“Silas, there is not a man here tonight that won’t want to follow you inside that warehouse,” Valen is quick to say. “This is family.”
It serves as a reminder of Pietro’s recent death and my two men who had to be cut down from the rafters only days ago. I know Valen. He won’t let this go. And we’re wasting time. This is personal for all of us.
“We go in fast,” I say. “Clear the space. Eyes on everything. If it smells wrong, we pull back.”
Valen relays the order with a series of hand signals, and the team moves. Six men outside cover every possible exit. Four follow Valen and me, our weapons drawn and hand gestures our only form of communication.
I press my back against the wall beside the door and listen.
There is nothing.
No voices or footsteps.
I nod to Valen, and he pushes the door inward, and we move.
The inside of the warehouse is vast and dark. There is a wide sweeping floor of stained concrete and a high ceiling, almost lost in darkness. And in the center of it is Nessa, still bound in the chair and unmoving.
I move toward her with my gun raised, my eyes sweeping the darkness for any sign of movement.
When I reach Nessa, I crouch in front of her. Her head is slumped forward with her chin resting against her chest, and for one sickening moment, I think she’s dead.
I press two fingers to her neck and feel for her pulse. It’s weak, but it’s there.
She’s alive.
“Nessa.” I tap her cheek. Gently at first, then harder. “Nessa, can you hear me?”
She groans. Her head moves. Just slightly. A small move that tells me she’s in there.
I pull the knife from my belt and slice through the zip ties. Her arms fall limp to her sides, and she rolls forward, and I have to stop her from falling to the floor.
“I’ve got you,” I say, lifting her from the chair. She moans, and her head lolls against my shoulder.
“Building’s clear,” Valen says, appearing beside me. His expression is neutral, but in his eyes I can see the same unease that’s been crawling up my spine since we walked in.
This has all been a little too easy. Even the location retrieval.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” I say, already moving toward the door with Nessa in my arms.
We’re halfway across the floor when one word rings out through the darkness.
“Bomb,” someone cries.
My blood goes cold.
“Run.” Valen’s voice tears through the silence.
But I’m already running with Nessa in my arms, and around me my men sprint for an exit.
I burst through the door and into the night, and the cold air hits my face like a wall. My car is a hundred yards away. But before I can make it, the world behind me blows apart.
The sound is enormous. An avalanche of violence and heat and power. The shock wave lifts me off my feet and throws me forward, and we hit the asphalt.
I curl around Nessa to protect her as fire and debris rain down on us.
When it’s silent and the debris stops falling, I lift my head and look around.
The warehouse is destroyed. Nothing remains but a skeleton of twisted steel and concrete.
