Page 160 of Hate Me

I didn’t want to communicate with Matteo in the midst of the operation. That could distract him and cause untold damage to him and my men whom he was leading within.

My phone rang and I pulled it out quickly to see Caspian calling.

I frowned. This wasn’t our protocol. He was much too early.

“Caspian,” I answered swiftly.

“Pull your people back.”

“Excuse me?”

“He’s not here, Dante. Elijah’s not fucking here. He took off. He knew we were coming. He could know about the chief warehouse you’re hitting too.”

“If that’s the case—”

“He could’ve stopped it, but he didn’t.”

“For a reason.”

“It could be a setup. Get your people out. Now.”

As I rapidly analyzed this fresh and unexpected intel to determine the best course of action, my phone buzzed with a text notification.

“One moment,” I told Caspian.

I heard him cursing as I pulled my ear away to read the message.

Blocked Number: Almost had me.

Dante: Elijah?

Blocked Number: The one and only. And your most definite better.

I gritted my teeth.

Before I could respond, he did.

Blocked Number: Kaboom!

I didn’t even get the chance to do a single thing before a thunderous explosion ripped through the warehouse, violent flames licking high into the night sky, debris flying everywhere.

Consecutive explosions followed in its wake, over and over.

I heard Caspian yelling down the phone, my security team calling for us to exit the vehicle and take cover.

I was being dragged out a moment later, just before the van was hit, and we were blown back several feet.

I slammed into a streetlight, headfirst.

And that was it.

Lights out.

33

~Skylar~

I looked over at Bastian.

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