OWN HER: A Dark Mafia Romance(153)

I kicked the old wooden door. The lock exploded, and the door flew open into a dark, musty room. The air that escaped was rank and caught all three of us off guard. I shook my head while we all coughed away the heavy stink that fell on us.



“They’re definitely not down here,” I told the guys.



“If they are, they can stay down here,” Gage said.



“I promise you, anyone in there isn’t going anywhere any time soon,” Dante added.



I chuckled at his comment and nodded to the side of the building. We quickly rounded the corner with our guns drawn. Gage took the stairs first, leaving us to cover his back on the way up. At the top of the stairs was a metal landing with a couple of chairs sitting along the brick wall past the door.



The door on the second floor was much sturdier and had a slot at eye level, allowing whoever was inside to look out before admitting anyone.



“Shall we knock?” I asked my partners.



“Be my guest,” Dante said.



We stepped aside and pressed ourselves against the wall, hoping to be out of range if anyone opened the slot. I banged on the door with the butt of my rifle and ducked back to the side. We waited. No one answered.



I was starting to get the feeling that we’d been had. I could see by Gage’s face that he was thinking the same thing. Either we had bad information or someone had ratted us out to Fang and his men. I had a feeling I knew who that was, even though I would have been reluctant to admit it to the guys.



I knocked again.



When there wasn’t a response the second time, Gage stepped in front of the door and shot the lock with his revolver. What was left of it fell out of the door, and he slid it open.



“After you, sir,” Gage said, stepping aside and holding out his arm to invite me into the building.



We walked into a large, mostly empty office. It was dark, but enough light crept in around the corners of the boarded up windows that we could see the desks and chairs all facing each other.



I stepped back and hit the light switch. Fluorescent office lights in the ceiling came on and let us see the room clearly. The walls had wood paneling along them. The desks were old, probably left over from the last legitimate owners of the building.



“Check the desks,” I told them.



There were three desks. Dante and Gage went to the ones on either side of the room. I went to the one along the far wall, facing the door. Behind it was a cork board with a single picture tacked to it. I pulled the picture down and looked at it.



“Guys, they knew we were coming,” I announced, holding up the picture of me for them to see.



“You’re kidding me,” Gage said, slamming one of the desk drawers closed.



“We both tried to tell you,” Dante said, standing upright.



“Let’s go through the desks anyway, but I can almost guarantee you we won’t find anything useful,” I said. I opened every drawer in the desk I assumed was Fang’s. I had no idea who the other two would have belonged to. I didn’t know anyone else in his organization other than Sasha, and I was pretty sure she didn’t have a desk.



Gage kicked over his desk.



“Hey, brother, calm down. It’s just a desk,” Dante said.



“It’s not just a desk. It’s Cole,” Gage complained.



I knew what he meant, but I kept my mouth shut. There was nothing I could say to him at that point that wouldn’t make things worse. I turned my attention to a file cabinet and opened each drawer, knowing already that they were going to be empty.



“Nothing?” I asked the guys.



“Not a damn thing,” Dante said.



I crumbled the picture of me and dropped it on the floor.



“Looks like your girl sold us up the river,” Gage said, stepping in front of me. “You going to bring her in?”



“Not now, Gage.” Dante put a hand on his arm and tried to push him aside.



“Yes, now. I got my ass kicked for this chick because Cole thought he was getting an old lady out of the deal, but she just turns out to be Fang’s little snitch.” His breath was hot in my face.



“Do you want to get your ass kicked again, Gage?” I asked. “Because this time, you’re earning it on your own.” I pulled my gun off of my shoulder and set it on the desk.



Dante stepped between us and pushed both of us away.



“Nobody is getting their ass kicked here, guys. Both of you back the fuck up. We have a job to do here, and it looks like we’ve been had. I don’t think anyone will deny that. Right?” He looked back and forth between us, making sure we agreed with him.



“Okay, good,” Dante continued. “Now, the question is, where do we go from here?”