Tattoos covered his skin, and there, blatantly resting on the front of his throat, was the Rico family symbol—a lion wearing a crown. Built like a fucking tank, Alfonzo Aguado was terrifying when one actually knew what he was capable of.
And I knew. His stories preceded him.No oneknew of Rico Martinez without knowing of Alfonzo as well and all the bodies he left in a trail behind him.
And I, someone who’d only been part of the Bratva for a mere few years, was expected to take out someone of this caliber.
It was fucking laughable.
“You look constipated,” a man drawled, but there was just the tiniest bit of insanity leeching into his voice that let me knowwho’d stepped into my room. Closing the folder, I looked up at Rurik, surprised to see him in Washington. He was usually out and about doing field work, despite being Anatoly’s right-hand man. Rurik Tarasov was downrightterrifying. I’d seen him work. He got a gleeful little glint in his eyes when he was taking a life, almost like it sated something within him.
But then again, I’d come to find that most of the people Anatoly kept close had a couple of screws loose. Why he didn’t give this job to one of them, I had no clue.
“I get that a lot,” I grumbled, setting the file aside. “Surprised you’re here.”
He shrugged one shoulder and leaned against my doorjamb, crossing his arms over his chest. “Anatoly,” he explained, leaving it at that. I snorted because just the Pakhan’s name was enough to explain almost anything.
“You know anything about Alfonzo Aguado?” I asked him. I held up the folder I’d been given, wiggling it back and forth to show how thin it was. “There’s not much here.”
Rurik grunted. “No one knows much of anything about that man. Anytime something about him pops up in the system, it magically disappears. I imagine their head of security, Niran Chun, has something to do with that. Smart men keep their human weapons secure.” A smirk curved his lips. “I would know.”
That was true. Rurik was almost like a ghost. There was almostnothingon him if someone were to run his name. Anatoly kept him well-guarded, as he should. Rurik was his greatest asset… and his biggest weapon.
“I suggest you do recon before you try going after him,” Rurik said, standing straight once more. “But be careful. Alfonzo is a snake. I swear that man can sense heat and know someone is around that shouldn’t be.”
With that, he turned on his heel and disappeared once more. I sighed and opened the file folder once more, staring down at Alfonzo. His age wasn’t even listed. There was no birth place. No parents. Not a single family member. Just his name and his current address, which was listed as Rico’s compound.
Fuck.
I was going to die doing this mission. I knew it without a doubt in my mind.
Chapter Two
Maksim
Ipulled my hat low over my face, trying to remain invisible, as I slowly crept through the woods on the backside of Rico Martinez’s property. My intel had led me to believe that Rico wouldn’t be here tonight, that he’d taken his husband, Anurak, on a small trip. And also according to my intel, my target hadn’t gone with them.
I was taking a chance that security would be a little lax with Rico and Anurak gone. I knew it was a slim chance, but it was all the chance I had. Because when Alfonzo wasn’t home, he was like a ghost. No one could ever find him. He was never seen on security feeds, never spotted in a store. Hell, even traffic cameras never caught him.
It’d made these past several weeks of hunting him down frustrating, to say the least.
I paused right at the edge of the woods and stared at the house. Two guards stood posted outside the backdoors, so that would be a no-go for me, as I didn’t have backup. Security cameraswere set up at every corner, but I was sure there were more hidden that I couldn’t see.
Fuck, this was going to be a disaster. The moment I stepped out from the cover of these trees, I was a dead fucking man. I had no idea why Anatoly put me on this job. I didn’t have much fieldwork beneath my belt to rely on, and when I had done fieldwork, it was simple things like gun exchanges or acting as security. I’dneverbeen tasked with taking someone out before. Not on a team andcertainlynever on my own.
Something else was at play here, but I couldn’t figure out what. The only conclusion I could come to was that Anatoly was sick of me and knew I wouldn’t survive this mission. What I’d done to piss him off, I had no clue. But defying his orders would only get me tortured,thenkilled. Maybe this was the easier way to go out.
Someone made a smalltsking noise right in my ear, and I damn near jumped a foot into the air. I managed to bite my tongue before I shrieked. With my heart in my throat, I spun around, coming face to face with my target.
Alfonzo fucking Aguado.
I wassodead.
“I’m a bit disappointed,” he murmured, cocking his head to the side. He leaned one shoulder on the tree next to him, and his eyesslowlyperused me like he had all the time in the world. “You didn’t hear me coming up, and you came right intomylair. It’s almost like you have no training at all, mouse. Does Balakin really think so low of me?” He pressed his hand to his heart dramatically. “I’m wounded. Truly.” He dropped his hand back down and gripped his pistol. “I have to say though…” I didn’t have time to react, to evenreachfor my own gun before he waspressing the barrel of his beneath my chin and forcing my head up to look at him. “You certainly are pretty.”
“If you’re going to kill me,” I rasped, swallowing thickly when he ran the tip of his gun along my jaw, “just do it already.”
He stepped closer—so close, I could feel his body heat radiating onto mine. “Nah, mouse. I don’t think I will. I’msupposedto kill you, but I think keeping you alive a little longer will be more fun.” My heart dropped to my feet. Reaching up with his free hand, he pushed the bill of my cap up a little, revealing more of my face. “After all, I like to savor my kills. I need them to be enjoyable. And taking you out when you made it so easy…” He shook his head,tsking. “There’s no fun in that, now is there?”
I stared at him, wide-eyed. “You’re a psycho,” I breathed before I could stop myself.
