Page 136 of Filthy Liar

“There’s other cameras closer than that,” I bit out with annoyance, but he shook his head.

“There might be, but it’s obvious they’re only letting us see what they want us to. Most other angles are scrambled or completely down. Drake found one, but it’s stuck on a loop and isn’t live footage.”

“We have to get them out of there.”

“We will. Here,” he grunted, holding out a little earpiece. “Put this in, we all need to be able to communicate.”

I pushed it into my ear, hearing Cruz firing off information to Knox about the layout.

“How do you assholes have the layout?” I asked, and Cruz snickered, reminding me that he could hear me.

“Blueprints, Lavaro. Did you think your little slaughterhouse was a secret or something?”

“We’re going to talk about this later,” I huffed, grabbing my car door. “I’ll take the Supra.”

“No,” Stone ordered, pointing to the van. “You get geared up, then you get your ass into the van like everyone else. No one’s zooming ahead like a hero.”

My knuckles cracked as I clenched my fists, and Knox walked over holding a Kevlar vest. “You’re not invincible, mafia prince. Put this on and don’t argue. This is one hundred percent a trap to lure you out, so suit up, use your fucking brain, and get in the van. The only way this works is if you don’t die.”

I scowled as he held a helmet out next. “Is that necessary?”

“You tell me? Is Daddy likely to lure you out then take you out with a headshot?”

“He’s probably got snipers,” I said tensely, and he stared at me blankly until I gave in and shoved the stupid helmet on, then he motioned to the van. “You’re in van one with me and my team. You can sit up front, but I’m driving. Stone has van two with his team, and Will and his team will take up van three.”

I locked my car, knowing I could’ve gotten there a lot faster in it, but also knowing if I sped ahead, I could blow our cover. Stefano was most likely banking on me kicking the door in with Zavier or something on our own, so this was a smart play, despite me wanting to punch Knox and Stone for being demanding assholes.

I wasn’t a good team player, but I’d shut my mouth if it meant getting Dante and Blake out of there.

Knox offered me a machine gun once in the van, which would do a lot more damage than any of my smaller handguns, so I took it and stayed quiet while Cruz directed everyone once we were on the road.

The vans were way too damn slow, and it felt like it took forever to get out of Rawson Grove and through Pine Valley, the roads thankfully quiet most of the way through Mount Mercer and Newhaven.

I was gripping the seat hard in my hand the closer we got to Riverside, and Knox had barely stopped the van before I threw the door open and jumped out.

“Wait for orders, Lavaro,” he said sharply, everyone else climbing out to get ready.

There were three other cars here, but that didn’t mean there weren’t way more people inside to ambush us.

I noticed how Knox took charge and Stone just stood back and let him, confusing me slightly. I knew Knox was mostly in charge of the tactical teams, but Stone was the boss of all of them.

“We go in the front and walk straight through,” Knox said firmly, pointing to Stone. “You take your guys left and secure the perimeter, while Will’s team heads inside with us but goes to the right. We’ll cover the whole space, and be prepared to use stealth. No open fire unless you’ve cleared the room, there’s hostages.”

Everyone nodded and split up, all of them moving as a whole in their groups.

Knox motioned for me to stay close to him, and I fell into line, my gun ready as we entered through the main door that wasn’t even locked.

We went ahead while Will took his team through a door to the right as instructed, their feet barely making a sound as we all crept through the massive building.

A scream had me moving faster, and Knox’s arm shot out to keep me back, his voice quiet.

“Stay in formation, or you can get out. This might be your building, and it might be your brother and friend in here, but right now, you’re in my domain. Stay. Back.”

The screaming continued, and I managed to stay back most of the way until we approached the backroom where the sound was coming from.

Knox cursed as I barreled ahead, my gun raised as I did a quick scan of the room, confusion hitting me to find it empty.

Knox’s team fanned out behind me as they entered, and I lowered my gun as I approached a chair in the middle of the room, the same one Dante had tied Raven to not that long ago.

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