“Ma’am.” I turned toward the voice as the footsteps halted, and a rumble shook the ground again.
My frown turned into a glare as I stared at the man who had spoken. “Nobody got my orders? I specifically asked everyone to stand back until they heard from me!” I seethed out.
“Mr. Conti overruled it,” the man said, handing me a phone. “He’s on the line.”
I glanced at the phone before taking and pressing it to my ear. “You better have a good fucking explanation as to why you just ruined my whole plan, Vitale.”
“Is the corporation shifting base a good explanation for you?”
My heart stopped for a second. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“They know we’re on to them. Now they’re moving. We don’t have time to wait for your lover boy’s approval before we destroy these fuckers.”
“We can’t even destroy them! I didn’t find a flash drive with their name on it.”
“Impossible.”
“There were six casings; one is missing, and it’s definitely not theirs. Four of the flash drives are labeled with names of four of the most powerful families and political bodies, and get this—there’s nothing on the Marino empire. Elio’s name isn’t on any of these.”
“And the last one?”
“Something called MCSS.”
“Hold on, I’ve heard that name before or seen it somewhere in Society dealings. I’m not sure, but we should check it out. It might just be what we’re looking for.”
“All right, I have to find Devil and—”
“Ma’am, we have to leave now,” the guard said as the crack above us expanded. “This whole place is about to come down.”
“I can’t leave my friends.”
“Faizan, get it together! Before your friends, there was your mission,”Vitale’s voice rang in my ear.“Follow the guys, and get the fuck out of there so we can bring these bastards down once and for all.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
“I’ll have them call you back when I get to safety.” I ended the call. “Let’s go,” I said, brushing past the men as my mind tried to push away the fact that I was ignoring the missing drive, knowing exactly whose name was written on it.
There was smoke everywhere as we rushed back in the direction I had come. Men were all around me, protecting me from everyone running around with stacks of gold, even as the building was on the verge of collapsing. I couldn’t spot Devil anywhere, but as I rounded a corner, I spotted Dog on the ground, fighting off another man who was trying to aim a gun right to his head—his head that had a gash that covered half his face in blood.
I wanted to rush toward him immediately, but the men around me stopped my movement. The small shift had Dog’s head turning a little, his gaze locking with mine as I was being ushered out; his stare dropped to the flash drives in my hands and then back to me before his brows drew down in confusion and realization.
His opponent took that little opportunity to slam the gun right at the side of his head, knocking him out as another explosion rocked the building, and a loud rumbling reached my ears.
“We need to leave!”
I aimed my gun outside the circle of the men flanking me, shooting the person who’d hit Dog in the face. But there were more enemies coming, and he was lying there… vulnerable… I—
“Ma’am, we need to go now!”
My eyes stung as I looked back at Dog’s unconscious body one last time, before turning and leaving the chaos behind.
A convoy was already awaiting us as we made it out of the hole, and I was ushered into a car. My heart was pounding; my eyes burned as the vehicle moved hastily. It was a disaster. I fucked up. I left them behind when I could have helped. I chose my mission and my goal over my family.
A decision I couldn’t take back, a decision I would never be able to take back.
I prayed to God that Devil had survived and got to Dog in time before the whole place collapsed in on itself.
“Give me a phone,” I said, and a device was passed to me. I typed in Elio’s number and placed a call to him.
