Fernando’s POV My entire body was burning with raw fury, every muscle wound tight, my teeth grinding together so hard it hurt. I was raging. Who.Who would dare?Who would have the guts to take Michael from me?My vision was blurred with rage, my mind moving through every possible enemy I had—every rival, every snake who had ever crossed my path. But none of them would be this bold. None of them would be this stupid.Michael was mine.I had made it clear to everyone in my organization that he was under my protection. That if anyone so much as looked at him the wrong way, they would answer to me.And now he was gone.Vanished.Taken.My driver slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, the tires screeching as we turned onto the road leading to my mansion. I barely registered the guards opening the gates as my car drove through, my mind fixated on one thing—Michael’s disappearance and the incompetence of the fools who had let it happen.The moment I stepped out of the car, Marlo was th
Michael's POV I paced the around the conference room like a caged animal, my hands clenched into fists so tight my nails dug into my palms. I was pissed.My entire body was vibrating with frustration, a storm brewing inside me that I had no way to unleash.This couldn’t be happening.They had removed me from the case.They had stripped me of my mission, my only chance at justice.For what?Because they thought I was too involved?Because they thought it was too dangerous?A bitter laugh escaped me, and I ran both hands through my hair, gripping it at the roots.Fernando Ramirez killed my sister.And now they expected me to just… let it go?No.I wouldn’t.I couldn’t.They had taken me off the case, but my evidence, my work, was still here, as if mocking me.The walls felt like they were closing in on me.I needed to do something.I needed to act.But what?What could I do when the very people who were supposed to help me were now standing in my way?The door creaked open.I turned s
Fernando’s POV I gritted my teeth as I stepped out of the black car and onto the empty street, the city lights casting making the road look less lonely than it already was.It had been hours. Hours. And still, there was no sign of Michael.Where the fuck was he?I clenched my fists, my jaw tightening as I turned to Marlo, who stood beside me, his face unreadable. The men behind us—six of them, armed and ready—waited silently for my next move. They knew better than to question me when I was in this state.We had searched everywhere.We had checked every lead, questioned every contact, and still—nothing.My patience was wearing thin.No, fuck that, my patience was gone.I took a deep breath, trying to keep my composure, but the rage inside me was boiling over.Michael had been taken.And I had failed to protect him.That thought alone made my blood burn.I turned around and started walking again, my mind racing with possibilities. Who would have the guts to kidnap him? Who would dar
Micheal's POV The second Ashley stepped out of the conference room, I knew this was my only chance.I didn’t hesitate.I exhaled slowly, my mind sharpening, my heartbeat steadying as I made my way toward the door.It was now or never and I needed to move quickly before I told myself this was a bad idea.I knew the layout of the building better than anyone. I had been here long enough to memorize every hallway, every security checkpoint, and every possible exit route.Getting out of here wouldn’t be easy, but it was possible.And I was about to prove it.I pressed my back against the cold wall, my breath slow and controlled. No need for unusual breathing which could call attention to my presence. The hallway was dimly lit, the fluorescent lights flickering slightly overhead. The FBI headquarters was quiet at this hour—most of the agents had gone home, and the ones still around were locked in their offices, finishing up reports or making calls.That worked in my favor.I kept my ste
Fernando’s POV The night was thick with the scent of gunpowder as bullets ripped through the air, each one carrying the intent to kill. I bent behind the overturned car, gripping my gun so tightly my knuckles turned white. Marlo was beside me, reloading his weapon with the efficiency of a man who had danced with death too many times before. My men were scattered, ducking behind whatever cover they could find, exchanging gunfire with the bastards who dared to ambush us.I was filled with so much rage.My patience was at its breaking point, my fury barely contained beneath the surface. Michael was still missing, and now we had these worthless pieces of trash trying to gun us down. I clenched my jaw. Someone was playing games with me, and I wasn’t in the mood for amusement.A bullet bounced off the hood of the car, sending sparks into the air. Marlo cursed under his breath.“This isn’t working,” Marlo muttered. “They have us pinned. Every time we move, they push harder. We need a
Michael’s POVDarkness.It stretched around me, thick and suffocating, pressing in from all sides. My breath came in short, shallow gasps as I reached out, searching for something, anything, to ground me. The ground beneath my feet felt solid, but the air was cold, unnatural, as if I were standing in a place that didn’t belong to the living.My fingers twitched. Where the hell was I?I turned slowly, trying to make sense of my surroundings. There were no walls, no ceiling, just an endless void stretching in every direction. The silence was deafening, filling my ears with an eerie hum. My heart pounded.Then, I heard it.Footsteps.Soft, deliberate, approaching from the darkness. I reached for my gun, but I wasn’t carrying one. My fingers curled into a useless fist.And then—I saw her.My breath caught in my throat.“No…”She stepped forward, emerging from the dark like a ghost, her legs barely touching the ground. Her hair was exactly as I remembered—long, dark waves falling pa
