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“All’s clear, Boss. Eliana is on her way in.” Enzo stepped into view.

Severin pulled Mai and himself out from under the table. “Who was in the vehicles?” He looked from Enzo to Mai.

“What vehicles?” Mai asked, gasping and holding her hand over her throat.

He looked at her, feeling not one ounce of pity at the visible rawness where he’d squeezed. “The ones who were heading this way while you and I were talking. You should count yourself lucky to be breathing, Mai. Although that could change in the blink of an eye.”

Eliana strode through the door, dragging a man by his hair. “I brought this one with me so you could see for yourself who was coming to help her. There were thirteen in total, with enough firepower to take out this entire army if they’d wanted to. He’s been very uncooperative verbally, but his mind is weak. She paid Gambino handsomely to turn away while she lured you here, thinking Scepter would repay them for killing you. They all know he hates you.” Eliana flung the man into the center of the warehouse, his body skidding to a stop at Severin’s feet.

Severin locked his jaws. “Did my brother know?”

Eliana inhaled deeply and paused for a few heartbeats. Severin didn’t blink as he waited. He could’ve plowed through memories of the man at his feet himself, but couldn’t. Assuming his brother wanted him dead and seeing it with his own eyes were two different things. Shit, he was a fucking pussy. As he prepared to drill into the fuckers mind, Eliana kicked the asshole in the side, making him grunt.

“They don’t have any information about Scepter other than he’s the big Boss. Gambino promised them a bonus if they got the job done, and he’d clear the way for Mai’s cargo to go through without any issue. Scepter runs both the East and the Hudson River, but he allows Gambino and the others to use them if they don’t bring any blowback to him.” Eliana finished speaking. Her bright green eyes flicked at Mai, then to Severin.

He shoved Mai into Castle’s arms. “From what you learned, it sounds like Scepter wasn’t involved, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want me dead. Let’s wrap this up and get ready to move.”

“What are you going to do? Kill me, Shaw?” Mai asked, using the last name he’d told only a dozen individuals over the years.

“Isn’t that what you planned for me?” His question came out hard.

Mai licked her red-painted lips. “That’s not what I—I never planned.”

“Shut the fuck up, Jao. We need to get out of here. My senses are tingling.” Severin looked toward the rafters, then down at the ground.

“Tell me what you’re feeling, Boss. I got nothing,” Uriel said through their path.

“It’s probably Scepter and his people coming in. This is his territory. While I know the five of us can handle a hundred humans, I don’t want to gamble any of your lives against Scepter and what he brings here. He could easily have a hundred of our kind with him. I’m going to knock Mai out, and then we flash.” Leaving her alive gutted him, but he’d get to her sooner or later.

“Night, night, bitch.” Severin’s fist snapped out fast and concussively, hitting Mai behind her ear, disrupting balance and equilibrium while placing severe rotational stress on the brainstem. He didn’t use the strength of his kind, wanting to knock her out, not kill her. Savage would deal with her.

“You should’ve just killed the bitch,” Uriel growled.

“There are key players we need to see come out of the woodwork. If they think she’s compromised, they’ll come to the surface in a few ways. Either they’ll kill her, or they’ll start moving in ways that become apparent. Let’s wait and see how shit moves. You know how a clogged toilet works once it’s been drilled open?” Severin shoved Mai’s body away with the toe of his boot.

“Oh fuck. Are you making a shit metaphor?” Eliana asked.

“Sensei is not right in the head,” Enzo muttered.

Severin smiled. “Why is nobody asking the important questions?”

“What happens to shit?” Uriel asked, rocking back on his heels.

“See, he knows what to ask. The trapped shit is broken up, lubricated, and forced past the narrow trap in the bowl and into the home's main plumbing. As it travels down the pipe, it flows into the municipal sewer system.”

“Ah, so we’ll wait and see who ends up in the shit tank. Got it.” Enzo nodded.

Eliana made gagging noises.

“Let’s go.” Severin twirled his finger in the air. The five of them disappeared as one. A few seconds later, he returned as vapor, wanting to see if anything stirred that shouldn’t.

Chapter Five

Severin kept still, not letting a breath leave his body while he waited.

“Boss, what’s going on?” Castle asked through their link.

He didn’t answer while waiting for what he didn’t know. After another minute, he flashed to the hotel penthouse suite where his Clan was staying. Castle and Enzo sat on one of the sectionals, their feet propped on the coffee table, while Eliana lazed on a chaise off to the side. Uriel stood behind a bar in the corner, holding a glass tumbler with amber liquid. Four sets of eyes turned toward him with questions in their gazes.