CHAPTER VIII
I braced myself against the car, my breath forming small clouds in front of my face.
“Luca, what do you see?” I asked, tugging my gloves on and scanning the area. We were in the middle of nowhere.
Luca was crouched with the handheld thermal scanner, his brow furrowed. He adjusted the device, the screen flickering to life. “There’s one guard outside and”—he paused, squinting at the screen— “and two inside sitting at a table.”
“That's it?” Lo asked, retrieving the weapons from the trunk with Matteo and Miguel. “This mission will be a piece of cake,” he added.
“Stay sharp and be ready to move,” I ordered. “Lo, Matteo, you’re on the perimeter. Miguel, you’re our eyes and ears. Any movement, any change, you report it.”
“Affirmative, boss,” Miguel replied, setting up the RPG and getting into position.
“Teams, now,” I commanded.
Matteo loaded his gun and cracked his neck from side to side. “Time to fuck shit up.”
I turned back to Miguel and said, “Get ready to blow the fucker down.”
He gave me a curt nod and a sly smirk.
We slipped into the shadows, moving through the trees like ghosts. Every step brought us closer to the house, where a guard stood with a machine gun.
I grabbed a snow-covered rock and tossed it to the left. The sound alerted the guard, who started walking in that direction with his gun raised.
“On my mark,” I whispered.
We waited.
When the guard was further out, I directed Lo, “Now.”
With one swift motion, Luca aimed the silencer at the guard and pulled the trigger. The guard slumped to the ground.
“Lo and Matteo, secure the rear. Luca, you’re with me,” I instructed.
They both nodded and quietly crouched down to move around the trailer.
“Let’s go,” I told Luca.
As I pushed the door open, loud music filled the space, and clouds of smoke hung in the air. I wrinkled my nose at the stench of weed and piss.
Two guards gathered around a table laughing and playing cards. Following my lead, Luca and I advanced. We raised our guns, fingers curling around the triggers. With a subtle nod, I signaled the countdown: three, two, one.
BANG!
The guards slumped forward, lifeless, their heads flopping on the table. Blood began to ooze from the fatal wounds, spreading across the table.
“We need to hurry. There could be more guards somewhere inside,” I whispered to Luca.
With Luca watching my back, we trudged deeper into the house. The dark-lit hallway ahead of us was lined with rooms on both sides.
A man stumbled out of the room beside me with his fly open. His green eyes widened in shock, and he started to open his mouth as if to scream. I whipped out my blade, and with a flick of my wrist, slashed his throat, and he went tumbling down.
I raised my finger to my ear and activated my earpiece. “Sweep every room,” I commanded my men.
I threw a quick look over my shoulder. “Luca, you’re on the left. I’ll handle the right.”
“Got it,” Luca replied as he set off down the narrow hallway.
I pushed open the door to the second room and saw a middle-aged man butt ass naked as the day he was born. He barely had time to register my gun aimed at his heart. Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger and he crumpled to the floor.
My attention shifted to a teenage girl huddling in the corner. Her face was marred by bruises, she had needle marks on her arm, and her ragged clothes were soiled with vomit.
“Easy now,” I whispered. “What’s your name?”
“Na-Naomi,” she croaked.
“Naomi,” I affirmed, keeping my gaze steady on hers. “Stay put, we’ll get you out of here.”
She was shaking uncontrollably, great, silent sobs wracking her tiny frame as tears streamed down her dirt-streaked cheeks.
I peered out the hall before venturing further into the house, the floorboards creaking underneath my feet.
“Motherfucker,” Luca grunted as I approached the next door.
I burst into the room to see Luca pummeling the hell out of a man’s face with the butt of his gun.
“Stop, he’s dead, Luca!” I pulled him back by his arm. His eyes were wild, and his breath came in sharp gasps.
I turned to the bed, spotting a young girl lying on her back with long black hair draped over her face like a curtain.
Letting go of Luca, I approached the bed and swept her hair aside.
Her eyes remained shut, and her complexion was ashen.
I pressed my fingers to her neck, but I was unable to find a pulse.
“She’s dead,” I announced, anger festering in my chest. I turned to Luca. “You good?”
“Yeah,” he said gruffly. “Let’s just finish this fucking mission.” He spat on the man’s corpse and stormed out of the room.
We cleared room after room, but Gigi was nowhere to be found. Each step felt like someone was squeezing the air out from my lungs.
There was just one more door left. I opened it, and the sight before me sent a chill through my bones, freezing me in place.
An unconscious girl lay on the bed, her body limp and exposed.
Old and new bruises covered her entire body.
She was thin, too thin—I could see the outline of her ribs.
