Page 87 of The Silence Lies

It’s the first time she’s spoken directly to me. She didn’t say anything to me when we left—not that I gave her the chance. I’m still in two minds about everything. It’s not that I’m bothered about sharing, I’m not. It’s that she’s ultimately pushed me aside because Levi doesn’t want to be a part of this. It’s all or nothing for Sera, and I’m not sure I’m content with that.

“I told you, you don’t need to worry about me,” I growl back over the comms, cocking my weapon as I storm past Levi with my two guards.

“Recon only!” she barks, but it’s too late. Marco is right behind me as we weave through the trees, sprinting between gaps that could expose us until we’re on the western part of the compound. He’s essentially ignored the plan to make sure I don’t do something stupid.

I find a group of unused vehicles, dormant in their parking bays, and use them for cover, hiding behind them so a large empty truck covers our position. Greco’s men are positioned either side of Marco and I, and even in the dim light I can see the rest of our crew taking their positions.

On the other side of the compound, Matteo is setting up on the ground, his rifle aimed carefully. Levi is beside him with more of Greco’s men, checking for blind spots. It’s all about to go down. I can feel the static in the air, the tension charging us up like batteries.

“Luca,” Sera warns again over the comms.

“You made a promise, Bianchi,” I remind her quietly of her promise to The Vultures. The last thing I want to do is give our position away.

“Fuck the promise! I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”

I crouch down as a guard passes by a large empty truck covering our position, letting out a breath when he doesn’t spot us.

When it’s clear, we move across the compound under the blanket of shadows. Closing the distance, we’re almost to the building. It’s just a few steps away, almost within our grasp.

And then we hear it— a blood curdling scream that pierces the darkness surrounding us, rippling through the air.

On instinct, Marco and I pull our weapons out, slamming our bodies against the side of a vehicle as the guard comes into sight, carrying a girl over his shoulder. My heartbeat picks up, my entire body tensely coiled like a viper preparing to strike. We’re in the open now, vulnerable, a perfect target for anyone. It would only take a single look in the right direction to see exactly where we are.

On the other side of the compound, Matteo and Levi move carefully, nodding when they’re ready. Any minute now.

It happens so quickly.

A whistle sounds through the air; the snap of a bullet as it hits the guard. He drops to the ground with a thud, taking the girl with him. She scampers away, Matteo chasing after her as a chorus of gunfire ensues around us.

It’s chaos. Controlled chaos. One by one, guards spill from the warehouse, surrounding the compound we’ve lined ourselves between.

And one by one, they drop like flies.

My eyes widen, my mouth suddenly dry. I look at Levi but he’s shrugging his shoulders.

“What the fuck?” Marco mutters behind me, but I don’t have time to question what the hell is happening, all I know is that these shots didn’t come from this crew.

Bullets whiz past us, snapping me out of my thoughts. Our cover is blown. It’s time to spring into action. I aim my gun and shoot effortlessly, taking out three guards in quick succession. It’s easy when you know where they are, but that’s all about to change.

The darkness grows thicker. The lights of the compound illuminate the way and we only have the sparse shadows to conceal us.

Footfalls grow louder, forcing me to spin around. I grip my gun tightly as one of Verdi’s men comes into view.

He spots me first, shooting and failing to hit me at the same time my bullet hits him square in the chest. He drops like a lead balloon, blood pooling out in the spotlight of dirt.

“Move!” I order Marco.

He pushes past me, slinking into the shadows, lining his body against the wall of the warehouse again.

Another man falls into my line of sight, and with one easy squeeze of the trigger, he drops. Then we’re back to pushing forward again, evading the men filtering out from the warehouse. There can’t be more than twenty—not counting the ones lying in the dirt with holes in their bodies. But that’s not what concerns me anymore.

“We’re not alone,” I whisper to Marco as we watch the last two men hang back in the doorway of the warehouse.

“What do you mean?”

I mute my comms before turning to Marco, doing the same to him. I don’t know how much Sera and Raf can see or hear, but the last thing I want to do is worry them. “There’s someone else here. Maybe for the same thing.”

Marco narrows his eyes, casting a wary look around the compound. Try as he might, there’s no way we’ll be able to spot whoever is out here with us. They won’t show their face, that’s for sure, so I only hope they’re on our side.

---