Fernando’s POVThe air in the meeting room was thick with cigar smoke and tension. Rodger Holt sat to my left, his usual cocky smirk absent for once and his cold blue eyes scanned the room with distrust. Across from him, Nikolai Petrov leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. Santiago, always the most calm, adjusted his pristine cuffs, his expression unreadable beneath the dim chandelier light.I sat at the head of the table, fingers drumming against the polished surface, taking in the power dynamics before me. These were men who would slit a throat over a bad deal, men who did not fear death. But today, I needed them to fear me.I exhaled slowly and leaned forward.“We have a problem,” I began, my voice calm but filled with anger.Rodger raised an eyebrow. “What kind of problem?”I scanned the room, making sure every single one of them was paying attention.“The kind that could have turned into a war.”A flicker of interest passed over Nikolai’s face, but he said n
Michael’s POVThe garden was eerily quiet, the only sounds being the distant chirping of crickets and the soft rustle of leaves as the night breeze moved through the trees. I reached into my pocket, feeling the edges of the phone I had stolen earlier. This device had served its purpose, but now it was a liability. If the FBI managed to track it, they’d find me, and I couldn't afford that—not when I was finally within reach of my revenge.I hid near the fountain, my fingers tightening around the phone. The realization had fully sunk in now: I was an enemy of the FBI. The people I had once worked alongside were now hunting me. It should have felt like a betrayal, but it didn’t.I had made my choice.With a swift movement, I slammed the phone against the edge of the fountain. The screen cracked instantly, but I wasn’t done. I raised it again, smashing it with more force. I took a deep breath, grabbed the remnants, and threw them into the thick bushes nearby.No loose ends.I was ab
Michael’s POVThe night air had become dense, pressing down on my chest like a weight, but it wasn’t the cold that had my skin crawling. The very sight of Lucas shifted the balance. It was clear that he was here to add another layer of pressure, and when I felt Ashley stiffen beside me, I knew that this changed everything.Andrew’s gaze moved over to Lucas, and for the briefest moment, I see something like frustration flash across his face. But then, like a predator circling its prey, his lips curled into a slow, sinister smile. "Ah, so now we are of equal standing. How cute," he said, his voice dripping with condescension. He took a slow step forward, his gun still raised at me, and I could see his finger twitch on the trigger, eager for something, anything, to break the silence.I felt my muscles tighten, but I didn’t flinch. There was something about Andrew’s tone, something about it that almost made me laugh. Almost.But before I could say anything, Marlo cut in, his voice sh
Michael’s POVI glanced sideways at Ashley and Marlo, their hands steady on their weapons, having the same tension I felt."Michael," Damian began, his voice smooth, almost too calm for the situation, "You and your friends—you're done. This is over. You’ve got nowhere to run. The FBI will have you soon enough. You can’t keep fighting forever. Just give up." He lowered his voice slightly, as if he trying to lull us into submission. "It’s not worth it."I couldn’t help but laugh, a cold, humorless sound that echoed through the compound. "Is that really your big plan, Damian? You think I'm going to just roll over because you say so?" I took a step forward, making sure my gun stayed steady in my hands. "You’ve clearly forgotten who you’re dealing with."Damian’s lips curled into a smirk. "I haven’t forgotten a damn thing, Michael. I just think you’re too stubborn for your own good. You’ve lost. You’re outgunned, outmanned, and you’re running out of time. There’s no escape. Just hand you
Michael’s POVI got close enough to Damian and looked in disgust at the smile he had fixed on his face the moment he saw me."I'm here. Say what you want but after that, you're leaving" I said with a stern voice."I knew you would come out of hiding the moment you heard me call out to you" Damian attempted to come closer to me but I stepped back."You wouldn't want to do that, that's if you don't mind being shot" I said, my eyes narrowed. "It was stupid of you to have come out here.""I could say the same thing about you."Andrew swiftly came out of the shadows and the barrel of his gun pressed against my forehead like a cold whisper of death.He had moved so fast through the trees, making good use of the darkness to get close to me.The forest behind him seemed to go quiet in respect, like even nature didn’t want to interrupt this moment.But I knew his men were there, waiting. I didn't flinch. I didn’t move. I just stared at him.His eyes, sharp and gleaming with victory, drank in