Her long, oily hair hung in tangled strands and was the same shade as Gigi’s.
Her olive-toned skin? Gigi’s.
Her delicate build? Gigi’s.
Everything about her screamed Gigi.
Oh, fuck.
“Gigi,” I called out, my voice raw with desperation as I rushed to her side. My heart thundered against my ribs, each beat reminding me that I was too late. Kneeling beside her, I gently brushed a stray strand of hair from her face, feeling. But as I looked closer, a wave of nausea washed over me.
It wasn’t her.
“Damn it!” I stood up and slammed my fist into the wall, the plaster cracking.
Where the hell are you, my Angel?
Heavy footsteps reverberated down the hall. I instinctively raised my gun and aimed it at the door. But as soon as I caught a glimpse of Matteo, I lowered it to my side.
“No sign of her,” he said, confirming my fear.
I nodded and turned away, feeling the hollow pit in my stomach deepen. “Have you searched all the common areas?” I asked.
“Yeah.” Lo’s reply was somber. “We counted fifteen girls, but only twelve of them are alive.”
And none of them was my angel. Relief bloomed in my chest that she wasn't among the girls in this godforsaken place, but it was replaced by a white-hot surge of anger. Another day, another minute, and another hour without her was testing my sanity.
“We noticed a private trailer behind here,” Matteo said.
I nodded. “Luca and Lo, get the girls out of here. Matteo and I will handle the trailer. And call Enzo.”
Lo and Luca raised their eyebrows.
“Yeah, I know,” I grumbled. “I want him to pick up the girls. Make sure he brings a vehicle to fit all of them.”
They bobbed their heads in acknowledgement.
While Luca and Lo worked on escorting the girls out, Matteo and I headed toward the other trailer. Approaching it, I saw a man behind a desk through the dirty cracked window.
I kicked open the front door and pointed my gun at the man’s head. “Don’t even think about it, fucker. I’ll pull the trigger before you can blink.”
“Who the hell are you?” he growled, rising from his seat, a sneer on his face. The tattoos on his face gave me the confirmation I needed to know that he was the man we were looking for.
“Your worst fucking nightmare, Gabriel ,” I replied tersely.
His eyes widened. “How do you know my name?”
“I’m looking for your boss. He goes by the Puppet Master,” I said, ignoring his question.
“Never heard of him,” the man shot back. But I saw the flicker of recognition in his eyes.
“Wrong answer,” I muttered, taking a step forward. Gabriel reached underneath the desk, where he must have stored his weapon, but I was quicker. I drew my gun and shot at his hand.
“Fuck!” He staggered back and plopped onto the seat, cradling his bloody hand against his chest.
“Do that again and I’ll cut off your fingers one by one and feed them to you. Tell me where your boss is.”
He shook his head vigorously, sweat dripping down his face, his white shirt now painted with his blood.
“Matteo,” I called out. He tucked his gun behind his pants and pulled out his knife. He strode toward Gabriel, grabbing the hand I’d shot away from his chest, and slammed it down on the desk. Gabriel howled in pain.
“I’m not in the mood to play twenty fucking questions,” I warned.
He just stared at me, trying to project no fear, but I could still see it deep in his irises.
Matteo twirled the blade between his fingers with a wicked grin.
“Where. Is. Your. Boss?” I repeated.
Matteo hovered the blade over his pinky.
“Fuck—”
I cut him off with another shot, the bullet embedding itself into his thigh. “I don’t have time to play fucking games!”
He cried and tried to cover his thigh, the blood seeping through his fingers.
“Tell me where I can find him,” I demanded, standing over him.
“Fuck you!” he stammered, tears welling in his eyes.
I leaned in closer. “Fuck me?” I pointed the gun toward me.
Gabriel trembled, sweat glistening on his forehead. His teeth clenched, a low growl escaped his lips, “I’m not going to tell you shit.”
I glanced up at Matteo and gave him a curt nod.
Matteo’s blade glinted under the dim lighting as he swiftly brought it down, severing Gabriel’s pinky finger in one decisive motion. The finger hit the floor, and Gabriel's agonized scream pierced the air, his face twisting from the pain.
“This is what’s going to happen,” I seethed. “You are going to tell me everything you know about your boss and his operations. If you don’t, I will cut off every finger, then your limbs, until there’s nothing left.”
Gabriel’s whimpers filled the room, along with the smell of blood and piss.
“Are you going to cooperate?” I asked him.
He gasped between sobs and shook his head. I moved the gun to his wound and dug into his skin, making him cry out even more.
“Stop wasting my fucking time. Tell me where I can find him!”