***

When Donovan strode into the bar a little over an hour later, his face said it all.

Anger and concern all rolled into one.

He came straight to me.  His hand cupped my chin, and his eyes bored into mine.  “You okay?”

I am now.

“Yes.”

His chest heaved.  “Thank fuck.”

Letting go of me, he turned to Nash and J.  “Thanks for coming.”

“Anytime, man.  You want us to tag along when you go see Mario?” Nash asked.  From the gleam in his eye, I was betting he hoped Donovan said yes.

“Heading over there now.  You got time?”  Donovan asked.  Turned out I was right because Nash jumped at the opportunity.  I didn’t even feel sorry for Mario. As far as I was concerned, he deserved whatever they did to him.

J interrupted, “You got eyes on this place now?”

Donovan nodded.  “Yeah, two of my guys are sitting outside.”

“Thank you,” I murmured.

He turned to me, and his gaze softened.  “I’m gonna give you their numbers.  You ring them first if you need them, but you always ring me after.  Yeah?”

It stunned me how much I loved his protective streak.  After years of looking out for myself, I hated relying on anyone or needing anyone.  Donovan was different.  I looked deep into his eyes.  “Yeah.”

He keyed their numbers into my phone, inspected the place to make sure we were secure, and then the three of them left.

To take care of Mario.

Deep down, I knew what that meant.

And I had zero problems with it.

Chapter Ten

Blade

I pulled up outside Mario’s place.  The motherfucker lived in a dive.  Paint peeled from the house, overgrown grass hid the ground, and rubbish littered the footpath.  He’d fallen a long way from the place he used to live.

That’s what drugs do to you, asshole.

Slamming the door of the Jag as I exited it, I surveyed the street.

Quiet.

No one around.

Fucking perfect.

“What’s the plan, boss?”

I turned to Ben.  I’d brought him and two of my other guys with me.  Nash and J, too.  “You three take the back.  I’ll keep Nash and J with me at the front.”

He nodded his agreement.

“I get to finish the asshole, Ben,” I added.

“I figured,” he said, his face a mask of intent.

I watched the three of them head around the back and then motioned for J and Nash to follow me.  A moment later, I banged on the front door.

We stood back and waited.

When Mario opened the door, he looked at J and Nash before smirking at me.  “Brought your back-up, I see.  Won’t make a difference, though, asshole.  Your bitch owes me money, and I fucking want it.”

My fist collided with his cheek so hard he staggered backwards.  I stepped inside his house and punched him again.  Blood flew at me.  I punched him again.

“Motherfucker!” he roared.

I ducked as he tried to get a punch in.  “Yeah, I fucking am!  You want to pull the shit you pulled today, this is how I fucking deal with it.”

My mind was zeroed in on dealing with Mario, but the sound of glass shattering and yelling from the back of the house grabbed my attention.  Nash pushed past me and stalked toward the noise while J stayed with me.

Mario snarled at me.  “That bitch isn’t worth the shit this will cause, Blade.”

We stood glaring at each other, sizing the situation up.  Adrenaline pumped through my veins, and the desire to end him quickly overwhelmed me.  “What fucking shit will this cause, Mario?”

“People won’t like it when I tell them about this.  I hope the cunt is worth it.”

Mario always had thought more of his standing in the world than what it actually was.  I shoved my face in his and grabbed his shirt with both hands.  “You’re missing something here, Mario.”

“What?”  His smugness only fuelled my rage.

“The fact you won’t be around to tell anyone about this,” I growled, and enjoyed watching the smugness slide off his face.

I shoved him away from me.  Hard, so he stumbled back into the wall and slumped to the floor.  His confidence disappeared, and my darkness surged up as I looked down at him.  The demons I forced into hiding most days circled, begging to be let out.  Today, they were in luck.

J slammed the front door shut and made sure all the curtains were closed.  The house had grown quiet as Ben and the guys dealt with whoever Mario had out the back.  “Just you and me now,” I spat at him.  “Regretting your greed yet, asshole?”

Fear lined his face.  He knew how I dealt with problems.  “I’ll forget the debt, Blade.  And I’ll leave her alone, whatever you want.”  He forced his words out in a haste to stop me.

Too late, motherfucker.

My monsters have already been unleashed.

I slid my blade from its sheath attached to my belt and stepped closer to him.  Bending to a crouch, I pressed the tip of the knife to his chest.  “Your problem, Mario, is that you just don’t have the fucking brains for this shit.  Takes a smart man to handle the dirty work of this world.  Idiots are slowly weeded out, and it looks like your time’s up.”  I cut the top button of his shirt off.  The sound of it bouncing on the floor was the only sound to be heard in the quiet of the house.