Chapter 27

Kraven

Protected.

In the back of my mind, I still wanted to ensure that the beautiful woman I couldn't seem to get enough of was protected. Given my brother's change in demeanor and the fact I'd left eight of my most well-trained soldiers to watch out over her in my absence, I felt she'd be safe.

Until my return.

Plus, she wouldn't be able to escape.

Penny had done little else the rest of the day but watch me. She'd played with Remington yet I'd been able to tell her heart hadn't been into something she would ordinarily love. Plus, she'd changed into jeans and a shirt, which left me wondering what her plans were. Escaping wasn't an option. She should know better. I'd hunt her down no matter how far she ran.

Or where she believed she could hide.

The thought kept my jaw clenched and my balls tight as drums.

I'd injured her heart more than any of the men who'd abused her. For that, I might never forgive myself. However, I would begin to make amends right here. Tonight. In this shithole of a place.

But there would more vengeance to come. It had been decided.

I had to give Sylvester and Rocco Morelli some credit. Over the years, they'd taken the worst resort in Los Vegas and turned it into a gem. At least as long as you didn't look too closely. They were cheap bastards, taking all the profits for themselves.

Including from the auctions that occurred once a month.

I wondered how many girls they'd kidnapped, although I also knew for certain they used runaways as well, promising them big bucks.

While I might not be a father to a daughter, the thought of the abuse the girls received at the hands of vile, ruthless men made my blood boil.

Another reason I would spend some time with Jakie boy sooner versus later. I'd top off bloodying the man with using his father for a punching bag as well. After that, I'd determined how best to crush them beneath my boot.

No one fucked with my woman.

And lived.

The one thing about the older resorts and casinos was that I knew all the exit points, including the one my men and I had slipped inside through. I'd made it my business over the years to learn the schematics of various buildings, especially those owned by current or potential enemies. This particular resort backed up to what was really little more than an alley, the disgusting stench of garbage mixed with vomit and piss a repulsive cocktail.

I unbuttoned my jacket as well as my shoulder holster, pulling out my favorite weapon, a Heckler Koch VP40 handgun to double check the ammunition.

Not a single man said a word as we made our way through the back halls leading to the kitchen and the series of offices. When two kitchen workers had headed into the dark corridor to grab a couple of boxes of booze, they'd quickly left, their eyes full of terror.

They wouldn't bother announcing our arrival for fear of retribution. Smart boys.

Suddenly, two guards appeared, their weapons raised. Both were easy shots for me to make, catching each one bullseye between the eyes.

As their lifeless bodies fell to the floor, forcing me to step over them, Konstantin chuckled.

"You're on fire tonight," he told me.

"Yeah, well, I have my reasons."

"Let's kick some rat bastards' asses."

My counselor still had his sense of humor where I had none.

Another three enemy soldiers found their way into my presence, almost getting off a shot. Two were immediately shot by one of the soldiers but I took a few seconds to pummel my fist against the front man, taking out my aggression and utter rage on him so I could think more clearly. There was nothing like the hard crunch when a nose was destroyed.

Not that he'd need to breathe any longer where he was going.

When he made the stupid mistake of trying to fight back, I threw one last hard punch, toppling him to the floor. The moment he tried to move, I placed my foot against his throat, fighting the urge to crush his windpipe.

"You decided to work for the wrong people, fuckhead. Too bad." I lowered my weapon, blowing out his brains with a single shot.

Even seeing the carnage I'd inflicted didn't improve my mood.

After scanning the hallway in search of more rodents, I pressed on.

I knew exactly where the two reprehensible men preferred hiding out. The goofball brothers, as I liked to refer to them as, left their managers to do the real work, spending time counting their millions, also slapping around girls who misbehaved.

One good thing about what I was prepared to do was I'd be effectively shutting down the slave trade market in Las Vegas.

For now.

There would be more assholes determined to make a fortune on selling human flesh. I'd be here.

Waiting.

The fact the two men groomed then abused the girls who fought back was the epitome of their caliber as human beings.

Which is exactly what I heard happening as I approached the office door. After giving Konstantin an amused look, we both held our weapons out, ready to fire if necessary. I slammed my foot against the door, several of us immediately walking inside.

