Page 144

"Let her go." I raised both hands, showing I posed no threat. "You want me, not her."

"Oh, I know that." Lorenzo circled to Ruby's front, using the gun barrel to lift her chin. "But you know what, Moretti? When you killed my father, did you think about this day?"

"Your father had it coming," I said coldly. "He betrayed the family, sold our shipment to the FBI. By the rules, traitors only get one ending."

"Rules?" Lorenzo laughed maniacally. "You're talking to me about rules? You slaughtered my entire family! My brothers, my uncles, even my fifteen-year-old cousin! You burned them all alive in that goddamn villa!"

"That was war." I took one step forward at a time. "You want revenge, fine. But let her go. We settle this one-on-one."

"One-on-one?" Lorenzo spat. "Who the hell do you think you are? A savior? I'm telling you, both of you die here today!"

He jerked the gun up, aimed at my head.

I didn't move.

Because I'd already heard it—extremely faint footsteps in the distance. Tony's men had infiltrated the perimeter.

Just needed to stall a few more seconds.

"Lorenzo, you know what?" I suddenly smiled. "You're as stupid as your father."

"What did you say?"

"You think kidnapping her threatens me? You think I'd come alone to die?" I spread my hands. "Look around you."

Lorenzo's face changed. He whipped his head around—

In that instant, windows around the warehouse shattered simultaneously, seven or eight red laser sights landing on the heads of DeLuca's men.

"Fuck!" Lorenzo roared. "Fire! Kill him!"

Gunshots erupted.

I instantly rolled, Beretta out, three shots—

Three of the nearest thugs dropped, holes blooming in their foreheads.

Snipers outside fired simultaneously, bullets like death's scythe, precisely harvesting every DeLuca man's life.

The entire warehouse turned into a slaughterhouse in seconds.

I rolled, dodged, returned fire through the bullet rain, every shot lethal. Years crawling through the underworld had turned my body into pure instinct—where cover was, where the dead zones were, where to counter-kill.

One thug charged from the side. I shot his kneecap, then put one in his head as he fell.

Another tried to ambush from behind. I spun around a pillar, pressed the barrel under his chin, pulled the trigger.

Blood, brain matter, gunsmoke—hell made manifest.

Under two minutes. All seven thugs in pools of blood.

Only Lorenzo left.

Seeing all his men killed instantly, his eyes went blood-red, plunging into death-throes madness. Instead of using Ruby as a shield, he shoved her hard toward the pillar, staggering back several meters, gun jerking wildly in the air, aiming for Ruby's heart. "Fuck you! You destroyed everything! Even if I die today, I'm taking her with me!!"

His finger squeezed the trigger.

Time seemed to freeze.