My pulse hammers in my ears.
One man dead, another hit, and Antonelli knows we used his tunnels.
The unit reaches the extraction vehicle and they pile in, the cameras showing the interior for a brief moment before the doors slam shut.
The engine roars, and the vehicle peels out.
"They're clear," Enzo says, turning to look up at me. "Make sure you're not followed," he orders them, but I don't respond.
My focus stays on the abandoned camera feed.
The courier's body cam is still transmitting.
I can see his hand in the frame now, twitching on the pavement.
Blood pools around his fingers as they dance in what's most assuredly a seizure brought on by lack of oxygen to his brain.
"Kill the feed," I tell Enzo, but I don’t have to say it again.
He reaches over and kills the camera feed, and the screen goes dark.
I lean back in my seat and close my eyes.
Losing a man is never easy, especially when you're doing such a delicate operation like this.
But knowing how close it came to being me or even Angelica, who insisted I let her be a part…
This is too dangerous, getting too risky to keep fucking around with.
I need to put an end to this immediately.
My phone buzzes and I get another text from Rico from back home in the war room where he's camped out to keep a home base.
Rico 2:45 AM: Turks confirmed delivery. Kemal is satisfied.
I read it twice.
The shipment made it.
The Turks are happy.
We bought ourselves time.
But the cost is sitting in my stomach.
Men had to die tonight to make this happen for me, and I won't let that sacrifice be taken lightly.
Enzo closes his tablet.
"We need to move. Antonelli's men will be gone before the police arrive, but we can't risk being spotted nearby."
I nod. "Get us back to the villa."
The driver starts the engine and we pull out of the side street and merge into late-night traffic.
I have to figure out how to inform that courier's wife that he's not coming home and somehow not let Angelica know just how dangerous it got tonight, because she wants this to be over now, but I already know Gerard isn't backing down.
And it's confirmed when my phone buzzes again.
