Man of the House(117)

I was sure they’d have some security, but not much. They didn’t know that we knew about it. One of the Russian guys, Vasili Vladikovich, was a spy for us, and he sold us information all the time. This little poker game was one of his last sales.

And it was a good one. This would show the Russians that they weren’t safe anywhere.

The drive out there didn’t take long. We parked a few blocks away and the guys got out, huddled up close. Everyone was wearing a Kevlar vest and everyone was carrying a rifle, courtesy of Bao’s Chinese contacts.

“Listen up,” I said, addressing the guys. “John and Petey stay behind, engines running. When you hear the first shots, you pull up out front and get ready for us to run.”

“Got it,” Petey said.

“We’re better armed by far than they’re going to be, so let’s make this fast. Kill everyone that looks like a Russian mobster; spare the women. Grab any cash or anything that looks valuable. We’re in and out in five minutes. Got it?”

The boys all nodded.

“Let’s go murder some fucks.”

We began walking down the sidewalk.

The city was quiet and there was nobody out. Rafa rolled up next to me, giving me a grin.

Excitement was bubbling up under the surface of my skin. This was the sort of thing I lived for, the sort of thing I loved. It made me feel more alive putting my life in danger, putting myself out there. I was a warrior rolling into battle, ready to carve my opponents into tiny little pieces.

My heart was hammering in my chest as we stopped outside the deli’s door. It was closed and locked, but that didn’t matter.

I nodded at Rafa. He kicked the door, shattering the glass, and reached inside. He unlocked the door and threw it open.

I was the first one through, gun at the ready. The front of the store was open, but it wouldn’t be for long. I moved toward the back and saw the back door open, one guy coming out.

He didn’t have time to realize what had happened. He was probably investigating the sound of broken glass. I put a bullet between his eyes and he dropped.

All hell broke loose then.

I kicked in the back door and we spilled inside.

The room was mostly full. There were several tables set up with people sitting at them, smoking and drinking. We formed a small semicircle around them and began to unload our guns.

Bullets flew through the air, tearing up the bodies of the people in front of us. Some of the Russian goons tried to get their guns out, but we shot them down too fast for them to respond. It was a complete slaughter, with everyone in the room screaming, diving out of the way, bleeding.

These were our enemies. In war, you did things that were difficult, even questionable, because that was how you won. They would do this to us if given the chance; I was completely sure of that.

Our guns tore up the room. I avoided hitting the women, and they quickly dove out of the way, hiding and screaming.

It lasted two minutes. Finally, I held up my fist, and the gunshots slowly stopped.

“Get the cash,” I ordered.

The men fanned out. I combed through the people, ignoring the whimpering women. I finished off a few guys who might have survived.

Nobody was walking away from this. The women would tell the story of what had happened here, and maybe that would incite more terror in the ranks of the Russians.

Rafa came from the back room with a bag slung over his shoulder.

“Good haul,” he said.

“How much?”

“Not sure, but it’s a lot.”

“Good. Maybe this can cover some of our losses.”

“I think it will, boss,” he said, grinning.

My guys were busy rifling through the bodies, taking money from wallets, anything valuable.

I checked my watch. Five minutes had passed.

“Okay, roll out,” I said.

We turned and left back the way we’d come.

The two cars were sitting out front, engines running. We piled back into the cars and sped off.

We didn’t even hear sirens.

The feeling in the car was elation. Nobody had been hurt, and everyone in that room had been killed. It was a huge success, and we even made out with a ton of money.

It was a slaughter, but it was a necessary slaughter. Rafa was busy counting the cash, a big smile on his face.

But I felt something different.

Usually after a battle, I felt nothing but joy. I liked destroying my enemies, killing men who would otherwise kill me. I liked proving that I was faster and stronger than those bastards.

But for some reason, I had a nagging feeling. I realized that I was worried that someone from Kaley’s immediate family had been in there. I knew she had lots of cousins and uncles, all of who were members of the mob. It was very possible that one of them had died in that.

And I knew she would be very upset if that had happened, possibly never forgive me.