The young girl screamed.

Sylvester hissed.

And his brother wasn't in the room.

I nodded to Konstantin to coordinate with some of the other men to track down the younger brother while I concentrated on the fat bastard standing in front of me.

"Get the fuck out of here, Russian!" Sylvester exclaimed.

"Not going to happen, vermin." I grinned as I issued the word.

When he reached for his weapon, I gave him a hard look. "Put it on the floor or I'll put a bullet in your brain. It's as simple as that."

Sylvester cursed, darting his beady eyes from one soldier to another. But he suddenly shifted into being a good boy, slowly dropping his Glock onto the floor.

I glanced at the woman standing off to the side, her slight whimpering increasing. The girl had been beaten, her bloodied lip and swollen black eye pissing me off.

"Take her to safety," I told Konstantin. "Make sure she's cleaned up and given a way out of this hell hole back home." No one would ever call me a good man, but I would never allow a young girl to be around pigs of any kind.

"That's my property, you fuck," Sylvester made the mistake of saying, which pissed me off more than he could possibly understand given he was dumb as a rock.

I moved closer, pistol whipping him twice, almost hating myself for doing it in front of the nearly hysterical girl.

I kept the barrel of my weapon pointed at Sylvester, the poor girl shaking so badly, Konstantin was forced to wrap his arm around her, whispering words of comfort I couldn't hear. As he brought her forward, she lifted her head in my direction. Her eyes were more haunted than I'd seen in a long time. That added to the fury building inside of me.

She did her best to say thank you through her swollen lips and as soon as she was led from the room, I nodded to my soldiers. Two remained in the room while two of the others would remain on guard outside the room.

Not that it mattered.

Anyone daring to interrupt me would be slaughtered.

"What the fuck you doing in my club?" Sylvester managed when we were all alone, his Italian accent heavier than normal. Did he really think that was going to bother me? He struggled to stand, wiping blood from his face and nose. It was likely I'd broken it for the third or fourth time. It was tough to say.

I stood a couple of feet from his desk, both hands on my weapon lowered in front of me.

"You should know better than to treat women so badly," I told him in a quiet voice.

"She's a whore. What does it matter to you?"

"Because you're a worthless piece of trash. Didn't you know human trafficking is against the law? I should have ended your time on this earth when I offed your good buddy Steve."

He smirked, but I noticed a hint of fear in his eyes. "You were always a thug. But you did me a favor killing that fuck."

Right.

"Maybe so but I clean up well. Unlike you. What can you tell me about your alliance with Emiliano Cabrera?"

While most leaders of crime syndicates were damn good at hiding their feelings, Sylvester was a piss-poor actor.

"That fucking slime bag used us."

I was honestly surprised at this outburst. "Let me guess. Gray Death."

He acted as if he wasn't going to tell me shit. That prompted me to backhand him all over again.

This time, a tooth spewed from his mouth, almost landing on my suit. Fortunately, I backed away in time. "Let's try that again. Were you dealing in Gray Death?"

He snorted, coughing up blood, glaring at me with more hatred in his eyes. "Yeah. But only once. That shit is deadly. Killed one of my girls."

For once, he was being sincere.

"What are Emiliano's plans?"

"How the fuck would I know?"

All I had to do was raise my weapon and he threw his arm out. Just then, my phone rang. Too bad I'd need to ignore it. I had more important business to deal with.

"Fine. Just fucking stop," he whined. The man truly was a pig.

"Then talk."

"The fucker didn't tell me his plans other than wanting to use my club to bring in the party trick, but I knew he was up to something. When I confronted him about my suspicions, he almost killed me. He paid me a hefty price to use my club. Okay? He was well armed and had a fucking army with him."

What a shame the asshole hadn't been killed. Only then I wouldn't have the pleasure. I thought about my conversation with the Santos men and was thankful the shit was finally coming together. Only I wasn't necessarily in the mood to go hunting.

Yet.

I had other things on my mind, including the beautiful woman I now had every intention of keeping.

"Look, the South American thinks he's invincible. I do know he wants to eliminate any obstacles. If that shit hits the streets, there will be a lot of dead people. Plus, he's one psycho son of a bitch. Crazy motherfucker."

