27. Chapter 23
Eli
“Don’t go there, Eli. I’m scared .” Zoe’s words ring in my head.
Those words didn’t sound like something I could ignore—and yet I did.
I was just putting on my Kevlar vest. A glance at my reflection in the mirror showed her sitting on the edge of the bed. She was watching my every move, like she could memorize it in case it was my last.
A moment earlier, she’d been curling her fingers while I checked my weapon.
I wasn’t blind. Zoe hadn’t been able to settle down since morning, obsessively cleaning the apartment again. Though she tried to hide her anxiety behind a mask, I saw her true self.
The silence she maintained was louder than she intended.
As I got ready for the operation, she spoke her first words of the day.
I’m a confident son of a bitch, but not so much that I would overestimate my mortality.
And her words hit home. She was afraid… for me.
My memories go back to that moment when I knelt before her, promising I would return. And I’ll keep that promise.
Her eyes darted around, searching my face for confirmation. She couldn’t find it then, but she nodded anyway. My Raven knew I wouldn’t leave my brothers alone in the middle of a war. They’re my family.
“Come back to me.” With those words and a kiss, we parted.
She was afraid.
Just like I was worried about her when she told us she’d met up with Damien that evening without telling us beforehand. For the next two days, her butt was really sore, and I hope that taught her a lesson.
“Eli.” Ryker shakes my shoulder. My head spins back to reality. “I’ve called you three times.”
“Sorry.”
“Focus. This isn’t the time to zone out,” Theo adds.
I’m sitting behind the wheel, the engine off. My fingers tighten around the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white.
The night at the port is never quiet. Nor peaceful. But tonight is especially heavy.
The air is thick with the smell of grease, metal, and something else. It’s hard to breathe.
Perhaps it’s the weight crushing my chest from the inside.
The halogen lights reflect off the wet concrete, spilling into the puddles like smeared gold. Cranes tower over the containers, resembling steel skeletons. Rows of metal crates form a labyrinth where it’s all too easy to disappear.
Terminal Four.
The perfect place for things Veirix doesn’t want revealed.
Especially since this is our turf.
“Everyone’s in position,” Theo confirms.
“What time is it?” Ryker asks.
“Almost ten. Which container?”
“We don’t know,” I say. “Just that it has to be seized before it sails.”
“Let’s go,” Ryker says, and the three of us get out.
Before I set off, I grab the sniper rifle and machine gun from the back seat. Better to have too much than to regret it. We enter the maze of containers, each going a different way. We set our positions earlier, as well as the positions of each of our men.
From now on, we’ll communicate only through our headsets.
I find my container, climb onto it, and crawl to the edge.
Something’s wrong here.
I feel it.
It’s quiet. Too quiet. Not a soul in sight.
As soon as that thought crosses my mind, the sound of engines reaches my ears.
The lights of black SUVs pierce the night entering the compound. One… two… three… They move in perfect unison, according to the plan.
SUVs come to a stop in the middle of the open area in front of the containers. No one opens the doors or gets out. Then four military trucks drive in behind them.
“Veirix,” Ryker whispers. I can see his smile in my mind.
The trucks stop too and Veirix’s men pour out of them, one after another. They turn the area black as they scatter across the square.
“Eight from each.” Ryker counts the enemies. “Thirty-two total, plus the SUVs.”
Holy shit.
The extent of their numerical advantage isn’t something I have time to ponder. The first car empties out…
“Estrada is mine,” I whisper.
Theo chuckles. “I’ll take Ortega.”
Ricardo Ortega gets out of the third car. He pulls out his gun and reloads. But he doesn’t move from the spot. With great attention to detail, he observes the area, noting everything.
It seems like he senses something’s up.
Damien Estrada is the complete opposite. Approaching the middle car, he opens the door.
From inside, he emerges. Calm. Unhurried. As if time had no power over him. As if nobody could harm him.
“Fuck. Nico Ruiz,” says Ryker.
I’m tempted to curse too.
Veirix’s head? Here? That can only mean one thing: this isn’t a routine operation. Something big is about to happen.
Damien says something to him, and Nico nods. He looks relaxed. Hands in his pants pockets. Small smile. Not one soul is guarding him directly.
