Chapter 29
Love
Breathe. He’s fine.
“Both my parents are gone,” I whisper in Rian’s ear leaning my head against his shoulder.
“You’ll always have me,” Rian whispers back holding my hand and kissing it.
“Thank you for being my best friend,” I say turning our hands and kissing his. Rian and I go way back, and he’ll always be my favourite insane prick. Don’t tell Dominik, he won’t like that I love any prick other than him.
“Thank you for being my sister,” Rian murmurs and I feel warmth in my heart. We’re going to be ok. Our team has both Rian and Josh they can handle anything. At the beginning it was just us.
“Don’t call her your sister, it’s bad luck, all your family dies,” Thomas says and I punch him strongly in the arm. My hand hurts more than his arm probably does but it’s worth it. “Forget it she’s tough,” Thomas says smirking and turns to Josh. “Who knew she could punch”
“She was trained from birth until she was fourteen, so don’t have any ideas she can and will kill you and if she doesn’t, I will,” Josh warns, it’s the only warning Josh will give him before resorting to violence.
Either physical or mental as he prefers the latter.
I don’t add anything I just smile proudly.
I may not have my parents, but I still have a family and one who’ll stick around forever, and never let me go.
I watch Sammy on the front seat next to Josh completely frozen. Her brown eyes looking anywhere but at him. So I get the phone Josh gave me. It is strictly only for this mission. So I struggle to find Sammy. She’s the last in Josh’s list.
Me: Don’t forget to breathe. We’ll be fine. <3
Sammy: I know we will. Don’t let Thomas’ words get to Rian. He’s our boo.
Me: I won’t, I promise I’ll check on him as soon as we get home.
I type that, yet I’ll also check throughout the whole mission. I’ll keep an eye on him. I decide to give Thomas a warning of my own.
Me: Don’t you ever speak that way to Rian again or I promise you I’ll make your life living hell.
Thomas just looks at me and smirks, I hate him. I already hate him and I haven’t properly met him yet, and have no interest whatsoever.
“Remember, we’re a team everyone,” Josh says as the air grows thicker and harder to breathe.
“We’re arriving. Prepare your guns, we need to move as soon as I stop this car,” Josh says going off the road and into the forest. He drives for three more minutes until the trees are too dense to keep going.
“We have about one kilometre of walking to do before we reach our first destination,” Josh says and we all nod, getting out of the car.
“Everyone prepared?” Josh asks unlocking his rifle.
Everyone assents. We were all ready before he spoke, I was ready since he first mentioned us to prepare our guns.
“We’re going silent team, there’s no room for mistakes, if you think you’ll be a liability this is your last chance to stay behind.
I won’t repeat what might happen to you if you don’t,” Josh says looking at Thomas, but Sammy is the one who swallows hard.
“No one? Alright. Let’s go,” he whispers the ‘let’s go’ part and we start moving.
The forest air is salty, the beach isn’t far from here and you can feel it in the humidity.
The north always reminds me of childhood, when we had peace, and my father superposed himself over any other leader, so we were safe children.
We liked to travel. When I was kidnapped it all started to fall down like a chain of dominoes until now, where the city is a hidden war scene.
Josh says the police are trying to find Liot, and we’re using that to our advantage. Josh has been planning his arrest. There’s nothing worse than a mafia leader with no power in prison. He’d be better in hell to be completely honest. He’ll be everyone’s rag doll.
I pace slowly behind Josh and Rian, I’m in the second attack line with Kit and Camilla. My aim and speed will be useful if anyone tries to shoot any of the others. I hope I still got the hang of it.
The green and brown of the trees, start to be repetitive when we’re walking for about ten minutes, I’d say.
We still have about seven more minutes until we arrive I think.
I trip on a rock and pay more attention to the ground until I spot someone, I hit my phone’s power button two times, it’s the signal someone’s near.
Everyone’s phone from our team vibrates almost inaudibly. I only hear Camilla’s and Kit’s.
We all hide, while Josh and Rian go further to evaluate the situation.
I walk from one tree to another to get a clean shot at the guy.
He’s still far, so I get my old buddy from my back, a sniper gun.
I adjust my arms on a strong tree’s branch and keep the guy's head as my focus.
Five more people appear from behind some trees, Josh looks behind.
“Got a clean shot?” he mouths at me, I nod, “Big guy,” he mouths back and I readjust the position of the gun.