"Tell me something I don't know. How did you meet him?"

He acted as if he wasn't going to answer again. This time, I used my forearm, nearly crushing his windpipe when I shoved him against the wall.

"Fucking… auction."

I pushed a little harder before backing away. "He came to an auction? When?"

He coughed for a few seconds, doubling over given his face was beet red.

My patience was in the toilet.

"Look… Two months ago. Then a couple nights ago as well. That's when we fought. I was finished with his bullshit and let him know."

"Did he purchase a girl?"

"No. But he wanted to snag a girl who used to work here. He said she was the only one acceptable, almost beating the shit out of two of my men when I told her she wasn't accessible."

A couple of nights before. "Let me guess. Penny Valentine." My anger was about ready to explode.

At least news hadn't traveled to his ears about the fact I had her under my protection. I could tell that in his beady eyes. "Yeah," he huffed, narrowing his eyes in confusion. "How the fuck did you know?"

"Because I know everything that goes on in this town."

He swallowed hard. "I told him the bitch no longer worked here. She doesn't."

"Hmmm." I let that slide for now. "And what else?"

"We argued. I told him I wanted nothing to do with his shit. He shoved a pistol under my chin and said he'd be back. Then he left. That's it."

The guy had been putting out feelers. Which meant he did know Penny had dropped into my place of business. His goons had seen her.

At least I could breathe easier that my pretty Penny was indeed innocent after all. Maybe I'd learn how to grovel in her presence.

Oh, fuck, no.

I'd simply remind her that she belonged to me.

"Where is your brother?" I asked, shocked I continued to allow him to live. "I need to have a chat with him as well."

"I don't fucking know. I don't keep up with him. He hadn't been around in almost two days."

"You mean since you attempted to have me killed?"

That got to the fat bastard. His eyes opened wide. If he hadn't ordered the hit, then perhaps Emiliano had.

"We're not buddies, Kraven, but I figured if you stayed in your lane then what did I have to lose?"

The fucker was right in that he was a low-level player. He knew he'd met his match with me months before. At this point, grilling him any longer wasn't worth my time. He hadn't had any responsibility in trying to have me killed. Neither he nor his brother were that smart.

I swaggered closer, studying him intently. "I need to ask you why you'd be contacting one of my most trusted soldiers."

He was more befuddled than ever. This time, I pressed the barrel of my weapon against his head. "Fucking stop doing that shit, Kraven. I ain't your enemy. I don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

Unfortunately, I believed him. As Konstantin returned to the room, I had a feeling it wasn't with encouraging news.

"No sign of the other one, boss. According to a few of the girls, he hasn't been in for over a day."

At least the fat man was telling me the truth.

I was finished here, although the only thing I found out for certain what that Sylvester had a limited level of intelligence. Worse than I'd originally believed.

"I'm going to warn you to stay away from Emiliano. That fuck is crazy." I was surprised as Sylvester stood, straightening the front of his suit as if I was going to simply walk away.

"Well, Sylvester, I do appreciate the warning but I'm highly adept in weeding out rats and roaches. And you, my friend, are both." I pressed the barrel of my Heckler against his forehead, taking my time as I smiled at the man.

"What are you doing? We're business associates."

"No, we are not. Especially since you took it upon yourself to manhandle my woman."

"Huh?"

"The lovely Penny Valentine?"

It dawned on him that he'd fucked up. I allowed that to be the last thing on his mind as I pulled the trigger.

When I backed away, I knew finding Emiliano in a city of this size was going to be a pain in my ass. What surprised me was that none of our informants had opened their mouths.

Either the South American had laid low or he'd put the fear of God into people in this country like he had in his own.

I could see another call to Diego and Dante might be in order.

"Took out a couple more guards. Do you want to go hunting for Rocco?"

"Send a couple of the men to his place first. Then I'll decide."

He laughed just as the sound of a text caught both our attention.

I pulled my phone into my hand as I left the office, not bothering to look at the screen until I was close to the back door.

When I did, I issued a stark growl. My skin began to crawl, anger even more powerful than before rolling into my system.

The dangerous game was about to come to an end, only I wasn't in control of the outcome.

"What's wrong?" Konstantin asked.

"Everything."