A confident bastard. He thinks he’s untouchable.
Ricardo finally approaches them, though his gaze is still scanning everything. He hands Damien something small. A note, maybe? I don’t know, but he glances at it and passes the information on to the others.
“Everyone on standby,” I hear Theo say as three men move across the square toward the container.
“Open it,” Ortega orders in a grave voice. “Carefully.”
The men follow the orders. One removes the seals from the container. One hands something to another, who turns it on. A quiet whirring cuts through the air.
A saw?
No, it’s not a saw.
It’s a metal cutter.
One padlock. Another… Then another. And the problem’s solved. The door swings open.
And yet no one dares to go inside.
“We’re waiting.” That’s Ryker’s order.
Damien waves at one of them, and two step inside. After a moment, they emerge with a wooden crate.
They set it down in front of Nico as the third hands him a wrench.
My heart hammers against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat in the sudden hush. I snatch a silent breath, my world narrowing to the crisp, sharp edges of their forms, a burning intensity locking my gaze.
Finally, the lid gives way, and the wood hits the ground.
Damien pushes aside the packing material. With both hands, he grabs a black, shiny object.
My eyes flare wide.
“Fuck.” That’s Theo.
Ryker is silent.
Just like everyone else.
My finger is on the trigger. Eye on the target. Every second drags on, an hour long.
And Estrada, like a waiter carrying a tray, brings the machine gun right up to his boss. A broad smile spreads across Nico’s face. He straightens up, pleased.
A weapon.
A whole fucking container of guns.
Jesus Christ. It’s all true. They’re arming themselves for war.
Against the Pact.
I have no idea who pulls the trigger first. Is it Ryker? Someone else? Is it on purpose? Or by accident?
Either way, in a second, this place turns into hell.
Everything explodes at once. Chaos…
The first shot rings out, and one of Nico’s thugs falls to the ground. A clean shot to the head.
His men scatter. Damien and Ricardo draw their weapons. Nico crouches, glancing over his shoulder at the black SUV.
Our men shoot. Veirix responds with fire.
“Watch out for the container!” Ryker shouts.
Otherwise, we’ll all die here, I add in my mind.
A sharp crack rings out from my sniper rifle, and a blinding flash momentarily illuminates the dust particles suspended in the air.
One of the targets falls immediately, like a lifeless doll.
More shots ring out, followed by another sharp crack, and the second figure also succumbs to gravity, hitting the ground without a sound.
One of our guys emerges from between the containers. Veirix takes him down in a second…
Bullets pierce the metal of the containers. The echo of gunfire fills the night to the brim. People’s screams mingle with them.
Hell has opened its gates.
I pull my face away from the scope and see Ortega grab Ruiz by the lapels of his jacket. He drags him toward one of the SUVs. Machine gun fire pierces the metal of the car. Everything’s about to explode!
They change direction and are almost at the containers when…
A shot rings out. One. Ortega gets hit. The bullet strikes his back, sending him spinning. And he falls. Hits the pavement, unmoving.
Laughter fills the earpiece. Then Theo’s words, “Target eliminated.”
“I’m going after Nico,” Ryker growls.
That’s when I notice Nico has indeed fled with his tail between his legs. Like a scared little fawn.
“Support?” I ask him.
“Cover me.”
That’s exactly what I do.
Ryker emerges onto the open space. Amid all this chaos, he marches forward, walking like he weren’t vulnerable to bullets. He shoots at anyone he can. Precise and merciless.
While the others take cover, he walks into the line of fire.
More shots ring out. I clear the others out of his way until he disappears after Nico.
Damien…
I scan the square. He’s nowhere to be seen.
Where did you hide, you bastard?
Bit by bit, I search the square, the spaces between the containers. And I find nothing.
The echo of gunfire grows fainter. Fewer and fewer people remain alive. Instead, corpses litter the ground.
I can’t see him. Damn it!
Did he escape? Did he hide?
A cold wave of disappointment washes over me, leaving a hollow ache in my chest and a bitter taste in my mouth.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
“Cover me, Theo. I’m going after Ryker.”
“Stop, Eli,” he calls out, but it’s already too late.
I set off after them.
