Page 50 of Ruthless Rival

I listened closely, hearing laughter from inside. Ignacio didn’t lie to us. I took my handgun out of my holster and clicked off the safety. I hadn’t used it in a while. Usually, I didn’t want to, but the cartel deserved to be put six feet under the ground. That would be the only way they wouldn’t hurt anyone else.

“Go,” I told Iso.

He threw open the door and rushed inside, immediately ducking behind a wooden pallet with a huge pile of packaged drugs stacked on top of it.

I hurried behind another wooden pallet, and there were plenty from what I could see. I moved over so Adriano could crouch beside me with his handgun drawn. “Keep low,” I warned him before peeking out from behind the stack to see around ten cartel members running in our direction with their guns drawn. I lifted my handgun and aimed, firing at one of the members who were around the same age as my sons. His age didn’t stall me. It was him or us.

He went down immediately and gunfire was exchanged from both sides. I spotted Santiago diving behind a tower of packaged drugs, barely avoiding gunfire. He was the one I wanted. From how his suit hung on his thin body and how slow he moved, it wouldn’t take me long to get him.

“I’m going after Santiago,” I told Adriano before hurrying behind another pallet, keeping low as bullets zipped above me and next to me.

“You’re dead, Italian scum!” Santiago’s voice rang out throughout the warehouse.

Adriano flung himself to the side as the package of drugs near his head exploded from a bullet, white powder scattering everywhere.

“Iso!” I shouted, being too far away to help.

Iso rose to his feet and fired over his stack, clipping another cartel member in the shoulder to send him down. He aimed again, finishing him off with a shot to the chest.

My mafia members exchanged heated fire with the cartel until only Santiago and another younger cartel member remained.

I took a chance and ran out from behind the pallet, racing toward Santiago. A pounding sensation echoed between my ears as my adrenaline raced. I was going to end this.

I ran past the pallet Santiago was hiding behind, pointing my gun at him as he crouched and looked up at me with round eyes. My finger rested on the trigger, preparing to shoot, but a shot rang out and pain seared through my right hand. I dropped my gun and crumbled to my knees, blood dripping down my hand from where the bullet pierced it.

Santiago kept his head covered to avoid more bullets.

A middle-aged cartel member nearby spotted me and lunged at me. He caught me off guard, knocking me down to the ground as more gunfire rang out. He dealt a hefty punch to my jaw before reaching for my handgun.

Tapping into my strength, I smashed my elbow against the side of his head, making him topple off me. I reached for my gun and pointed it at the man, firing and striking him in the chest to make him collapse. I turned to aim at Santiago, but he was already hobbling out of the exit toward a getaway car parked outside, breathing weakly from the exertion.

The last cartel member turned to follow him, but Iso buried a bullet in his back, sending him down to the ground with a grunt. He laid still, blood pooling beneath him.

“Papà!” Adriano shouted as he rushed over to me. He knelt next to me and took my hand, examining the bullet wound. “Just a flesh wound. You’ll be okay.”

I breathed in deeply as the adrenaline started to wear off, letting the pain seep in. I grunted as I got to my feet, blood dripping onto the floor near my shoes. I wasn’t happy about being shot, but at least it was the hand instead of anywhere else. I had someone to return to and I had promised to fight my way back to her.

“I was so close to killing Santiago and ending this for good,” I said, disappointment weighing heavily inside of me. Santiago escaped. I had failed.

“We’ll get him eventually. I’m going to check on the others,” Adriano told me before taking out his phone to call his brothers.

I nodded, praying they were safe. Stress and dismay clashed inside of me as I headed out of the warehouse and got into the backseat of the SUV, sweat lining the top of my forehead as I waited for an update. Any update. War was raging throughout New Orleans, and the fate of my family hung in the balance.

Adriano rushed out of the warehouse and to the car, making my heart rate jolt at his sudden approach.

“They’re okay!” he panted. “Lorenzo and Marco cleared their locations. There were a few casualties on our side, but they went down with a fight.”

I lowered my head for a moment, feeling an ache in my chest. Everyone who worked for me fought like hell, and they would be honored for their bravery. I raised my head and nodded. “We’ll hold a burial for them and keep an eye on their families from here on out,” I told him. “What about the cartel? How many of them are dead?”

Adriano grinned victoriously. “More than I can count. A few escaped, but most of them are dead.”

I let out a breath of relief. Santiago escaped, but my family was safe. He probably did not have enough men left to make an attack on my family now. That was what mattered the most to me.

“Tell your brothers to get back home,” I said as I finally relaxed against the seat. “Let’s go home.”

When I stepped out of the SUV to go to the plantation house, Gabriela ran out the front door toward me. She threw her arms around me, her face pressing against my neck. “You’re okay,” she breathed out the words.

I wrapped my arms around her, closing my eyes for a moment to capture the feeling. When I set her down, my shoulders dropped slightly. “Santiago escaped and took off in a car waiting for him. I’m so sorry, amore,” I murmured.

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