Chapter 1 - THE WEAK LINK
Julian Thorne was a coward pretending to be a wolf.
I didn't have to look hard to find him. While his father and older brothers were busy staging their alibis and bribing the local precinct, Julian went exactly where weak men go to drown their guilt: the VIP room of a high-end downtown strip club owned by the Thorne Syndicate.
I bypassed the front door bouncers entirely. Thirty seconds on the fire escape, a shattered skylight lock, and I dropped silently into the second-floor utility corridor. I slipped past the thumping bass of the music and opened the door to Julian’s private suite.
He was alone, pouring his fourth glass of scotch, his hands still trembling just like they were at the hospital.
I locked the door behind me. The click sounded like a gunshot in the soundproof room.
Julian spun around, dropping his glass. It shattered against the hardwood. "How... how did you get in here? Security!"
"Security is taking a nap," I said, stepping into the dim neon light.
Julian lunged for a pistol resting on the glass table. He was slow. I closed the distance in two strides, grabbed his wrist, and twisted. The bone popped loudly. Julian dropped to his knees, letting out a high-pitched scream.
I kicked the gun away and grabbed him by the collar, slamming him against the velvet wall.
"Twenty-eight bones, Julian," I whispered, pressing my forearm against his windpipe. "You are going to tell me exactly why your family did that to my wife, or I am going to break twenty-eight of yours. Starting with your collarbone."
"She found the ledgers!" Julian gasped, tears streaming down his face. "Elena found the ledgers in my father's safe! The shipping manifests for the weapons we’ve been moving through the port! She was going to the feds! Dante snapped... he grabbed the wrench. I didn't swing it, I swear! I just watched!"
"You watched her bleed," I said, my voice devoid of mercy.
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I didn't kill him. Death was too easy. I zip-tied his hands, shattered his kneecap with a precise, clinical strike so he could never run again, and walked out into the night.
One down. Five to go.
