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I rushed across an open expanse as my men put down covering fire. I reached a forward position and fired on a group of exposed defenders, killing two, forcing two more to run. We pushed on, my men coming up behind us, killing as many as we could.
Aggression was the way forward. If we let Silvano’s men pin us down and keep us fighting, we’d lose. I sprinted, breathing hard, and almost took a bullet to the face. I careened to a stop, slammed my shoulder into a machine, and shot a defender in the chest, spraying his heart’s blood all over the wall. He dropped, instantly dead. I turned the corner, firing as I went, and nearly slipped on the gore.
Another set of doors blocked our passage, but they were unlocked. We rushed them, opting for pure, brazen violence. Two of my soldiers dropped instantly, and I barely made it into cover. We were in a warehouse, wide open and scattered with shelving units. The largest concentration of defenders was positioned toward the back, near the loading bay doors. We had to reach that spot, or else Silvano’s shipments would escape, and this would be finished.
I gestured at Redmond. He noticed and gestured back. I pointed at him, mimed covering fire. He nodded, relaying the orders to his men, and began to shoot at the defenders. I led my men on a charge, a wildly stupid idea that immediately got another three killed, leaving only a handful standing. I stumbled behind a spool of steel wire as Griffin took his men on a flanking move, firing and killing as he moved.
A sudden explosion rocked the room. A wall at the far side burst inward, and Liam appeared, walking like a monster summoned from hell. They were positioned back behind the defending line, and Liam began the slaughter, killing as he went, a maniacal smile on his lips like he loved every second.
I took advantage of the commotion and went forward. I killed more attackers, slammed one in the throat with my gun, kicked another in the teeth, and was through. The fighting was still intense but petering out, and in another minute or two, all of Silvano’s soldiers would be dead or incapacitated.
The loading bay doors were open, but there were no trucks. Empty pallets were stacked on the ground with wrapping and packing material scattered all over. Tired men knelt on the ground, hands in gloves and raised high above their heads. I kicked one in the temple before shoving past the group of poor workers. My men covered them, guns out and ready. I kicked aside a pallet and found Silvano standing at the edge of the truck dock, staring out at a fleet of receding vehicles. They disappeared around a corner, and he turned to smile at me.
“Took you long enough,” he said.
I slammed my gun into his nose. It cracked with a satisfying crunch and he grunted in surprise. Silvano grew up an Oligarch, the oldest son in a brutal family, but he’d never really been outmatched before. He’d always been smart and strong and powerful, but now he was at my mercy, and I could feel the shame and rage radiating off him in waves.
“What did you do?” I growled.
He laughed and spit a gob of phlegm-covered blood onto the ground outside. “You’re too late, Nervosa. You always were too late.”
I hit him again. He groaned, coughing, and spit. “Where are they going?” I grabbed his shirt, hauling him to his feet.
He laughed in my face, dazed and hardly conscious. “Everywhere. Nowhere. Does it matter? They’re gone and you can’t stop them.”
I threw him to the floor and kicked him in the guts. He groaned, coughing, and hacked up more blood. Liam approached with Redmond, both of them looking exhausted and splattered with blood.
“What’s going on?” Redmond asked. “Where are the trucks?”
“Gone,” I said, pushing past them. “We’re too late.”
Chapter 27
Melanie
Every gunshot sent a spike of anxiety down my spine.
There was a lot of shooting. Even worse than at the warehouse, and I’d thought that was horrible. It was like a war zone in there, with multiple explosions, screaming, and guns, so many guns. I didn’t know how anyone could survive it, and I was on the verge of losing my mind as I paced around the parking lot.
“He’ll be okay,” Erin said, staring at the building. “You have to trust him.”
“I don’t know how you’re so calm right now. Redmond’s in there too.”
“Redmond can handle himself.” But I saw the crack on her armor. She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “He wouldn’t get himself killed. Not like this.”
I wasn’t sure I agreed, but I didn’t bother arguing.
The fighting continued for nearly twenty minutes. More than once, I had to duck into the car and wrap my arms around myself, eyes squeezed shut, trying to keep steady. I was losing my mind, obsessing about the worst-case scenario of everyone dying in there and none of the Oligarchs making it out alive, and thinking about my poor mother, what she had to do to survive, and what I’d done to my own uncle and cousin. I felt selfish and stupid for worrying about that now, but I couldn’t help myself. I’d left my uncle tied up and threatened him to learn the truth, and I saw myself reflected back in his expression: the fear, the loathing.
