“The element of surprise, Sienna, that’s one of the most important advantages,”Kamal’s voice echoed in my head as I held my breath as Esme and Diane ran past us and Ava and I burst out of hiding, swinging the bars. We struck two men square in the face. They collapsed to the ground with groans, and my eyes followed one of the weapons that slipped from their grasp. They were armed. They were armed, holy fucking hell. They weren’t here to talk. Who the hell had sent them?
My body reacted on instinct as I stepped back, dodging the hand of a third man who tried to grab my arm, and swung the bar again, smashing it into his ribs. He groaned, shouting a curse in Italian.Italian?
But he didn’t retreat like I expected. On the contrary, he clamped his arm around my makeshift weapon and slapped me hard with the back of his hand.The girls screamed my name as I staggered back, disoriented, the taste of blood exploding in my mouth.I grabbed Ava’s arm and pulled her behind me while retreating toward the others. Esme shoved the weapon she’d picked up into my hand, and I took it without taking my eyes off the men.
They stared at us. Two of them were down and not moving, the ones Ava and I had taken out with the first strike but there were still seven left.I flicked off the safety and aimed the gun at them. “Who are you?” I asked, forcing my breathing to slow.
“Drop that,bambina, you won’t do any…” the oldest of them began and I pulled the trigger.The bullet tore into the knee of one of his men, who collapsed to the floor screaming.“Who are you?” I shouted again, my voice echoing through the warehouse, I was furious. A night that was supposed to be calm and fun had turned into a chase, with Ava injured.I saw the older man’s gaze darken as he raised his own weapon and aimed it at me. I clenched my teeth.
“We just want to deliver a message,” he said in Italian, flicking off his safety, hearing my native language felt strange. It had been so long since I’d been back to Italy.
The man took a step forward, his gun still trained on me andI fired again.The bullet grazed his ear before burying itself in the shoulder of one of his men, who dropped to the ground clutching the wound.The old Italian slapped a hand to his ear, his fingers coming away stained with blood. “One more step and the next one finds its way into your brain,” I warned, aiming for his head again.
I had crossed paths with hundreds of dangerous men, men who had starved me, locked me away, tortured me; clients who had beaten me just for pleasure. I had survived every single time. Sometimes by killing.And I wasn’t afraid to do it again.
But first, I needed to know what they wanted. They were speaking Italian, it couldn’t be connected to the Master.The older man’s face darkened further, his grip tightening on his weapon.“Alia Rasili sends her regards for her brother and her cousin,” he said suddenly, a crooked smile tugging at his lips as my breath caught.
Alia Rasili.
Emilio had been her brother. Antonio her cousin.If she wanted revenge on me for Emilio, then for Antonio she would go after Selina, my sister. My sister, who was pregnant and almost full term.“Too bad your friends are going to die too,” the man sighed, dragging me back to the present andI saw the exact moment he decided to shoot.“Sienna!” Esme screamed behind me while I hold my breath.
The gunshot rang out amid my friends’ screams but it slammed into the metal ceiling, because Kenji had just tackled the man, knocking him off balance and sending the shot wide.
The two men rolled across the floor, and my Shadow quickly gained the upper hand, his face dark as he began raining punches down on the Italian’s face.
I fired at one of the Italians who had pulled a knife and was about to attack my Shadow from behind.He dropped dead instantly, my bullet striking him square in the forehead.The shooting sessions with Ashwin hadn’t been for nothing.
“What the hell ?” Paolo, Ava’s Shadow growled as he threw himself at two men, while Azad and Mason appeared in turn at the entrance of the warehouse, trying to understand what was happening before charging straight into the fight and I let out a breath of relief.
We stayed back with the girls, and after a few minutes it was over. Some of the Italians had fled among them the oldest one who had tried to shoot me. The others were on the ground, dead or unconscious, and our Shadows stood victorious.“Pao,” Ava breathed as he pulled her into his arms.“We’re fine,” Esme reassured Azad, who took her face in his hands before kissing her.“Almost fine, if we don’t count Ava’s ankle,” Diane sighed, while Mason wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“You screwed up your last shot,” Kenji commented as he took the gun from my hand and slid it behind his back before removing my cap. His gaze quickly scanned my face and body, searching for any injury. His eyes lingered on my bleeding lower lip, but he said nothing. When he saw that there was nothing serious, he grabbed my arm and yanked me sharply against him.