He talks to the others but I’m paying too much attention to the big muscle wall guy, Josh wants gone.
I look at Josh for one second and he starts to count down from three with his hand.
I count the other numbers by the seconds passing.
And when I shoot the guy, his body falls flat on the floor, everyone else goes insane.
Now my only job is to make sure they don’t contact the other guards in any way.
Two more gunshots are heard but I don’t see who falls. I just check if it’s my people quickly and look at a guard more distant grab his walkie-talkie, no friend, you’re not contacting anyone.
“Fuck yeah,” Thomas whispers when I hit his hand with another bullet. His wrist pouring out blood, Josh shoots him in the head, and everything goes silent. I switch for my rifle, and make my way to Josh after checking if anyone is around.
“We’re safe,” I say before I notice Rian holding his right arm.
“Are you ok?” I ask concerned.
“I’m good we can keep going, it’s just a small cut,” he whispers the last part, I know why. The enemies could and would use any injury against him. We go back to silently walking, until we reach a concrete storage-like building.
“We need to get her to that roof,” Thomas mouths at Josh, Josh isn’t pleased, if I become a sniper for the rest of the mission I’ll be a higher risk target to Liot’s people. I see Rian whisper something to Josh and Josh nods.
Rian walks my way, talking to his microphone, “Kill everyone inside, I’ll take Love to the rooftop.
You’ll proceed by yourselves,” I hear it in my earbud yet I can’t believe Josh gave in.
I’m grateful he did. I can see Liot’s house from here; it isn’t as near as I’d like, but I can still take clean shots from a higher altitude.
“You good to go, princess?” Rian whispers and I nod, rifle in hands.
Josh moves to the trees on our right, in front of the building.
Rian guides me to the back door. At this time Dominik and the others should be in the tunnels below waiting for us to clear the building so we can enter Liot’s house.
We’re attacking from two fronts at the same time, below and above.
Rian looks at me and kicks the door open when the others start firing at the front. “Denfell is mine-” a guard starts saying and I shoot him in the head, Rian breaks the neck of the other one.
“Let’s go, keep moving,” Rian says when I stand still looking at the head turned down corpse of the man I just shot. I follow him upstairs, Rian kills another two guards on the way to the rooftop.
“Gotcha,” someone says grabbing my ankle and pulling me down the rooftop’s stairs.
When the man gets a knife and holds me beneath him, I kick him and am released for one second, but he puts the knife to my neck.
“Unfortunate I won’t get a taste of Ricik’s bitch,” he says his blue eyes wicked, starts sliding the knife across my neck when someone fires at him, he falls limp on top of me, I try to kick him off me but he’s too heavy.
Rian gets me from below him, sending him flying down the stairs. “I’ll stay with you,” Kit says, he just saved my life.
“No need-”
“My head is on the stake if I don’t,” Kit says and I nod. Pressing a tissue against the side of my neck.
“Let him stay, he just saved my life,” might as well return the favour.
We close the roof’s door, and put a metal beam holding it shut.
Kit stands by the door. Rian stays next to me, lying down on the floor, near the edge of the rooftop.
I keep my head as low as possible while still being able to see Liot’s building, and the ground around it.
I can see the guards moving inside the house.
“Do you have a clear shot?” Rian asks and I assent.
“I have several. When should I open fire?” I ask him, Rian’s silver eyes look down and back at me.
“When you see Josh walking towards Liot’s house,” Rian whispers and I stay attentive while trying to slow down my breathing. I need to stay calm and collected. “Can you see Liot?”
“No. He’s smart. They all think they are. They keep standing behind the house’s walls, only passing through the windows to move within the rooms.-”
“They’re shooting Josh, open fire,” Kit says peeking down and going back to the door.
I don’t attack anyone at first, and Rian seems impatient.
I look at the house trying to see where the shots are coming from.
I look and look until I see it. They have a sniper in a house on the other side of the street.
“They have a sniper on the house across from Liot’s,” I whisper at Rian trying to steady my hands to find a clear shot.
“Can you see him?” he asks and I shake my head.
“He’s a blur. I can see where he’s shooting from, though.
I think I can kill him. But I only have one chance before he notices us,” I tell Rian and he sighs shaking.
He’s afraid. Afraid I can’t do it. I’m out of practice, and this is a difficult task.
And I almost have it when I hear a scream. Camilla’s scream, the sniper hit her.