Aniyah didn't waste any time. She waltzed right up to him, and he braced for impact. Unfortunately, he braced for the wrong spot. She reared her leg back and kicked him straight in the balls. He immediately cupped them, eyes bulging as he groaned in pain while the rest of us looked at him with pity. Even the demon didn't smirk at his situation.
She got right in his face, the fire in her eyes wild, and yanked his ear up to her lips. “I tried to be nice. I tried to be mean. I tried to understand you, and I tried to force you to understand me. You’re leaving me with little to no choices anymore, Alic Gorgof!” She shoved his ear out of her hands, taking the AK-47 in her hands and cocking it in his face.
Exhaling, she looked down at him with a blank expression—no sympathy, no anger… just nothing. “I’m putting you on clearing the floors because you’re the one that knows this place inside and out. You can anticipate where the assailants will be and take care of it quickly, as long as you have a good backup.”
Alic let out a ragged exhale before climbing up on shaky legs, standing at attention in front of her. She continued. “Morino seems to have a good build, with muscles made from a similar type work as you. Ras has the tech savvy to cause a distraction with the stage equipment, and Lucus can speed me around the room if I need him to until you can join us when you're done clearing the floors.”
Her body was taut, eyes glaring, and tone harsh and firm, but she couldn’t hide the flash of bone-deep hurt that made me want to hit that damn troll for making my brilliant mate feel less than.
“Now, do you think you know better than me?” Her voice got stronger, more vicious. “Should you be Boss Glovefox? Want to fight me for the seat?”
He bowed his head, like he should, shaking it as he weakly mumbled, “I just don’t want you to get hurt. I would rather take the bullets for you.”
She took a deep breath, closing her eyes in frustration before looking at him. “I know, Alic, but you need to trust that I know what I'm doing. I'm not just the person you need to protect or the woman you have feelings for.” His head snapped up, but she cut him off before he could say anything.
“We need to take care of this situation. Will you follow my orders, or…” The finality in her voice was harsh, giving him this one last chance before she made the decision for him.
Determination took over his body as his face became a void, the killing machine taking over as he nodded. Turning to Van and Morino, he said, “Lets go,” and they headed off in the direction of the elevators.
“Good luck,” she whispered after them.
She turned back to her treasure trove of weapons and yanked out a flare gun, handing it to the demon. “This throws out a two-second portal that will drop them into the basement dungeon. And yours…” She plucked out a pistol and handed it to me. “Has a bullet that takes out a chunk of whatever it touches in a four-inch radius while rendering them unable to regenerate. Now, let's go.”
Whatever you say, my mate.Switching off the safety, I watched my mate’s back, excited to see what she was made of.
17
ANIYAH
Whoever planned this was going to pay.
My fingers twitched on the trigger, the burn at my fingertips echoing the rage in my blood. My thoughts spiraled, tight, sharp, vicious.
No one stormed into my club, threatened my people, and walked away unscathed.
I’d make them bleed. I’d savor their screams, let their pleas ring in my ears as their blood painted my cheek. Death wouldn’t touch them until I got what I was owed, plus interest.
My watch buzzed. I glanced down.
E:What is going on?
E:Aniyah.
Fuck.Why was she always on top of everything?
I hit reply, my voice clipped as I spoke into the watch. “I'm handling it. Answers coming soon.”
Just as I pressed send, a reply came through.
E:It better.
E:You’ve got one hour.
“Shit.”The weight of her expectation slammed into me, making my certainty waver. Did I miscalculate? Should I have brought Alic? What if one of the members got hurt? The damage to the building? The Syndicate’s reputation?
A warm hand pressed against my shoulder, then Lucus’ accented voice, low, rich, sinfully calm, slid down my spine.
“You’ve got this. The plan is solid.”
