Devil's Due: A Thomas Caine Thriller (The Thomas Caine Series Book 0) (18 page)

His hair was steel gray and cut military short.
 
His eyes were large and piercing blue.
 
His name was Sergei Rudov.

He ran one of the largest crime families of the Russian Mafia.
 
He was Vor, a thief in law.
 
He had done time, earned the respect of his elders, and consolidated his power as he rose through the ranks of the darkest, most hellish prisons Mother Russia could lock him away in.
 
Every step of the ladder, every man he killed, every crime he committed, was etched in black ink across his skin.
 
A vast tapestry of prison tattoos hid beneath his tailored suit.
 
The ornate designs covered every inch of his flesh save for the hard, thick lines of his face.

As he walked towards the warehouse, the door slid open.
 
The screeching sound of metal scraping against metal echoed into the still night.
 
A slim man in a black suit rushed out to meet him.

"Mr. Rudov, please, accept my condolences.
 
I am so sorry to be the one who--"

"Show me, Antonovich.
 
Now."
 
His breath was an icy cloud of mist in the cold Russian night.

"Da, of course, sir, this way."

The lanky man, Ivan Antonovich, led Sergei to a shipping container that lay in the center of the empty warehouse.
 
Several armed men stood guard around the container.
 
The men shifted on their feet and shrank back into the dark corners of the warehouse as Sergei and Ivan marched past them.

"The shipment was intercepted by our people at the Baltic Shipyard, as always, sir.
 
We brought it here and opened it.
 
We had vans outside to transport the merchandise ... uh, the girls, to their respective buyers.
 
But, instead...." Ivan's voice trailed off.

The metal door of the container was open.
 
Sergei stood at the edge, for a moment, then stepped inside its long, narrow confines.
 
A single body lay on the cold floor.
 
A piece of paper was attached to its chest by a knife, stabbed deep into the corpse's flesh.
 
The body was burned and its clothes were torn and shredded, but Sergei was able to identify who it was.

It was the body of Alexi Rudov.

The body of his son.

Sergei ripped the dagger from the mangled corpse and held up the note.
 
It appeared to be written in blood.
 
The writing was Russian.
 
He read it aloud, and his voice echoed through the container.

"Death to those who betray Pisac, the devil of the Red Wa."

Ivan slowly approached behind him.
 
"Sir, it is Alexi, yes?
 
The Red Wa has killed him?"

"Put out the word, Antonovich," Sergei's voice rumbled.
 
"Any member of our organization working with the Red Wa will face death by my hand."

He crumpled the note in his hands.

"As of now, we are at war."

Thank you!

Thank you for reading Devil’s Due.
 
If you enjoyed this novella, would you please consider leaving an honest review for it at Amazon?
 
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Thank you very much.

AAW

THOMAS CAINE
 

RETURNS
 

IN

TOKYO BLACK

The first thrilling novel in the Thomas Caine series
 

coming soon in Summer 2016!

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About the Author:

Andrew Warren was born in New Jersey, and studied film and English at the University of Miami. He has over a decade of experience in the television and motion picture industry, where he has worked as a post production supervisor, story producer, and writer. He currently lives in Southern California.

Andrew loves to hear from his readers! Please contact him here:

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www.andrewwarrenbooks.com

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