Page 66 of Cassio (Belles & Mobsters 3)

I saw horror cross Áine’s expression, her eyes locked to the left side of the compound. I followed her gaze, and the same second iced terror seeped through my heart.

“Machine gun. Ten o’clock,” I spat. It was too late though. The bullets started flying all over the sand, hitting all around Áine and the little girl. She sheltered the girl with her body, bullets inching their way closer and closer to them. Áine’s hair reflected all shades of a burning sun against the rays of the sun high up in the sky. There was no way for her to blend into the desert tan landscape.

Despite the terror in my heart, the calm washed over me as I zeroed in on the threat. I steadied my hand, aimed, and pulled the trigger. I held my breath as it flew through the air and it hit the target. He fell onto his knees, his aim uncontrolled.

A terrified scream and I watched with horror as Áine fell to her knees. My lungs no longer worked, my breath stuck in my throat.

“Áine,” the screams echoed through the desert, but they weren’t mine. Mine screamed in my head as I watched her men run towards her. I shoved to my feet but my brother's arms held me back from behind me.

“We can’t blow our cover,” he hissed. I didn’t give a shit about the cover anymore. The woman I loved… that I fuckinglovedlaid in someone else’s arms. The young girl that Áine saved held her up, tears streaming down her face, but all of it was drowned out by my own thundering heart, sorrow and rage.

I shoved him.

“Wait, Cassio,” Luca gritted, struggling to keep me back. “Our position is better up here. There are more men coming. Keep shooting or they’ll all be dead.”

I knew he was right, but the pull was tearing me up on the inside.

The man she called John earlier pulled out the knife and my heart stopped beating. He cut into her. I bellowed in rage, ready to kill. Kill them all. There were few of her crew that kept watch around them. They heard me, their eyes darting around, but they couldn’t see us.

“I will kill them all,” I raged.

“Hunter, look.” My brother’s voice barely registered. He used my middle name, which he rarely did. “Look.”

I stared, but all I saw was Áine’s pale face, her eyes closed. And then her eyes snapped open, her breathing heavy and her hands clawing at her chest.

“She’s fine.” Luca’s voice got to my brain. “Look. The bullet hit her vest. She’s fine.”

I watched her discard her vest and gasp for air. And with each breath she took in, life was breathed back into my lungs. Relief that washed over me was stronger than a hurricane over oceans. The thundering in my ears slowly receded. The enemy was still a threat, one of them pointing a gun at the little group.

Aiming my sniper rifle, I shot him. One silent bullet. There was another on top of the building. Aim. Shoot. Dead.

“What the fuck, Evans?” The man’s angry voice drifted over the breeze as he yelled at my woman. The fact that we could hear them from our distance told me he was bellowing at her. “You could have gotten killed.”

That fucking asshole better stop yelling at my woman. From here, I could see her take a breath in, rubbing her chest. I knew firsthand it hurt like a motherfucker to get shot, even through the vest. Áine’s head turned to him. Even from here, I could see her glares and anger.

“Don’t ever try to take off leaving someone behind, you ass,” she shouted back. He offered her his hand but she slapped it away and stood up on her own. “Next time you try to leave too soon, Harry, I’ll kill you myself.”

“Who in the fuck is this woman?” Luca murmured under his breath. It would seem Nico’s intelligence was spot on. This was our confirmation that Áine was running missions, saving trafficked women. Though in my gut I knew Nico’s information was right the moment he uttered those words.

My eyes scanned her frame, ensuring she didn’t have any injuries. She reached her hand to the little girl and smiled. Her mouth spoke something softly to the girl, her soft smile never leaving her lips. The girl didn’t move, her face stained with tears and fear. My heart clenched at the memory from ten years ago, a similar scene with a red-haired girl.

It was the next move that made me wonder if subconsciously Áine maybe didn’t remember what happened to her all those years ago.

She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a lollipop, handing it to the young girl. It was what I had offered Áine all those years ago. Áine helped her unwrap the lollipop and smiled encouragingly.

“Can’t those fuckers just disappear?” Luca muttered and I followed his gaze.

More of Marco’s men.

“Start eliminating them from the right,” I told Luca. Shouting in Russian could be heard from the oncoming group.

“They are Russians,” Luca grumbled next to me.

It would seem Marco had indeed teamed up with Ivan Petrov. Son of a bitch! Luca shot the first bullet their way, diverting their attention away from the group at the bottom and back on us. Immediately, they started shooting at us. Both of us ducked down and lay flat on our stomach.

Gunfire echoed all throughout, but unlike when I thought Áine died, my heartrate never even sped up. One by one, we eliminated the Russians. For all their numbers, they were like a flock of chicks. Disorganized and barely a threat. Unless you were out in the open like Áine and her group. This would give them a chance to get out of there.

The sound of the helicopter was loud as it took off, taking my woman to safety was the best comfort I could have been given at that moment. The second they were out of everyone’s range, Luca and I went to work full force.

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