I was almost to the office buildings when the first gunshot rang out, followed by what sounded like multiple M4A1 Carbines. The shots reverberated around the warehouses, echoing across the parking lot. I took off, fire licking along my veins, red clouding my vision. I couldn’t figure out where the shots were coming from. They taunted me, pulling me from one empty warehouse to the next, throwing open the doors until finally, I reached the center of the property.
Stepping around the corner, movement caught my eye. Mateo strode away from the central warehouse, surrounded by Aegis mercenaries. I froze. Mateo wasn’t fighting the men hired by the Snake. He was…walking with them.Workingwith them. My mind tried to piece it all together. Ivan. Mateo. The Snake.
He hadn’t seen me just yet, and neither had his goons. They headed towards the edge of the shipyard, where I could see an obnoxiously big yacht moored at the docks. He was making a run for it, but I had no time to go after him. Not when Sienna was still in trouble.
More shots scattered through the air, pulling me back out of the haze. Sienna wasn’t with him, which meant she was still inside, right where the damn gunshots were. From the sound of it, she was fighting back, though I had no idea how. If Mateo had Aegis mercenaries guarding him, then it was a safe bet to assume there were more inside.
I pulled both guns from the double holster, clicking back the safety. Handguns versus assault rifles weren’t exactly fair. But I could always upgrade.
With my back pressed against the doors of the warehouse, I checked around the corner. The place was dark, nearly impossible to see five feet in front of me. Letting my eyes adjust, I checked what little of the perimeter I could see. There were three men camped out behind a set of shipping containers, occasionally firing towards the center of the warehouse.
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes, letting the anger, the pain, the wounds that never would heal, slowly take over.
And then I stepped around the corner.
The mercenaries never saw me coming. With a bullet in the back, they went down one by one. Stepping over their fallen bodies, I double-tapped, the shots going straight through their fucking skulls. I didn’t stop. Didn’t think about who these men were. All that mattered was getting to Sienna. Crouching down, I checked my surroundings.
The gunfire was deafening, my pulse pounding in my ears with a steady rhythm. I couldn’t see Sienna in the darkness, but I knew she was there.
I felt movement behind me. Whipping around, I raised my gun, my finger twitching on the trigger. Killian ducked, hands shooting up.
“Don’t shoot, asshole! It’s me.” He crouched beside me.
“That’s a good way to die, idiot.” I gritted my teeth, shoving him over.
He ignored me, checking the corner. “How many left?”
“I don’t know. But you were right about the Aegis agents.”
“I’ll tell you I told you so later.” He cocked back the safety of his own gun. “Go find Sienna. I’ll cover you.”
I didn’t have to be told twice. Darting around the corner, I could hear Killian let off a couple of shots, though I couldn’t see who he was aiming at. I just hoped he wouldn’t accidentally shoot me in the process. I slipped between the rows of containers, trying to pinpoint where Sienna was. Boots pounded against the cement floor just ahead of me. Sticking to the darker shadows of the crates, I stepped around the corner.
And there she was. She’d managed to duck behind two sets of metal crates, using them as a barrier before taking a few shots over the top. There were five men surrounding her, trying to get the shot as soon as she popped up.
I recognized one of them immediately.
David had his back pressed against the metal of another container, breathing hard. Sweat dripped down his forehead, blond hair sticking up, and his dress shirt wrinkled. At first, I thought he was helping Sienna.
And then I realized.
He wasn’t shooting at the men. He was shooting at Sienna. That fucking bastard.
Mentally adding his name to my black list, I focused on getting to Sienna. She was surrounded. I needed to create an opening. With me at her back, we might just be able to get out of this shit alive.
One of the men in front of me went down, a shot to the back of his head bringing him down. Killian ducked down beside me, panting. “Are you just going to stand here all fucking day, or are we going to save our damsel in distress?”
“Don’t let her hear you say that,” I muttered, raising my guns. One shot missed, but the second shot aimed true, blasting through the shoulder of another mercenary.
When the path was clear, I turned to Killian. “Cover me again. And try not to hit me.”
“No promises.” Killian grinned, turning to let off another shot.
I waited for the right moment, a lull in the firing. With Killian at my back, I sprinted towards the metal crates, launching myself over the top and praying Sienna wouldn’t shoot first and look later. Rolling between them, I sat up quickly, hands shooting up. Sienna whipped around, rifle raised.
“It’s me.”
She sighed, letting the muzzle drop. Hair stuck to her forehead, slicked with sweat. Determination mixed with fear as she eyed me. I scanned her, looking for any injuries but found none.