s the trick, he thought as William turned into the alleyway, his headlights dimmed for covertness. Hide in plain sight. It’s never the guy you first suspect. He waved to catch William’s attention, pointing to a large garage door that slowly began to open to allow the driver to enter.

 

Another droplet fell as Paul waited for the car to pull in, the large, wet bead hitting his nose and splashing across his face. He scrubbed at his eyes furiously, wondering how tetanus was contracted.

 

“C’mon,” he said as William got out of the car. “Alexei wants to talk to you right away.”

 

Paul desperately wanted to ask William if he had found where Niko was hiding, but he knew if he acted like he cared, Alexei would see it as a weakness. Alexei got rid of weaknesses.

 

“Easy there, Paul,” William said, grinning. “I only just got here. I’ve been driving around for hours. Let a guy get a drink and a bite to eat first.”

 

Paul didn’t say anything. He stared down at William for a moment, then turned, walking through the plastic flaps that separated the garage from the warehouse. William followed him into the other room, his little feet scraping against the concrete floor, echoing loudly.

 

Huge shelves lined the walls, most filled with car parts, guns, and drugs. The shorter wall along the front had miscellaneous items: illegal plants and animals, and other valuable items the Russian mob had smuggled into the states.

 

Half a dozen men milled about the room, taking inventory, removing or replacing merchandise. A set of metal stairs led up to a second floor where security oversaw both the inner workings and outside activity of the warehouse. Three men stood guard, two at the bottom of the stairs and one at the top. They wore heavy black body armor and held automatic rifles.

 

In the center was a massive glass and metal coffee table resting on top of a large polar bearskin rug. Alexei was lounging in a white, plush leather armchair, toying with the four-carat diamond ring he wore on his thumb.

 

Next to him, on a matching leather couch, sat Vlad. He was talking to Alexei about the remaining gangs that were still causing them problems downtown.

 

“…I don’t see why you continue to tolerate them,” he said. Noticing Paul and William, he waved lazily.

 

Alexei pointed to another couch for them to sit on as he replied to Vlad. “We have a lot of power here, but not even we will be able to escape unscathed if we do as you suggest and kill everyone we see on a motorcycle.”

 

Paul took a seat, resting his elbows on his knees. He folded his hands to keep them from shaking.

 

“Not everyone,” Vlad corrected. “Just enough to decimate them. They only threaten our business as long as they’re able to organize.”

 

Alexei shook his hand dismissively. “We can finish this conversation in a minute. William,” he turned to address the man who still had not yet sat down, “what have you discovered?”

 

“Have you got anything to eat around here? I’m fuckin’ famished,” he said, rubbing his stomach.

 

Alexei held William’s eyes for a moment, then nodded to Vlad, who pulled out his phone.

 

“How about a steak, huh? Well done?” William asked. “Thanks,” he said, winking.

 

Paul tried to pretend he didn’t notice Vlad’s murderous stare. If he were William right now, he’d be wetting his pants. Vlad wasn’t the kind of guy you ordered around. Vlad was the kind of guy that would lay under your bed for hours, waiting for you to go to sleep, then suffocate you with your childhood stuffed animal just because you pissed him off.

 

Vlad ordered the food, and William finally sat down.

 

Alexei stared at him expectantly. “Well? Did you find Niko or not?”

 

Paul felt Vlad staring at him and he made sure to keep his face carefully blank.

 

“It’s only been a day, relax,” William said, putting his arms behind his head, his badge reflecting the overhead light. “Now, I can report the car as stolen, but they’re gonna want to talk to the owner of the car, which, from what I understood, was undesirable.”

 

“How are you unable to find him?” Vlad asked coldly. “He’s a fucking junkie. Have you checked any abandoned houses lately?”

 

“Hey,” William shot back, his voice thin and reedy, “it’s not my fault he left you in the dust after his sister damn near roasted all of you alive, and it’s not my fault he was smart enough to ditch his phone. If he’s just a fucking junkie, then you find him.”

 

A knife appeared in Vlad’s hand so fast, Paul wasn’t even sure if William saw it. Alexei reached over and put his massive hand on Vlad’s shoulder, calming him.

 

“Find something for us to use, William. Quickly,” Alexei ordered. “And get your steak to-go, understand?”

 

William’s face twisted sourly. “I’m doin’ the best I can with—”

 

“Go,” Alexei repeated softly, staring William down. “Now. And don’t come back without new information. Useful information.”

 

William stood up angrily, not looking at Vlad as he stormed out of the room, his small fists tightly clenched.

 

Alexei waited until William left, then turned to Vlad. “I want that kid and his sister on their knees in front of me before the week is out.”

 

“His sister, too?” Paul blurted out, instantly regretting it as Alexei and Vlad looked at him.

 

He wished his cousin, Patrick, had never suggested working for Alexei. It had been wonderful at first. He got to work with one of his best friends and make a ton of money doing it. But then they got jumped, and Paul had been sure Alexei was going to kill him. Patrick had paid Alexei off, but the appeal was gone.

 

Paul was being forced to do things that made him more and more uncomfortable—like the bird he’d had to kill. Alexei ordered him to buy a bird from the pet store and leave it dismembered on Fiona’s front step. Paul had done as he was told, but he threw up after.

 

“She killed Denis,” Alexei said evenly. “Do you think that’s something we can just forget?”

 

“No. I only meant that our original problem is with Niko. His sister was just defending him,” Paul said slowly, carefully choosing his words.

 

“So you think we should punish Niko for his sister’s actions? Interesting,” Vlad said, thoughtfully tapping a long finger against his cheekbone.

 

That wasn’t what Paul meant at all, but he thought he would live longer if he agreed with Vlad, so he nodded.

 

“They can both be punished for each other’s actions. Either way, I want both of them here,” Alexei said determinedly.

 

“We get it.” Vlad sighed, bored. He was always bored. “Now, can we please get back to talking about what we’re going to do with our little problem downtown? These bikers are like ants,” he said imperiously, flicking a speck of invisible dust from his knee. “You may only see one or two, but there are a hundred more waiting beneath the surface.”

 

Alexei picked up his glass from the coffee table, swirling the vodka around as he thought on what Vlad said.

 

Paul held his breath. If Alexei decided to make a hard push against the remaining bikers, what would he be asked to do next? He imagined it would be a lot more than killing and dismembering a bird.

 

Suddenly throwing back his drink, Alexei swallowed quickly, slamming his glass on the table. “Fine. They all die. We start with The Hell Brothers. They’re the strongest right now. Then we work our way from there.”

 

Vlad sat forward, his black eyes gleaming. “Yes!” he hissed, grinning with anticipation. Soon he would have more than enough to entertain himself with.

 

Paul closed his eyes as he realized what Vlad’s glee would mean for some poor soul. Could he do it? Could he kill someone? Someone who wasn’t even threatening him? In a few days’ time he was going to find out, and if the answer was no…Paul looked at Vlad again, who seemed more enthusiastic than he had in a long time. He felt sick again.

 

Quickly excusing himself to the bathroom, Paul hurriedly shut the door behind him, slamming the dingy toilet seat up just in time. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. What am I going to do? he desperately wondered.