Page 6 of Down & Dirty: Reaper

Chapter Two

Using the high-powered scope attached to his sniper rifle, he locked in on his target.

The sucker was one of the Russos’ goons used for protection since the guy in the collared shirt and black khakis was standing “lookout” for the restaurant where a few of the La Cosa Nostra regularly broke bread.

But by playing with the big dogs, one had to be prepared to get bitten.

Reaper was laid out on his stomach on top of a building about a block from the restaurant.

After tonight, he had a feeling the Russos would be searching for another restaurant to stuff their guts with cannelloni, sambuca, and espresso.

He lightly stroked the trigger, willing his heartbeat to slow and his breathing to steady. It wouldn’t be the longest distance in which he’d taken out a target but he also didn’t want to miss.

He was doing this to send the Russos into a panic. To make them paranoid by thinking another criminal organization was stalking them and thinning out their numbers.

Indie had left a trail of fake crumbs on the internet that, if the Russos dug hard enough, would lead them to believe that the other organization going on the offensive was the Chens.

And hopefully, they’d strike back.

If not, the team would keep up the pressure until they did.

He pulled in a long, deep breath and slowly pushed it out. When his lungs were empty, he pulled the trigger.

The man standing guard instantly crumpled to the sidewalk.

After waiting a few seconds to make sure the goon was in a permanent sleep, Reaper removed his earplugs and used the scope to scan the area. He couldn’t hear them from where he had set up, but civilians in the area were screaming and running, afraid they’d get shot next.

They wouldn’t. He had never shot anyone by accident. If that day ever came, he’d hang up his rifle immediately.

His current weapon of choice might not be the same as he carried in the Marines, but his AXMC Multi Caliber Rifle was still accurate as fuck once dialed in. It was manufactured solely for one purpose: to kill.

He loved it because it had a folding stock to make it more compact when on the move, or for storage, and he could change the caliber simply by switching out the barrel, bolt, and magazine. Something he could do in his sleep.

The only problem with it was how fucking heavy it was and how much dough it had set him back. But it was turning out to be worth every damn penny.

Putting his eye back to the scope, he concentrated on the entrance to the restaurant. He waited to see if any Russos or their goons came out to check on their downed comrade.

No one did. That meant they probably had rushed out the rear of the building to escape from being taken out next.

Good. Let them scramble like the rats they were.

Since this was his second hit of the night, it was time to pack it up and head back to the farm. He’d continue hunting another night and at another location.

Ghost and T-Bone had been working tirelessly on mapping out any and all locations in and around Pittsburgh where the Russos were known to live or congregate.

The only place Reaper refused to hunt that crime family, their soldiers, and associates was at the warehouse where Zeke retrieved Ledger after he’d been kidnapped. Only because any hits there might get tied back to the DAMC.

It wasn’t worth the risk.

After Zeke met with them, the Russos believed the DAMC would allow the Souls free access to come and go through their territory. The club president was smart enough not to outright agree but instead led them to believe that they wouldn’t interfere with the drug runs.

Ultimately, they did not agree and they sure as fuck would interfere.

Vi and Indie were also putting together a list of every Twisted Soul member in the Pennsylvania and West Virginia chapters.

A few names on that list now had a thick, black line through them. It turned out that Rage, the club’s sergeant at arms, was collecting name patches like trophies from the Souls he’d eighty-sixed. Rage had shared those names solely with Reaper after they teamed up and handled the four Souls who tried to attack the women a few weeks ago.

No one needed to know that Rage had wiped out an additional four Souls prior to that. Eight down, too many more to fucking go.