Page 190 of The Devil's Fire

I had my eyes squeezed shut, trying to calm down so I would be able to remember anyone’s phone number.

“They are aiming for the tires.” My mother continued to swerve sharply from side to side, making me snap out of it and quickly dial a number.

“Luca!” I yelled into the phone when he picked up.

“Althaia! Are you okay?!” He asked frantically. I let out a breath of relief when I heard his voice.

“Thank God you’re alive!” I sobbed into the phone. “I don’t know what’s going on. People broke into the house. We’re in the car, trying to get away, but two cars are following and shooting at us.” I quickly tried to explain the situation to him, stumbling over my words.

“We’re driving as fast as we can to get to you. We got ambushed. They came out of nowhere!” He growled in anger. I swallowed hard. We were fucked.

“We can see the cars now. We will take care of them from here.” Luca said as I heard the gunshots coming from his end through the phone. Glancing in the side mirror, I saw the cars behind us swerving frantically to dodge the bullets, but it still didn’t stop them from shooting at us.

“Luca -” My head collided with the car door with violent force, causing the phone to slip from my grasp as the car spiraled out of control.

With the rear tire shot, my mother struggled to regain control, but it was useless. The car kept forcing us to the side of the road and into the woods, violently shaking as it sped over the bumpy ground.

My throat closed, not allowing me to make a sound before we crashed into a tree.

I let out a pained groan as my head throbbed and the wetness of something warm seeped through my trembling hands. I struggled to lift my head as my entire body felt heavy.

The door beside me swung open, and I squinted to see my mother’s lips moving, but her words were muffled, as if my head was underwater.

“Althaia, we need to run!” Her voice pierced through. The adrenaline kick-started my body into action, temporarily numbing the pain as I got out.

We sprinted deeper into the woods when we heard the sound of car doors slamming and footsteps behind us. Gunshots rang out, causing me to scream in terror and instinctively cover my head with my arm.

“Keep running!” I heard Luca shout.

I was breathing heavily, my chest heaving with each labored breath, but somehow, I found the strength to push myself to run faster.

My mother held my hand tightly, her breathing coming out faster too as she led us into the woods, trying to get away as far as possible from whoever was after us.

sixty-one

Damiano

Bullets flew over our heads while we stayed on the floor. I focused on listening to how many were currently firing. Based on the direction of the bullets coming through the windows, my guess was around eight people; two people on each side of the warehouse, surrounding the building.

Now, the question was how many were out with them, not firing at us.

The fire suddenly stopped, and I glanced over at Lorenzo and Raffaele to find them unharmed. I signaled to them to spread out as I silently rose to my feet.

In these situations, the best strategy was to play dead. It would give us time to work quietly and take them down once they came for confirmation of our dead bodies.

I looked around the warehouse and made my way to a corner where I would be able to take cover. It was now completely dark outside, with no light to be seen from streetlights or headlights.

It was perfection, for I was the Devil, and within my heart, darkness reigned supreme.

I crouched down when the door slowly opened, but no one entered to make sure there wouldn’t be any attacks from our side. At this point, I was fucking furious, ready to get my hands on them as fast as possible so I could get to Althaia.

Althaia.

The thought of her being in danger right now ignited a fiery rage within me, and I could feel my body trembling with anger. I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath and forced my body into a cold zero.

Eliminating all emotions.

I couldn’t allow myself to feel anything right now and make any rash decisions. I wanted this to be quick and efficient. We were outnumbered, but with how many, I still wasn’t sure. I needed my head in the game.

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