“You mean to say that somebody is targeting the dealerships where my family was born?” My question hangs in the air, and everybody looks at Sara.
Pussies.
“M, I know it’s a reach. But this will confirm your suspicions.” Sara hands me an envelope with pictures of the fucking hooded figure we have been chasing for months, and clippings of some notes. First, I take another look at the hooded figure. A tall man with a strong physique, which is apparent. But who the fuck is he?
I put the pictures down and take a look at the clippings.
His mother was born in Tuzla, and she loved it there.
Grandparents on mother’s side were married for forty-five years. Grandmother was born in Banja Luka, grandfather in Zagreb.
The main subject was born in Sarajevo.
These pieces of paper have been cut out of a diary or a notebook, and I’m positively fuming. Someone is targeting my dealerships to reach me. I put the clippings back into the envelope and put out my cigarette.
“How the fuck did I get these?” I look around the table, and all of their heads are down. Nobody dares to look up. And that only confirms one thing.
Nobody fucking knows.
“My patience is wearing thin, and I need to figure out how I got these.” My eyes land on Sara because she handed me the clippings. She must feel my eyes burning into her skull because when her gaze lands on me, she sighs.
Adam senses the tension and makes a tsk-sound.
“M, you know I appreciate you. But…” He stands up and positions himself behind Sara. His big form is towering over her, and his presence is demanding. Protective. “If you ever try to intimidate her again or make it seem like she is responsible, I will fucking come for you.” His tone is low but intimidating, I’ll give him that. Before I’m about to say something, Sara glances over her shoulder, and she kisses Adam’s hand.
They are in love, and I respect him for protecting her.
I throw up my hands in defeat and apologize to Sara.
“I apologize, Sara. Truly.”
“It’s good, M. Go sit, Adam.” And like a dutiful boyfriend, he does. Sara has Adam wrapped around her finger, and I love that for her. And for him.
“It’s just that I’m so fucking frustrated because nobody knows my address. Wait.” A thought goes through my mind as I pick up the envelope. I scan the entire fucking thing, and there is nothing written on there. No return address, and not even my address. “Where did these get sent to?” I ask Sara.
“They were dropped off in your mailbox at this address. I was clearing out your mail, and I saw the envelope. We came upstairs to check the contents, and that’s when we called fucking everybody.”
I slam my hand against the table.
“How did these clippings get here? And why?!” I’m raising my voice, and this is an anomaly to me. Because I never do that. Usually, I’m cool, calm, and collected, so this is quite a shock to everybody.
“M, somebody is targeting you specifically. And they are doing a damn good job of it,” Oliver states without any shame. He is always the one to break the obvious tension.
I turn to him with a puzzled look, and even though I don’t want to admit it, he’s right.
“The shrewd observation from Oliver may be delivered wrongly.” Josh glares at him, and Oliver blows him a kiss. “He is right. This information is only reserved for close family and us, right?”
I nod at Josh.
“Yes. How did they get this information? This is fucking personal.” Adam coughs.
“What is it, Adam?” I ask him. He clears his throat and puts his elbows on the table, looking at me intently.
“Could this be the work of your father?” Right as he says it, you could hear a pin drop. My father was the head of the second largest assassination group, the Vicious Vipers.
The Vicious Vipers were a group of hired assassins, with me one of their top members. We were deadly, vicious, and you wouldn’t see us coming. At its prime, we were bringing in money like a well-oiled business machine, and we did everything correctly.
Our subjects were primarily high-profile cases; even some politicians were on our hit list. The people who hired us were incredibly wealthy, powerful, and wise. We screened everyone meticulously because we didn’t take on just any job. Even though we were in the business of taking people out, we made sure we didn’t take out innocent people.
