Hijacked (A Retribution Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the gun. The man’s blood was on his hands, and he had a lifetime of atoning to do.
    “Might not be much intel to gather right now, anyway,” Hunter grumbled. “Hardy’s been spotted along the coast, in Guy Contreras’s old territory. Now that Guy is dead, it sounds like Hardy wants to take over. I’m unsure if Donati will let him, but that might be the best place to focus our efforts right now.”
    “I’m not sure Donati has a choice.” Hardy had grown increasingly more aggressive during the past six months since he’d taken out his competition. It had been Hunter’s idea to pit the two factions of Donati’s organization against each other in an effort to draw out Guy Contreras and help their buddy Ryan clear his name.
    Instead of garnering the desired results, Guy was now dead, Ryan’s name may very well stay muddied forever, and they’d stirred up a shitstorm of activity in the underground drug world that ruled Portland and the surrounding towns. Already, three different men had tried to control the area. All of them were now dead.
    When all was said and done, none of Christian’s vigilante brothers knew how Donati’s organization would end up.
    “Is Ryan able to keep a handle on things in that area? Maybe one of us needs to head to the beach.” Christian would be the one most likely to go since the other two had daytime jobs that required them to be in town a good portion of the time, and he could leave Nicole, his trusted employee to run the bar.
    “I offered help. He said no,” Hunter said. “He reported that things are percolating again, but nothing’s close to blowing yet. If he needs me, I’m not far.”
    Christian hesitated. “If you say so. My gut tells me more’s going on than we think.”
    “You got anything to back that up?” Hunter asked in a gruff voice.
    “Nothing concrete.” He wished he had a better answer. Wished he could have learned something that night at Gideon’s bar.
    “All right. Keep me posted. Ryan’s expecting another shipment of heroin to route up Highway One tomorrow night. We’re planning to ambush just outside Rockaway after midnight. It’s not much, but hopefully, it’s enough they’ll feel the sting.”
    “Anything that might slow them down,” Christian agreed. Mentally, he and the other guys were ready for whatever might come, but he couldn’t help the uneasiness churning in his gut.
    “Exactly. I’m going to hang up. I need to finish modifications on the latest security program. I’ve kept the G-men waiting too long as it is. If I don’t produce in another week, they’ll start looking elsewhere for a programmer.”
    “Damn,” he said quietly as though big brother might actually be listening. “As long as you give it to ‘em as specified by your contract, they can’t say shit.”
    Hunter chuckled. “Unfortunately, timelines only apply to others when it comes to the government. Talk soon, bro.”
    Christian hung up as a weight settled heavier on his chest. He needed to finish this, needed to bring down his brother and the Donati crime family while he still had a semblance of sanity left. Each day that passed, each person who died because of their organization ate another piece of his heart and mind, especially now that he knew his own brother was involved. If Christian and his friends didn’t hurry to end them, there would be nothing left of his soul to salvage.
    *        *        *
    Weak morning light filtered between Eliana’s eyelids, gently teasing her brain, taunting her with light instead of darkness. She groaned and rolled over, snuggling deeper into her covers. Buttery soft sheets caressed her skin, and she allowed the siren’s lullaby of sleep to drag her back into its cozy depths.
    “Shit!” The word rang through her head before exploding from her mouth. She jerked awake and sat up, her heart rampaging through her chest. She needed to get her ass out of bed and head to the park to check on Howard. Thoughts of his