Page 69 of Viper’s Reign
“State secrets.” I wink, and she flushes to the roots of her hair.
She mutters unintelligibly as she reaches for a book and tugs. At first, nothing happens, then—click. The entire shelf shifts, sliding aside to reveal a hidden door.
I almost roll my eyes. How unoriginal.
“Thank you, sweetheart. You can go back to your post.” I brush past her, and she inhales sharply, swaying slightly. Denis grabs her arm before she can tip over into the bookshelf, and she lets out a soft, dazed sigh.
I shake my head, amusement curling through me as I open the door. Teenagers.
“The shop better be on fire, Kaitlyn, if you’re coming in here. I already told you you’re not getting the weekend off,” a surly voice calls out as we step into the hidden space.
My men and I exchange glances, and I gesture for them to spread out. The hallway is narrow, leading to what looks like a single room at the end, but I’m not taking chances. If he’s armed, I want him boxed in before he knows what’s happening.
I pull my gun from its holster and move ahead.
The room opens up to an almost laughable space—a large, ugly-as-fuck sofa planted smack in the middle, facing a TV blasting gunfire from some video game. A man slouches there, surrounded by junk food, thumbs working the controller like his life depends on it.
Leonid.
“What do you want?” he demands without looking back, clearly assuming we’re his employee interrupting his precious game.
His mistake.
I step directly behind him and press the muzzle of my gun to the back of his head. “You’re going to cooperate if you don’t want me to blow your brains out.”
The controller goes slack in his hands. On the screen, his character gets riddled with bullets before the words GAME OVER flash up. “Dimitri.”
“I suppose I should be flattered you recognize my voice, considering this is our first meeting.” I apply more pressure and nod at Noah, who steps forward and shuts off the TV. The dark screen reflects Leonid’s face.
He glares at me through it. “I don’t have anything you’d be interested in.”
“On the contrary, Leonid. You have something in this thick skull of yours I’m very much interested in. Information. You see, you’re the sole survivor of that warehouse… accident.”
The defiance drains out of his face as his eyes widen. “I know nothing, I swear. The only reason I’m still alive is because I’ve been lying low. If I knew anything valuable, I’d have been the first to die.”
“Maybe. But you don’t get to decide what’s valuable. I do.” I lean in slightly. “So you’re going to tell me everything you know.”
He gulps, his eyes darting to Noah and Denis flanking him, then back to my reflection. “I don’t know anything.”
I nod at Noah, who cocks his gun and points it at Leonid’s feet.
“Whoa, wait, wait—nooooo!” His pleading dissolves into an agonized scream as Noah fires, the shot landing squarely on the floor beside his feet. He leaps off the sofa, hopping in a circle and clutching himself.
I roll my eyes at his theatrics. “Enough with the drama. You didn’t get shot. Not yet.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he cries, his face all purple as he whips around to face me.
“Some would say I have daddy issues, but that’s irrelevant.” I gesture lazily toward Noah. “Every time you deny me information, he will shoot at a body part. Not enough to kill you, but enough so you know we mean business. He missed this time. He won’t again.”
His face crumples dramatically, tears already spilling down his cheeks.
I shake my head slowly, beyond disappointed. “Tell me who your leader is.”
He lets out a broken whimper and drops to his knees, crawling toward me. “I swear on my mother’s grave, I don’t know.” He cuts a nervous look at Noah when the gun cocks again and rushes on, “I don’t know who he is exactly—he always conceals his identity when he meets with us. But I know he’s high up—cabinet level. Most likely a politician. And he seems to have a vendetta against your family and the Marinos specifically, because you’re the ones we’ve been targeting.”
Only one person fits that profile.
Daniel Salvi.
