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“Good. Victor, kill him.”
“Yup,” I replied, taking off in the direction that the man had ran off to. As my vision focused, I saw the blurred figure of a man running away, cutting through the trees. I grit my teeth and my instincts took over. I chased him, my heart pounding in my chest. The man was fast, but I was faster. He darted between the trees, but I followed him, determined to catch him. All I was thinking about was that he had almost hurt Sofia and I was simply not going to allow that.
We entered a small clearing, and the man swung around to face me, his eyes wide in shock. I’d caught up to him quickly, and I knew that he was scared. I didn’t have time to think about it. He let out a guttural scream as I sank the blade into his shoulder, but I didn’t pause. I gripped the knife tighter and forced him to the ground, securing him with my other hand. He gasped for air, his eyes wide.
He tried to struggle, but I had him pinned. I leaned in close to his ear, “Don’t make this harder on yourself than it needs to be.”
I pressed my blade into his stomach, just hard enough to draw blood.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” I said.
“Wait,” he replied. “Wait, I was just doing my job.”
“Yeah, so am I,” I removed my blade just so I could stab him properly that time, into his eye.
There was a brief moment of stillness as the man’s eyes went wide with pain and surprise before he let out a guttural scream, his body spasming uncontrollably. A thin line of blood trickled down his face, staining his skin and leaving a trail as he twitched. I released my grip on him, stepping back to catch my own breath. His body thudded on the swamp as I took a step back and stared at him. “Fucking asshole.”
I didn’t have time to process what had just happened. The man was gone, and all that was left was the sound of my heavy breathing and the distant croaking of frogs. I had to go back to the rest of the gang before I was caught out there by one of his men again.
Then I heard a gunshot.
I ran back toward where the rest of the Blades were. I felt the ground beneath my feet give way to a sudden hail of gunfire, splintering the silence into chaos. Bullets whizzed by, each one a deadly whisper that could snuff out a life in a heartbeat. I dropped to a crouch, my eyes darting between trees and shadows, searching for any hint of our attackers.
The air reeked of gunpowder as I peered around the thick foliage, my heart pounding in my chest. Teo and Grayson were nowhere to be found; they must have gone to check on Sofia and Jace. That left me on my own to fend off the ambush.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. I knew this wasn’t the time to panic. My training kicked in, and I moved swiftly from cover to cover, my eyes scanning for any sign of movement. The sound of gunfire echoed through the swamp, a chilling reminder of the danger we were in. I could feel the adrenaline surging through my veins, but I couldn’t afford to let it consume me.
I found a spot where I could see the area where Teo and Grayson had gone to check on Sofia and Jace. They were both crouched behind a large tree, their guns drawn and aimed in the direction of the gunfire. I signaled to them to stay low and keep their heads down while I tried to find the source of the attackers. I held my breath, listening for any clues that could help me locate our enemies. The sound of gunfire grew closer, and I darted towards the direction it was coming from. As I moved, I scanned my surroundings for any signs of danger.
A twig snapped nearby, and I froze. I couldn’t afford to be caught off guard. I slowly turned around, my knife firmly in my grip, ready to defend myself. I squinted into the darkness, trying to make out any shapes or movements in the dim light.
“Who’s that?” I asked when Teo’s face came into view. I hadn’t even noticed him moving.
“Help, I think,” Teo said. “Are you alright?”
I nodded. “Sofia?”
“I made her go back to the car with Jace,” he said.
“Good. You think the Knives are here?”
Teo nodded, tilting his jaw to signal behind me. “Yeah. Look.”
Then, out of nowhere, figures emerged from the treeline. Not more enemies—no, these moved with a different purpose, a precision that cut through the disarray like a knife. Skylar, Dr. Zane Silva, and Bash. I’d only met Bash before, but I had heard of the other two.
They looked as scary as they sounded.
“What was that?” Teo asked.
Bash shrugged. “I guess some of his men were waiting for us,” he said. “You said you needed backup. We’re here.”
The air was heavy with the metallic tang of spent bullets, a stark contrast to the usual earthy scents of the Everglades. I glanced at The Knives—silhouetted phantoms against a backdrop of chaos, their presence an omen.
They looked a lot more comfortable in the Everglades than we did. I could see a little bit of a resemblance between Bash and Teo, they had the same build, but Teo was smaller, lighter.
“Never thought I’d see the day when The Miami Knives would grace us with their shadowplay,” I remarked, my voice barely rising above a whisper.
\Bash stepped forward, his stature formidable even in the dim light. “We don’t take kindly to snakes slithering into ourgarden,” he growled, his eyes glinting with a ferocity that matched the edge in his voice. “Especially vipers.”
