Read Online Perilous by E. H. Reinhard - Free Book Online Page A

guards or staff or grounds crew. The men were white, and tattoos covered their arms. They wore prison issued jumpsuits and were getting closer.
    Viktor looked at the guard tower. No one was there. The largest of the three men approaching outweighed Viktor by at least fifty pounds. Something swung from his hand. The last bit of the day’s sunlight flashed off of what he held—keys. He approached the chain-link gate of Viktor’s cage.
    He smiled at Viktor, showing brown-yellow teeth. Viktor recognized him as the man Waylon White had spoken with in the mess hall. The man slipped the key into the door’s lock and turned it. Two of the three men entered while the other, the smallest of the group, stayed outside. He closed and locked the door.
    Viktor’s heart raced, his adrenaline pumping. Those men had paid off whoever they needed to in order to get to him. The empty yard and cages were orchestrated. No help would be coming. Viktor clenched his fists and stood away from the chain-link wall. The two men continued toward him.
    “Relax,” the larger of the two said.
    He stopped four feet from Viktor. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Darryl Stills. This is my buddy, Kenny Winter.” The man outstretched his arm for a handshake. A large swastika tattoo covered the back of his hand. The word hate was written across his knuckles.
    Viktor stared at him. He was Viktor’s size, plus fifty pounds. His head was shaved clean. The tattoos from his hands continued up his arms. A brown-and-white beard hung three inches down from his chin.
    “You should shake his hand,” the other man said.
    Viktor turned his attention to the man introduced as Kenny. He had shoulder-length blond hair and wore a white handkerchief headband. While taller than Viktor, he didn’t weigh as much. He also was covered in Aryan ink.
    While Viktor didn’t doubt he could handle the smaller of the two, both of them combined would be a problem. Also, if he did somehow get the upper hand on the pair, the third coming in would quickly sway the odds.
    Viktor reluctantly reached out and shook Darryl’s hand. “I’m Viktor Azarov.”
    “We know exactly who you are. You see, when someone comes into our little world here and starts building a crew under our nose, we take notice. We had a couple of friends do a little looking into you.”
    “If they did, you would know I make a better ally than enemy. I can’t say things always turn out well for people on my bad side.”
    “Is that a threat?” Kenny asked.
    “More like a life-altering decision for you… and anyone you care about.”
    Kenny took a step toward Viktor.
    Darryl blocked him with a large hand. “That’s not why we are here. This is a social visit.”
    Kenny sneered and backed off.
    “What do you want?” Viktor asked.
    “We need retribution for Waylon. The man who did it, he’s dead. That’s non-negotiable. From you, we will need financial compensation.”
    Viktor leaned back into the chain-link fence and scoffed. “Financial compensation, huh?”
    “Is there something funny about that?” Darryl asked.
    “Waylon tries to kill me but gets himself killed in the process, and you want me to pay you? Yeah, I find that funny.”
    “One of your guys killed our chief. If you don’t want to be green lighted, you’ll pay,” Kenny said.
    Viktor smiled. “If you keep running your mouth, I’ll have my people outside find your people outside.”
    “You throw a lot of threats around for someone with not many friends here,” Kenny said.
    Viktor said nothing.
    “Look, you may have been some big-shot organized-crime figure outside these walls, but in here, you’re just another convict. We run the world inside these walls. Your little attempt at forming a crew is going to get squashed,” Darryl said.
    “I don’t know if you have realized it or not, but outside these walls, you guys are nothing. All I have to do is say the word, and anyone you care about will be in