Nico might have looked like a laid-back guy, but I know better. He’s still a killing machine. Ruthless. Cruel.
And there’s my brother. My best friend. I’m going after him.
I leave the sniper rifle on the roof and grab a submachine gun. That’ll do.
A moment later, I’m already running across the square. Aside from the bodies, there’s not a soul here. We can still hear sporadic gunfire in the distance.
If any of Veirix’s men remain alive, they’ll either die soon or run away.
Before I slip into the shadows between the containers, a figure dressed in black emerges from around the corner. It’s one of them. He’s quick—before I can even react, the barrel of his gun is already pointed at me.
Unhurriedly, he walks toward me, and my heart stops. Something causes me to freeze from the inside out. The adrenaline narrows my focus to just the gun, nothing else. Not even the man on the other end of it. Just one thought comes to mind.
I promised her.
I should do something. Anything. Raise the gun and fire. Run away. Fight. Anything at all.
And I don’t know why I’m doing nothing. I see that gun a few steps away from me, and heat floods my insides, paralyzing everything in its path.
It’s not true that a person’s whole life flashes before their eyes when it’s about to end. At least not in my case, because I see clearly only what’s most important.
Her. In her yellow pajamas. The same ones she was wearing when she first hit me after we met. She was our hostage back then. In that instant, no other women existed for me.
I promised her.
That thought snaps me back to reality, and everything picks up speed again. Before I can bat an eyelid, a bullet cuts through the air. The man’s head jerks back, and he falls lifeless onto the pavement.
There’s a small hole in his forehead; his eyes are still open. A growing pool of blood spreads out beneath him. It’s beautiful.
“You’re welcome,” I hear Theo say in the earpiece.
I nod slightly, even if he can’t see that. “Thanks,” I say and step over the body.
Whatever it was, whatever happened just a moment ago, it will never happen again.
My movements are silent, zigzagging right and left. It’s a veritable maze.
I keep searching.
Step by step.
Where are you, Ry?
After a bit, I come out from between the shipping containers and onto a square that looks similar, but is much smaller. Before I’m spotted, I stop. Taking a step back, I melt into the shadows again.
My gun rises. I aim at my opponent.
Nico Ruiz and Ryker emerge onto the square from two opposite points. They’re holding guns aimed at each other.
Two mortal enemies.
I have no intention of taking that pleasure away from my brother. Let him shoot Nico himself. Though he doesn’t know it, I’m here for him. In case he needs help.
“Ryker Elliot,” Ruiz calls out. A small smile plays on his face. “Lost? This isn’t a playground.”
“You thought I wouldn’t find out?”
“Honestly, kid? There are a lot of things going on right under your nose that you don’t know about.”
I clench my jaw at the humiliation.
They stand facing each other, aiming their guns. Only a dozen steps separate them. Ryker’s finger is on the trigger, ready. So is mine.
“I heard you have something of mine,” Ryker says.
His sister. That’s who he means.
“She’s mine now,” Ruiz says, laughing. He’s confident. The air around him feels charged, expectant, as he stands tall, a palpable aura of certainty surrounding him like a warm embrace.
And that’s enough. The fuse.
The silence that now reigns is a heavy blanket, muffling all but the ringing in your ears. Then, a single shot cracks through the stillness, a sharp, violent sound that obliterates everything else.
Without hesitation, without emotion, Ryker fires a precise shot straight into Nico’s heart. The bullet hits.
Nico freezes.
And then he falls.
Still Ryker, unhurried, approaches his body. “I’m afraid it’s you who’s lost your way after all.” He fires two more times.
Just to be sure.
Or for the sheer satisfaction of it.
I walk up to them. Ryker doesn’t even take his eyes off Nico. Maybe he’s expecting Theo or me. Or maybe he doesn’t care.
I stand next to him and I look down.
A pool of blood is fast spreading beneath Nico’s body. It’s dark as pitch, like his soul.
I let what has happened sink in. We’re silent. And so is everything around us.
“Mission accomplished,” Ryker finally says. “Let’s get out of here.”
But there’s more to those words than meets the eye. We both know it.
Nico Ruiz is dead.
And we know what that means.
Now they’ll be coming for us.
Fuck me.