Page 94 of Daddies of the Underworld

My throat closed so tightly I almost couldn’t answer. “Agreed.”

Dante cursed and stalked toward the door. “I’m getting her a vest.”

We had a location and a somewhat cohesive if somewhat irrational plan.

And I was going with them.

34

DANTE

I slammed the magazine into my rifle, then checked that the extras were secure while Luca cursed at a satellite feed.

Matteo barked out orders to the men, orders I ignored as I ran through the setup in my head. Their job was to protect me, to get me through the line.

“Moretti men on the north road. Romano, I need your shooters on the ridge. Hold that fucking line.” Matteo stood next to the SUV, Nina at his side and men from families who would have killed each other six months ago obeying his orders. “De Santis, you have the south exit.”

Between all of them, we had enough vehicles to bury every escape route.

I tightened my vest and slung the rifle strap into place. Viktor had taken our daughter. We would get her back right now or die trying. No way in hell we would let this man hold her for a single second longer than we absolutely had to.

Nina shifted her weight beside Matteo, then brought her radio to her lips. “Dante?”

“I’ll bring her out.” My mic fed to the entire team, and all of theirs came to my earpiece so I would know everything that was happening in real time. It was a lot of chatter, but I’d learned how to dissociate from what I didn’t need to hear.

Nina’s chin trembled before she found the strength to firm it. Matteo put a hand on the back of her neck, and Luca glanced up from his screens.

I turned away. I could not hesitate. I could not let the sight of their devastation–the devastation I had locked deep inside my chest to keep it from ruining me–to distract me. “Alpha, north gate on my mark. Bravo, hold south until breach. Ridge team, cover the east wall. No one fires near the tower unless I call it.”

Confirms came back fast, and I let them roll over me. We were ready.

Matto cut into the channel. “Second team, confirm.”

“Blocked,” a man answered. “Two vehicles across the exit. Engines disabled. No movement. They’ll need a tank to clear the way.”

“East ridge?”

“In position.”

“Medical?”

“Standing by.”

The words flowed over me until Luca cut in. “I’ve got three outgoing calls trying to bounce from the compound to a tower outside Bari. I’m killing them as they come up, but whoever set this up knew what they were doing. We could be looking at reinforcements coming in to try and circle us.”

“Then we need to get in and out before they arrive.” I hefted the rifle into place and moved forward.

A burst of gunfire cracked ahead of me, short and controlled. One of the ridge teams reported two men down near the east access road.

I broke into a slow run that kept the rifle level.

Viktor had men watching every exit. He knew we were coming, which was no surprise. We were not exactly subtle. There was no time for it.

I moved through the olive grove as fast as possible, the chatter in my ear keeping me up to date. Stone walls and a large gate were my first obstacle. I lifted two fingers while we were several yards away. The north gate blew inward with a rumbling sound that shook the ground. Metal screamed across stone. Smoke swallowed the entrance, and we moved through it before the first piece full settled. Viktor’s men opened fire from the east wall, their bullets kicking up more dust that provided additional cover. They shot blind into the chaos we’d created, and we rushed in a zig-zag pattern to keep them from finding us. Muzzle flashes popped high left. “Two shooters. High and tight.”

The ridge team responded, their rifles cracking the air with almost sub-sonic booms. Both shooters dropped.

More men popped up along the wall, the settling dust giving them line of sight. I threw my body into a gap in the wall as their guns barked. Stone chips hit my cheek as I leaned out far enough to fire into the shadow behind the arch. A body fell, and I took off, my heart pulsing with adrenaline that helped me focus on my single objective: Get to Sofia.