Page 155 of Caught in the Crossfire
An auctioneer stepped forward, dressed in a crisp suit. It wasn’t Ervin Vokshi. So who was he? He began speaking, pulling one girl forward, and the entire room went quiet.
“Fan out,” Obi whispered, breaking my attention. He gave hand signals to direct us all. “Dispatch anyone who gets in your way.Silently.”
Our men dispersed into the room, trying to stick to the walls. I followed beside Cas. My guys had paired up: Wynn and Ciel, Ryu and Obi, me and Cas. Cas and I went left, along with Max and Daniele. Wynn and Ciel went right, with a chunk of Giulio’s men. Ryu and Obi pressed forward into the back of the crowd. I watched them each take down a man, carefully pulling them away from the group and then snapping their necks.
In front of me, Cas covered a man’s mouth with one palm, and used the knife in his other hand to draw a red line across his throat. My eyes locked on the auctioneer, and the person bidding a disgusting amount of money on the first woman.
Max and Daniele were getting closer to the entrance throughwhich the Albanians had brought the girls. With an auction this size, with this many people, there had to be more.
A shout caused my head to whip in the opposite direction. One of Giulio’s men was locked in a grapple with an Albanian.
Shit.
Time slowed. We watched Giulio’s man wrestle with the Albanian. Everyone froze.
Then a gunshot went off. The Albanian dropped to his knees, blood spurting from the hole in his chest. He let out a wet, gurgling breath before collapsing.
A woman dripping with wealth screamed, a blood-curdling sound that reverberated through the chamber.
All hell broke loose.
Buyers started scrambling, yelling and pushing one another to get to the exit. Max and Daniele were already there, blocking the path.
More gunshots were fired all around. The jig was up, and our secrecy was blown.
“Cas!” I jerked my head toward the main stage.
The auctioneer grabbed the chain tying the women together and yanked them off the stage. I went after him, dodging around scrambling people, with Cas following right behind.
I raised my weapon to fire, but one of our men fell to the ground right in our path. A Vokshi man stalked behind him, raising his gun, but I fired on him instead and he dropped to the ground. Cas looped his hand around our man and lifted him to his feet.
When I looked up again, the auctioneer had four other Albanians surrounding him while he jerked the chain back toward the tunnel. Some girls resisted, tugging their wrists and grimacing in pain. The others were numb, staring at the ground.
I followed. The chamber had turned into a battlefield. My ears rang with the sound of gunshots, shouts and screams, and terror-filled cries. It was the chaos of a hundred people trying to kill each other or run.
Ihadto stay focused on the women.
A body slammed into me, knocking me off-balance. My hands scraped against the cold concrete and I bit back a pained hiss, but thankfully I didn’t drop my gun. Cas sunk a bullet into the person’s chest.
I was dimly aware of my men fighting all around, but I couldn’t get distracted or we’d lose them. I had no idea where those tunnels led.
Finally, we reached the mouth. The tunnel was dark, with no lights hanging from the ceiling, but a bend about five hundred feet forward gave off dim illumination.
“Cas?” I panted. The battle raged on behind us, and we were the only two people here.
“I’m with you,” he answered, giving me a nod.
I didn’t have time to tell the others we were following, but I quickly scanned the room to make sure they were okay. Ryuji whirled knives. Wynn was grappling with someone, brass knuckles bloody. Ciel had his garrote around someone’s neck. Obi fired his gun and then round-house kicked another man in the chest. Max was still with Daniele, the two of them herding some buyers back into the room.
They could handle themselves. I turned back toward the tunnel and quietly stepped down its path. The closer we got to the light, the more voices I heard. Shouts. Whimpers. My pulse echoed in my ears, and my fingers went numb. I gritted my teeth, willing feeling back into them.
I stepped around the corner, and into the light.
We came face to face with cages.
Filled with dozens of people.
Women. Girls. Boys.
