Chapter 21 #2
Once my wife is safe, I aim for the fuel tank this time.
Just as I’m about to pull the trigger, one of the guys from the second helicopter fires my way.
I dip my head back inside. No time to let up.
I take the risk of peeking out the door.
I fire again and land my shot. Black smoke billows in the air.
The helicopter careens wildly, spiraling down toward the ocean.
Kicks unleashes a hail of bullets that slam into the first helicopter’s fuel tank, igniting it in a blazing inferno.
The pilot of the second helicopter manages to crash into the water, the craft exploding into flames.
I unleash a barrage from my AR-15, determined to end every last one of the bastards who dared go after my wife. None of her enemies survive this war.
“Catch, let’s take the war to them.” I remove my foot from the sling and take my seat beside Serenity.
He chuckles. “Got it, Nico.”
Ritchie laughs too as he checks his AR-15 magazine.
It feels good having my cousins here. If Nick wasn’t going through his own shit, he’d be here, too.
“I’ll tell the girls the Donna ceremony is canceled.”
My wife is trying to test me. I ignore her bullshit attempt to back out of her obligation to the Pituccos.
“Where are we going?” She asks when she realizes I won’t respond to her statement.
“To Aleksandr. I had my men destroy most of his territory while we were on our honeymoon.”
“So he sent men to my house to take me out,” she says.
My jaw ticks. “Yes, instead of coming after both of us at our home.”
“He wants to hurt you,” she grits out.
I curl a hand around her nape and whisper in her ear. “Serenity, I’ll do everything in my power to protect you.”
She shivers in my grip. A chuckle rattles in her throat.
“You mean you’ll protect your personal incubator.”
My hand slides across her stomach, and she squirms beneath my touch. “You’re my wife, Serenity. Not an incubator. The mother of my son and the children to come.”
She pushes my hand. “Get your hands off me. You betrayed me again.”
“Would you like everyone on this helicopter to see just how wet my pretty wife is for her husband?”
“I hate you,” she grits out.
“And if you say I saved your life just now because I love you you’re delusional. I did it for Madden.”
I smirk against her flesh. “I hate you too, Serenity. But if you think I won’t hate fuck you until you’re coming all over my dick you’re mistaken.”
I sit back in my seat, staring out the window with a grin on my face. I know I’ve just ruined my wife’s panties.
Catch lands on a roof in downtown Elizabeth. He kills the engine.
I unbuckle, reach into the chest again and retrieve two combat helmets.
Turning to face Serenity, I push it onto her head and began buckling the strap.
“I can do it myself,” she protest pulling back.
I continue buckling her helmet. “Stay close.”
“I’m a big girl. I can handle my own.” She stands to her feet.
“We’re scaling the side of the building. Ritchie and Miff are waiting on us in the alley below,” I tell her.
“When did Miff get here?” She asks.
“Earlier,” I reply as I pull on my helmet.
Angel places Serenity’s equipment in her arms. They exit the helicopter. Kicks is right behind them.
I step in front of Serenity and continue getting her ready to go to war.
She stares through me. I know she’s tired of seeing my face. Still very angry about what I’ve done. Even though she has highly qualified soldiers, I’m her husband. I make sure she’s ready to go to war.
I get my equipment together and pull it on. My wife is rappelling down the wall with her soldiers.
Catch steps beside me. “Give her time. She’ll come around.”
I sigh. “Not sure she will. We’ll be miserable forever together.”
“It took time for Bianca to come around, but she did.” He slaps my shoulder.
“My ears are on. I’ve got your six, cousin.”
“Thanks, Catch.”
He brought his weapons. The most important one is the sniper rifle. Catch is ready to do damage.
The second I’m on the ground in the alley, Miff walks toward me with a tablet in hand. “We have a problem, Nico.”
We’ve sharpened our strategy and embraced technology. A few weeks back, Miff ordered a tablet. Recently, he dedicated hours to mastering it, and now he handles it like an expert.
Serenity runs over and listens.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
Aleksandr’s men are blending in with civilians.
“Fucking assholes,” Serenity says.
“They’ll use them as shields,” he confirms.
“Did you bring the drones?”
Miff smiles. “Of course.”
“Gather around,” I tell our team.
They move closer.
I tap the earpiece. “Let’s go over the plan,” I say to those around the city waiting to move. “The Bratva wants to play dirty. Let’s do it.”
We can play dirtier. Miff’s fingers move across the tablet screen. The live drone footage loads on the screen. Tiny figures move along the sidewalks. Civilians. Families. Workers. Innocent people with no idea Aleksandr has turned their street into a human shield.
My jaw tightens. “We can’t hit them in daylight,” Serenity says.
I glance at her. She’s staring at the footage with murder in her eyes, but she’s right. “No,” I agree. Not like this.”
Her eyes cut to mine, surprised I didn’t push back. I point at the tablet. “He wants us angry. Wants us sloppy. Wants bodies in the street so police, feds, and cameras swarm us. He’s trying to make this look like we brought war to civilians.”
Angel curses under her breath. “Coward.”
“Yeah,” Kicks says. “But a smart coward.”
I hate that he’s right.
Catch’s voice sounds in my ear. “I’ve got movement on the rooftop across the street, two buildings down. Two men with long guns.”
“Hold your fire unless they aim at civilians.
“Copy,” Catch says.
Serenity steps closer to Miff, pointing at the screen. “Look at the pattern.”
Miff zooms in.
Three men move. They stop and speak to random civilians, then drift toward a storefront. Another group mirrors the same movement across the block.
“They’re herding people,” Serenity says.
A slow smile tugs at my mouth. My furious wife is sharp.
“They’re pushing civilians into choke points,” I say. “Either waiting for us to fire first or setting up a grab.”
“Grab who?” Angel asks.
Serenity and I look at each other.
Her.
The answer sits between us without anyone saying it.
I curl my fingers into a fist. “Nobody touches my wife.”
Serenity’s nostrils flare. “I’m not helpless.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
“Now’s not the time,” Ritchie grits out.
He’s right.
“We should wait until it’s dark,” Serenity adds.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “We wait until nightfall.”
Her brows lift. “You’re agreeing?”
“Yes, I’m not sending bullets through civilians because Aleksandr doesn’t care if innocent people are harmed.”
Miff nods. “We can contain them until then.”
“Do it,” I order. “Every exit watched. Every alley. Every rooftop. Underground access too. I want eyes on every one of Aleksandr’s men until dark.”
“What if they move first?” Kicks asks.
“We disable them. No kills unless they force our hand.”
Serenity crosses her arms. “And how exactly do you plan to disable them in the middle of civilians?”
I glance at Miff. “Smoke. Flash grenades. Tasers. Tranq darts.”
Miff grins. “We came prepared.”
Serenity turns to him. “You just carry tranq darts?” Miff shrugs. “I work for rich criminals with trust issues.”
Despite herself, Serenity’s lips twitch. That almost-smile hits me in the chest harder than any bullet could. I look away before I do something stupid. Like touch her again. Like remind her that no matter how angry she is, her body still belongs to me.
I tap my earpiece. “All teams, listen up. No open gunfire unless fired upon. Civilians come first. Track and contain. We move after dark.”
“Yes, boss,” several voices answer.