“You put your life and everyone else’s in danger,” he growled, leaning his face close to mine,“I didn’t think you’d be this stupid, Sienna.”I took the hit, because he was right. Yes, we often went out as girls while ditching the guys but the situation was unstable lately, with the missing Stars we were trying to find, with this whole thing involving Edouard, with the Ivanovs roaming around the Mission District.
“No! We…” Ava started, but I raised my hand. “Go home. Stop by the hospital first if needed,” I said without turning around, without taking my eyes off my Shadow, because that’s what he was right now. Not Kenji. Not my friend.
“But…”“That’s enough, Ava. Let’s go home before your ankle swells even more,” Esme cut in.Their footsteps faded away while we stayed put, facing the idiot in front of me. “We just wanted to see a movie,” I tried to defend myself miserably.
“The last time it was to grab a drink, and when we found you, you were in the middle of a bar fight. And the time before that, it was an amusement park where Ava and Esme got stuck on the Ferris wheel while you were shooting at the guy behind the booth with a rifle because his game was rigged, according to you”.“It was rigged,” I muttered, looking away.
He grabbed my jaw, forcing my face back toward his. “Stop taking your safety lightly, Sienna, because I don’t,” he said, his dark gaze locked onto mine. “Nothing must happen to you. Don’t forget, there is no Shadow without a Star.”
I pressed my lips together. He was right. It was one of the basic rules of The Halo: if a Star fell, her Shadow was bound to fall with her. They would die together. But it wasn’t fear of death that made Kenji say this, on the contrary, he would end his own life if something happened to me, and I would do the same if anything happened to him. He just wanted to protect me.
“I know,” I breathed, taking his wrist to gently remove his hand from my face, “I’m sorry… I just wanted us to clear our heads with the girls, like we always do”but shook his head. “You feel it, Sienna. Something is coming. The danger is closer than ever,” he sighed, stepping back as his gaze drifted to the unconscious Italians.“We need to be more careful”I nodded, joining him above the fallen men.“It’s Alia Rasili who sent them, to avenge her brother and her cousin,” I said, then my eyes widened, “Selina! I didn’t even call her to check if she got home safely!What if she was attacked too?”I panicked, pulling my phone from my back pocket, then let out a furious cry when I saw the dead battery.
“Give me yours,” I demanded, knowing my sister’s number by heart but he grimaced, showing it to me. “Broken during the fight,” he sighed and I closed my eyes.Fuck.
“I need to go check on her,” I said, rushing toward the exit, Kenji’s footsteps followed close behind.We exited the factory quickly, and he pointed at his car parked right in front of the entrance, hazard lights flashing.“How did you know we were in this factory?” I asked as I climbed inside, while he started the engine and pulled onto the road, “I know how you think,” he answered simply.And it was true. Sometimes, he knew what I was going to do before I did it myself. A psychic link.
—
Samy opened the gate as soon as he recognized the car from a distance, and we drove in quickly. Kenji stopped in front of the entrance, and I got out before the engine was even cut, rushing up the steps leading to the Ivanov villa. “Selina?!” I shouted in panic as I pushed the door open, voices echoing from the dining room. I burst into the room, breathless, and saw the entire Ivanov family seated at the table in the middle of a meal, now staring at me as if I were some lunatic who had escaped from an asylum. Which was probably exactly what I looked like. My gaze immediately found my sister. She was staring back at me, surprised and unharmed. I let out a breath of relief. “Thank God,” I murmured as I rushed toward her while she stood up with Nikolai’s help.
“Sienna?” she called as I wrapped my arms around her, her rounded belly pressed between us, a comforting warmth grounding me. I heard Kenji’s footsteps behind me and, when I turned, saw him standing in the doorway, relaxing visiblyat the sight of my sister. “What’s going on, Sienna?” Selina asked, confused but before I could answer, hands grabbed my shoulders and spun me around. My gaze met blue. Cold. Peace.
It had been almost a week since I’d last seen those eyes, and damn it, I’d missed it. “Who hit you? What happened?!” Sasha demanded, his worried eyes scanning every inch of my face while I struggled to catch my breath. “Sasha, let her breathe,” Elif ordered, her voice firm yet gentle as she approached with a glass of water, Grigori standing behind her with a dark expression, while Roman pulled out a chair for me, visibly anxious. I took the glass and drained it in one go as I sat down, fuck, I was thirsty. I set the glass on the table and sighed softly, realizing everyone was waiting for answers. My gaze shifted to my sister, whose husband had just pulled her chair closer so she could sit beside me.
