“They’re getting serious now.”
My brows furrow as I catch sight of movement on the left perimeter of the building, close enough to be reckless, but not close enough to get caught in the flames. Then, gunfire cracks through the space, sharp and far too close.
Instinctively, I duck, grabbing at Patch to make him do the same just as bullets spark against nearby metal. At once, men scatter, shouting and arming themselves.
From within those shadows just beyond the firelight, more figures move, taking stances that are far too familiar to ignore.
“They’re pushing in!” Someone shouts, adding to the chaos.
Patch and I round the truck, taking cover as we draw our weapons. The rush of adrenaline is immediate, and there’s no time to think. I can only react.
Peering around the edge, I spot someone running towards us and open fire in controlled bursts. More rush in, and Patch backs me, not letting up on them.
“Don’t let them any closer!” I call out, teeth gritting as we manage to take out the ones nearest. Our reciprocated gunfire flashes through the smoke as we leave the truck’s cover, sliding along the wide lane between my burning warehouse and the neighbouring one, all while watching for more of them.
My ears ring and my heart pounds, but I move on instinct, focusing on clearing every inch.
As much as I never wanted it to be, this is my world. This is the modest empire I built for myself despite how the very same work nearly got me killed once already.
I did it all in the hope of getting my sister back, only to realize the truth. And now, the woman who captured more of me than I was ever willing to give has to wake up alone while I deal with the damage. While I’m getting shot at and chasing down a group of men who are hellbent on killing me.
Just as a round grazes the ground by my foot, I press up against a cement block and return fire, forcing my mind back into focus.
The attacker retreats, disappearing into the smoke, and surely somewhere behind the building. It seems they’re all heading that way. At least, the ones who manage to make it out again.
Sirens grow louder now as the fire crews scramble to contain the blaze before it can wipe out any more places.
“They’re fleeing,” I call back to Patch and whoever’s around to hear it. “We need to follow.”
“It’s time for pressure,” he says, reloading with practiced ease as he falls into step with me, eyes sharp.
I wipe the sweat from my face and push forward. “Take out as many as you can. If Orlando and his men want this place to go down, then they can go down with it.”
Patch nods as determination ripples through him.
Moving out of sight from the first responders, we keep hidden as well as we can despite the daylight, hunting the Grimaldi forces like the animals they are.
Despite trying to focus on the task at hand, my mind keeps replaying the timing. The video, the warning, the obvious escalation…
Whether this is solely about Elena or an amalgamation of all the reasons they hate me, it doesn’t seem to matter. Not when they’ve crossed a line they won’t ever come back from.
And while I chase them down, firing the moment they come back into view, I have to swallow back the fact that somewhere across the city, Elena is alone and unaware that a piece of my empire is burning.
Chapter 24 - Elena
The condo is almost painfully silent when I open my eyes, and to my dismay, I wake up alone.
The other side of the bed is cold, with the sheets disturbed enough to prove that Wyatt was there at all, and as much as I don’t want it to affect me, my chest deflates while I lie there staring at the ceiling.
I don’t want to move at first, not while my body still faintly aches from everything that happened last night. Even after the fact, my muscle memory pulses just enough to remind me of all the ways Wyatt proved to me it was more than just carnal need. More than a craving.
But he didn’t wake me.
Normally, when he slips out early, he’ll text or leave a note, but when I check my phone, there isn’t a single message waiting for me. There’s only silence, and I can’t even smell coffee drifting up from downstairs.
Eventually, sitting up with a sigh, pulling the sheets with me, I tell myself not to read into it too much. It’s not out of the ordinary for something to pull Wyatt out of bed before he’s ready.
Still, that uneasiness is hard to shake.
