I slam his head against the bar three more times and then throw him on the floor. He tries to crawl away, but I kick him in the ribs so he’ll curl up into a ball and stay put.
“Don’t even fucking think about it,” I hear Volodya say from behind me. I turn to see the older waitress slowly reaching her hand behind her back. Instead of his usual knife, he has a gun in his hand, and it’s pointed right at her chest. “I won’t warn you again.”
I see the look in her eyes and know she’s about to make a very stupid decision. She assumes that because she’s a woman, she’s safe. The reality of her situation is a bullet through her heart when she keeps reaching for the gun she must have tucked in the back of her jeans. Her eyes widen in shock, and her wheezy gasps fill the now dead-quiet bar. Everyone watches her die, and when she’s slumped over, I turn my attention back to Lyle.
“You should never have come after Evie, but the truth is you were already a dead man. The second she told me about you, I knew it was going to come to this, that I wouldn’t be satisfied until I put a bullet in your head.”
“I didn’t know she was yours,” he groans.
“You do now, though, don’t you?”
“Yes.” He nods, grasping onto the small hope that I’ll let him live.
“It’s nice that you’ll get to die an enlightened man, Lyle. That makes me feel so much better."
I don’t give him a chance to respond. The shot to the head puts him out of his misery, and when I’m satisfied that no trace of life is left in him, I turn and give Vasily a nod.
He walks around the bar, eyeing the men who are left and the scared waitresses. “Who’s the leader?”
When no one says anything, he stops in front of a grey-haired man with a long, salt-and-pepper beard, finding their leader based on body language and impeccable instincts.
“You know who we are?” Vasily asks.
The man takes a drink of the whiskey in front of him. “I do.”
“And you run this big titty mermaid gang?”
I laugh because god do I hope that’s really their name. That would make my fucking day. The man obviously doesn’t have a sense of humor because he doesn’t even crack a smile. Instead he glares at my brother.
“I do,” he says, and this time it’s much closer to a growl.
“You had your men try and fuck with our shipments.”
The man shrugs. “We’ve been watching you and thought it would be an easy way to get our hands on some more guns.”
“Regretting that decision yet?” Vasily asks, a cruel smile playing at his lips.
“I may have underestimated you,” the man admits. “But I’m willing to work something out, maybe cut a deal.”
Vasily laughs. “Why in the fuck would we make a deal with someone who can’t offer us anything in return? We’re not really in need of a bunch of fat, old bikers.”
“This place reeks of Bengay and talcum powder. God, I bet they douse their balls in that shit so they don’t chafe while they ride around,” Ilya says in Russian, making us all laugh.
“Anyone else bored with this?” Vasily asks in Russian.
“Fuck yes,” Volodya says.
“Don’t shoot the waitresses,” Vasily says before shooting their leader between the eyes. I take out the two men closest to me, and within seconds every person in the bar is dead, aside from the waitresses who are trying like hell to not freak out and make themselves more of a target.
I walk over to them, tucking my gun against the small of my back so they know I’m not about to shoot them. They look up at me, eyes wide with fear. The four of them are clutching each other’s arms, supporting one another even as they’re shaking and crying.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” I calmly tell them. “You’re going to get your purses and show us your driver’s licenses. We’re going to take photos of them, and if any of you speak to the police about anything that you’ve seen tonight, then we’re going to find you and pay you a visit. Believe me when I say you don’t want that.”
They nod their heads in unison, more than happy to agree to my terms if it gets their asses out of here alive.
“Good. After we’ve taken the photos, you’re more than welcome to empty the cash register and whatever safe may be in the back and split the money between the four of you.”
More nods from the group as I wave Nikolai over and let him finish. A couple of them whisper a “thank you” before they scurry to the back to get their purses. The blonde at the front with the shirt that looks two sizes too small gives Nikolai a smile when he winks at her. Well, that’s one way to get her silence.
