𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄

ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ - ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ

"𝗛ow do you even know they're in there?" Demetri whined below him.

Nico groaned and rolled his eyes, pulling his binoculars from his face. He shifted his body enough to peer down between the branches of the tree and glare at his friend and partner. Demetri didn't seem to think that a look would come from his high-pitched, annoying voice, so he wasn't looking back at him.

That was even more irritating.

The two of them were perched in a large tree about fifty feet from the front door of the mafia warehouse. Ever since signing the twins back under contract, they had been forced to the grunt work – a.k.a., spying on them and making sure that they weren't betraying their bosses.

So far, it wasn't looking good.

"Kaedyn is the only posh bastard I know that drives a car like that," he answered.

His lip curled as he pushed the binoculars back to his eyes and viewed the damn vehicle. It was seriously over-done; each time he brought it to the lot at their base, he wouldn't let anyone touch it, never mind near it. It was like it was his baby.

I want to destroy it.

He hoped one day he'd get the chance to.

"—besides," he continued, "Our informant let us know they're in there."

"What if they're just here to talk to them?"

"What are you going on about?" he sighed.

"I mean," he rose to a standing position, "Didn't the bosses make Kai dump his boyfriend?—his mafia boyfriend?—what if he's just here to do that?"

"Nah," he shook his head, still staring at the door, "They broke up weeks ago."

"Maybe they're finalizing it."

Nico kicked the fingers that were beginning to wrap around his tree branch. Demetri's hand recoiled in pain; his pointer went right into his mouth. He sucked on it like it was going to erase the soreness from its nerves all while glaring at him.

He just rolled his eyes and glanced at the building.

"Who's side are you on?"

"This one," he muttered, ego bruised, "I just like coming up with stories."

"Well, you sound like a sympathizer, so shut up."

"I—"

"I hope you didn't forget so easily what they did to Tomás."

Nico didn't need to turn his head to feel the third-degree burn being shot in his direction.

It was a tough subject for Demetri – he and Tomás were as thick as thieves; there's always a duo in a trio, no matter how hard one tries to erase that. Without him here, Demetri has almost gone off the deep end. While his death made him more focused and driven to put an end to them, it made his friend delirious.

He preferred story-telling and false gossip over vengeance.

This was alarming to him because if he hadn't known any better, he would have thought the two of them were in love.

"I didn't forget," Demetri growled, plopping back on his branch.

"Good."

Things were quiet between them for a long time after that.

Nico exhaled, hating when Demetri got quiet – it usually meant that whatever occurred actually hurt his feelings. Part of him wanted to hop down to the branch below him, join him, coddle him or something, but most of him felt disgusted at the idea of that.

He was a member of an elite organization – he should have the ability to handle his own feelings.

"When the time comes," Demetri finally uttered, "I want to be the one to kill him."

"I know," he nodded, "And you will. I won't take that from you."

Another pause.

"Do you miss him, too?"

"More than I want to admit."

"Yeah," Demetri settled, "He was special like that."

Yeah.

He was.

Nico sat up in his spot, pressing the binoculars to his face tightly as the door popped open to the warehouse. At first, the secondary group – the ones they'd previously targeted – filled the parking lot. They seemed to be chatting leisurely like they had no care in the world.

How lucky you are.

A few seconds later, a band of cops came bustling out. There was only three of them, and they seemed to be woven in trust just from the way they walked and presented themselves. He could see the so-called alliance wavering between the two very different groups of people as they made their goodbyes.

The corners of his lips upturned as their informant from one of the groups flashed the flashlight on their camera twice, confirming their thoughts as well as letting them know they were aware of their presence.

"You see that?" he asked.

"I did," Demetri answered.

"There goes your break-up theory."

Nico grinned, watching as the cars pulled away.

Moments later, the twins they were so excited to see burst through the door.

Well, not in such dramatic words.

Kaedyn seemed to be holding onto Kai's waist while he leaned into him, barely using his own two feet to walk. The smile that held his lips dropped at the same time Kai did to the ground. He was on all fours, looking upset, and Kaedyn was right at his side, halfway hugging him and rubbing his back.

It made the gears in his head shift at a questionable pace.

How was it that the first two groups were so friendly to one another, yet the two of them come out beaten up and broken? The idea of a fight occurring on the inside seemed illegitimate and far-fetched, given what he's seen, but there was blood coating the front of Kai's face.

If it wasn't that, then maybe—

"I'm not so sure the break-up theory was that far off," Demetri mused.

"Shut up."

At least he has his happy attitude back.

"Let's go," Nico commanded after another few watchful minutes.

Demetri accepted his words with a nod; they took about five minutes to descend the strong trunks of the oak tree, then spent the next ten laying low in the bushes while the cars of all the mafia members pulled out of the lot and dispersed in multiple directions.

The moment they were inside their car, his wire was back in.

"Nico?" Leo's voice came through.

"Present."

"Tell me what I already know."

"Oh, boss," he frowned, putting his car in reverse, "—I'm not so sure you'll enjoy this."