“You met with other families and fed them my information. You planned my death. You divided my territory.” I count off each betrayal on my fingers. “The only reason you didn’t act is because you’re cowards who wanted someone else to pull the trigger.”
I pull out my own weapon, the familiar weight of the Glock grounding me.
This is who I am.
This is what I do.
No matter how much I want to be the man Sophia fell in love with, the man who could walk away from violence and build something clean, this is the reality of my world.
“I’m going to give you a choice,” I tell them. “Quick or slow. Mercy or justice. What you did to me deserves slow, but I’m tired and I want to go home to my wife.”
“Fuck you,” the first guy snarls. “You think killing us will stop what’s coming? There are others. Men who are tired of your weakness, tired of watching you play legitimate businessman while the real opportunities pass us by.”
The admission confirms what I’ve suspected.
This betrayal runs deeper than three disgruntled lieutenants.
There’s a cancer in my organization, and I need to cut it out before it spreads.
“Names,” I demand. “Give me names and I’ll make it quick.”
He laughs, the sound bitter and broken. “So you can kill them too? No. Let them come for you. Let them take everything while you’re changing diapers and playing house.”
I pull the trigger. The shot echoes through the warehouse, and the asshole’s body slumps forward, a neat hole in his forehead. Quick. Merciful. More than he deserved.
The other two start screaming, their bravado evaporating in the face of their friend’s death. I turn to them, my expression cold.
“Last chance. Names.”
It’s funny how quickly they change their minds. Names fly from their mouths in rapid succession. “They’re planning to move against you next week when you’re at the hospital for Sophia’s appointment.”
The names hit me like bullets. One runs my western operations. Another handles my legitimate construction business. And thelast one manages my security. If they’re all compromised, then my entire organization is rotting from within.
“How many others?” I ask.
“I don’t know. Maybe a dozen. Maybe more.” The blonde’s voice breaks. “Please, Mikhail. I have a family. A wife and two daughters.”
“So do I.” I raise my weapon. “That’s why I can’t let traitors live.”
Two more shots. Two more bodies. The warehouse falls silent except for the ringing in my ears and the steady drip of blood onto concrete.
Tony holsters his weapon and pulls out his phone. “I’ll have the cleanup crew here in twenty minutes. What do you want to do about the others?”
“Round them up. Tonight. I want them all before sunrise.” I stare at the bodies, feeling nothing. No satisfaction. No remorse. Just the cold calculation that’s kept me alive for twenty years. “And double the security at the compound. If they were planning to hit me at the hospital, they might try for Sophia at home.”
“Already done.” Tony’s efficiency reminds me why I chose him. “I’ve got eight men on the perimeter and four inside. Elena’s been briefed. Sophia won’t leave the bedroom without an escort.”
I nod, suddenly exhausted.
The adrenaline is wearing off, leaving behind the familiar weight of leadership and the knowledge of what I’ve just done.
Three men are dead by my hand.
More will die before the night is over.
And somewhere in my fortress of a home, my pregnant wife sleeps, trusting me to keep her safe.
“Let’s go,” I tell Tony. “I need to get home.”