Michael’s POVFernando looked like a corpse.I never thought I would feel anything for him beyond disgust, fury, and that burning ache for revenge—but now, watching him lie unconscious in this dimly lit room, something twisted inside my chest. It wasn’t forgiveness. It wasn’t pity. It was something uglier. More complicated.His chest barely rose beneath the sheet, his breathing shallow, mechanical, like his body had forgotten how to be alive.He was pale—unnaturally pale—like life had already started abandoning him.And still, I couldn’t let go of his hand.It was cold. Damp. Fragile. I remembered this same hand raised in arrogance, in violence, clenched into a fist as he spat cruel words at me. That same hand had pointed guns, killed people, and built the chaos we were drowning in.But right now, it wasn’t the hand of a monster. It was the hand of a dying man.I hated him. God, I hated him. But I didn’t want him to die like this.“You care about him now?” My unconscious mind asked
Andrew’s POV Night had wrapped itself like a shroud over the woods, casting eerie shadows between the tall trees. The air was filled with anticipation, thick and unmoving, as if nature itself was holding its breath. I could hear the loud sounds of Crickets chipping in the distance, an odd contrast to the tension that vibrated through my bones. The occasional rustle of leaves teased our ears snd made our minds work like machines as vsrious questions appeared on our heads.Was it the wind or movement? Every sound could be a threat. Every second, a reminder that time was slipping.We lay in silence, our bodies half-buried in the brush, our eyes fixed on the mansion positioned at the edge of the clearing. The looming building glared back at us like a fortress, its windows glowing faintly from within. Inside, Michael and his loyal few were holed up like cornered wolves, desperate and dangerous.Patience, I reminded myself. The moment we attacked would be the moment they expected us
Michael’s POV The smell of onions cooking in olive oil wrapped around me like a warm blanket. For a moment, just a brief moment, I let myself forget where we were, what was happening, and how much blood had already been spilled. The sound of the kitchen door opening pulled me out of my trance. Ashley leaned against the doorway, her arms folded. “Smells good,” she said, her voice soft but obvious with exhaustion. I glanced up, half-smiling as I stirred. “Figured it was time we ate something that didn’t taste like cardboard or fear.” She raised an eyebrow. “Is that what this is? A morale boost?” “Something like that,” I murmured. Ashley stepped in, rubbing the tension from the back of her neck as Mortis and Emilio followed behind her, dragging their tired bodies like the war had already been lost. Emilio sniffed the air and grinned. “Damn. Didn’t know you could cook.” I set the bowls on the table. “Survival skills.” Mortis slumped into a chair with a
Ashley's POV The wind carried a damp, earthy scent through the cracks in the battered front door as we pressed ourselves against it, trying to catch a glimpse through the narrow hole in the wood. I could barely see much — just the faint shimmer of light bouncing off someone's gun, the shape of bodies lurking in the scattered woods surrounding the old mansion. It felt too quiet, like the world itself was holding its breath.I exchanged a glance with Mortis, then Emilio. Marlo’s jaw was tight, his dark eyes focused on the woods as though sheer force of will alone could make our enemies appear.“It’s been fifteen minutes,” Mortis muttered, lowering his gun just an inch. “I think we’re in the clear. Maybe they gave up.”“Yeah,” Emilio chimed in. “Or maybe they’re regrouping. Either way, it’s gone quiet.”I let out a humorless laugh. “You think Andrew is the type to give up? He’s out there, watching. Waiting for us to screw up. That’s his favorite game.”Both Mortis and Emilio shot me
Andrew’s POVThe cold English air brushed against my skin as I tilted my head up to the second-story window. A dark smile went across my lips as I waited, watched to see that traitor's face.A second ago, Michael’s face had been there—staring down at me with that same infuriating calm he had always worn when things were going out of his control. And now… nothing.Good.Let him hide. Let them all scramble like rats in a sinking ship.This was my time to bring my enemies to their knees and I wasn’t going to stop until I have achieved my goal.I stepped back, scanning the old mansion ahead of us. The old Ramirez estate was barely holding itself together — cracked window glass, vine plants all over the walls, a run down compound that made it feel just like a building in a horror movie. A perfect hideout for cowards.I turned to my men, most of them hidden behind trees and old stone fences, their fingers twitching near their triggers. I didn’t have enough men for a full frontal attack.
Michael’s POVThe weight of Anabelle in my arms was heavier than it should have been. Not because she was heavy, she really wasn’t, but because every step I took felt like I was carrying the weight of everything I had been trying to beat. The past, the lies, the blood, the betrayals.Gunshots echoed outside like a twisted symphony, but I forced myself to focus.Her blood stained my shirt, the warm, sticky sensation reminding me she didn’t have much time if we didn’t act fast. And yet, even now, she was stubborn as hell.“You’ve been lying this whole damn time,” Anabelle said, her voice a weak but fierce whisper against my ear as I carried her up the stairs. “I knew it. I always knew there was something about you, