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Rafe nods, stepping out of the shadows into the sliver of the courtyard between our hiding spot and the expansive porch.
No one breathes as he runs the short distance between the two. As soon as he's clear, I follow behind him.
One by one, so does everyone else.
Coda and Domani go to work on the locks. There isn't one that can keep them out. If they want in, they're getting in.
They prove it now. Within seconds, they've got the doors unlocked.
"Let's go," Rafe says. "And don't fucking die."
It's not a great pep talk, but it'll do.
He slips through the doors, his gun in his hand.
Unlike outside, there's no sneaking through the fucking mansion. That much is obvious as soon as we're over the threshold. Brio's men are crawling all over the goddamn place like ants milling around, as if they've been waiting for us.
Shit. They probably have been. Brio's a calculating motherfucker. I'm sure he's had them on red alert since I carried Aurelia out of her prison. He wouldn't leave anything to chance.
Which means we need to find her mother now. Before he has the opportunity to kill her.
Rafe takes aim at an enforcer leaning against a marble column, his head tipped down as he looks at his phone. He doesn't say a word as he strides toward the man, his finger on the trigger.
The man glances up at the last second and sees us. He shouts a warning, dropping his phone as he reaches for his weapon.
Rafe pulls the trigger.
The bastard crumbles to the floor with a muffled thud, his blood staining the expensive marble. The sound acts like a fucking call to arms.
Everything erupts into chaos as his buddies come pouring out of the fucking woodwork.
Within seconds, the air fills with the acrid scent of gunpowder and the sharp, metallic tang of spilled blood as we take down one of Brio's men after another.
Rafe surges ahead, a shadow among shadows, lethal and precise.
To my left, Luca fires off two shots in quick succession, dropping two guards who were attempting to flank us from the living room. Gabriel is close behind him; his usual wildness tempered into a cold, calculated anger that's somehow more terrifying.
Domani and Coda are a two-man wrecking crew, killing everything in their path without even flinching.
I follow in their wake, making a path through the fray. Every so often, I glance over my shoulder to ensure no one is creeping up on us.
Diego grunts in pain behind me as a bullet slams into his shoulder. "Fuck," he curses, spinning to the side.
Coda steps in front of him, dropping the motherfucker who shot him. Someone else takes his place. Brio's men are fucking relentless, swarming like insects, but we're an avalanche, unavoidable and devastating.
"Mattia!" Rafe shouts, pointing toward the stairs.
I don't need further instruction or explanation. I know exactly what he's saying. We're going for Brio. We don't have time to waste with this shit.
We barrel up the stairs, leaving the rest of the family to deal with his people. Each door we come across is kicked open and swiftly cleared. Some rooms are empty, while others are filled with more of Brio's fucking lapdogs. They don't have time to react before they die.
There is no room for sentimentality here—it's kill or be killed.
In a room halfway down the hall, we finally find the motherfucker. He damn near shoots Rafe when we kick the door open.
The bullet lodges in the wall beside Rafe's head.
The room is set up like a hospital room, but aside from Brio, it's empty. It looks like it's been empty for days.
