Page 117 of Raphael (Belles & Mobsters 5)

But first, I fully intended to level this place to the ground before I left this shithole.

* * *

Through the broken stone walls, we found our way into a courtyard.

And that was when all hell broke loose. The explosion rattled the island, making it feel like the ground was crumbling beneath us. The building walls shook, and screams came in from all directions.

“There are women inside,” Sasha hissed.

I sprinted toward the building, my group of men behind me.

Then another explosion went off, sending large pieces of stone scattering through the air. Men were shooting at us from all angles. We never slowed our pace, shooting back at them as we pushed forward.

Time was of the essence.

I reloaded my gun on the move while Sasha and Alexei covered me, shooting back at the bastards.

“These men are raining bullets on us,” Sasha spit out. “We’ll never make it inside like this.”

There were four doors - each leading to a separate building.

“Which building?” Nico yelled.

“We split up.” I glanced at the men in the group. “Two each. If you find any prisoners, take them back to the boats. The minute you find my wife radio me, and we get the fuck out of here.”

“Sasha and I are coming with you,” Alexei volunteered.

“Okay.” I turned to Caine and Nico. “Can you two lead the others?”

No questions. No delays. We all ran in different directions.

I powered through the door furthest to the left. The moment I entered, I could see the building was in worse shape than I originally thought. There were two floors, but half of the steps were missing, and I didn’t think the explosion took them out.

I shared a glance with Alexei. “Basement it is,” I muttered.

We continued down the dark hallway leading us deeper into the cellar. It was damp, the smell of blood, urine, and mold filling the air. The rough, stone walls made the hallway appear smaller than it was. Or maybe our big frames didn’t belong here, both of us having to bend our heads to fit through certain sections.

When we came to the end of the hallway, we saw a single iron door that resembled a cage from the old gladiator days.

With each step we took closer, the whimpers grew louder. The three of us shared a look, our guns ready in our hands.

One step. Another. And another.

It was then that I saw them. Huddled in the dark. A group of five women, hiding in the darkest corner of the room. The stench was unbearable.

“Fuck,” I hissed. This was bad.

“Turn your back to the door,” I told them. When none of them moved, I repeated in Spanish. A fleeting shared glance and they obeyed.

Sasha put the little explosive on the door. The three of us stepped away and took cover.Boom.

It was strong enough to break away the lock on the door. We rushed through it. I roamed through every face, looking for the blue eyes that stole my heart. It wasn’t here.

“She’s not here.” Sasha reflected my thoughts.

“Take the women out of here.”

“Raphael, it’s a dead end. You can’t stay here. You’ll get yourself killed,” Sasha attempted to reason. But leaving without her wasn’t an option.

---