He didn’t use the blade often, but it was handy in close-combat. He wasn’t the kind of boss who hung back and let his men do all the work. Knox had to be in the thick of the action. He wanted his enemies to know he was coming.
Knox left another kiss on Leah’s cheek before exiting the room. Leah stirred slightly but she didn’t wake. There was a high chance he wouldn’t be here in the morning when she woke. Knox made a mental reminder to himself to text Greta, his housekeeper, to make Leah breakfast.
Rory and Aiden tensed when Knox opened the door. News traveled fast in the organization.
“Stay here,” he told them. “Don’t let anyone but Greta in. Keep a close watch on Leah. She’s very important to me. Keep her safe.”
Both men failed to hide the surprise on their faces. “Of course, boss,” Rory said. “Your car’s waiting downstairs.”
“Good.”
Knox took the elevator to the ground floor. He knew he should be more focused on his stolen shipment, but he couldn’t wait to get this shit done and over with so he could return to his woman.
****
Knox studied the busted metal door for a couple of moments before entering the warehouse. Four of his men stood guard outside. Knox had sent out another team to scout the docks.
It was pretty unlikely that the intruders would still be around, but Knox wanted to be thorough. He nodded to his men and entered the warehouse. Knox steeled himself for the worst.
The thieves had managed to empty out almost half of his merchandise and that pissed him off. The men working under him only had to take one look at the black expression on his face and scurried away, but Patrick walked right up to Knox.
That there was the reason why Patrick was his second-in-command. He was never afraid to call Knox out on his bullshit and Patrick always went right to business.
“They were smart,” Patrick said with a grimace. “Took out the security cameras first. Killed the watch dogs and the guards.”
“Show me,” Knox ordered.
His men piled the bodies in one corner. Knox looked over the corpses. They weren’t messy kills. There were neat bullet holes on each one. No signs of excessive force. Their enemies had a talented sniper on their team and that worried him a little.
“Get rid of the bodies. Discreetly,” Knox told Patrick. “Provide a generous compensation for the families of the men that died.”
The mercenaries weren’t part of his organization, but they died while doing a job for him. Knox treated his people fairly. That usually ensured loyalty. Loyal men wisely kept their mouths shut but there were rare exceptions.
How could the thieves know about the cameras or the guards and dogs?
Knox kept a tight rein on his territory. His group frequently monitored the comings and goings of potential threats and enemies.
This was an inside job. The thought sickened Knox to the stomach. Whoever the traitor was, he was a walking dead man.
Patrick and he took a walk around the warehouse, searching for some trace of evidence and finding none. Knox quit smoking a couple of weeks ago but as he stepped out into the fresh night air once again, he hunkered for a cigarette.
“You got a smoke?” he asked one of the men keeping watch outside.
Knox didn’t recognize him, so he was probably new. Patrick was in charge of hiring new recruits but Knox trusted Patrick to find men who kept their silences and who would take a bullet for Knox.
The new guy fumbled for a cigarette and a lighter. Knox took the stick and he lit it for him.
“I thought you quit?” Patrick asked by his side.
He nodded with the cigarette. Knox inhaled, then exhaled. Once Knox finished his smoke, he crushed it under the heel of his shoe.
“Just having one to calm my nerves.”
Otherwise, Knox would’ve murdered someone already. He had a short fuse but at least he knew how to control his temper when the time called for it.
“They hired professionals,” Knox finally said.
“Yeah,” Patrick said. “A rival gang wouldn’t be able to pull a job this squeaky clean.”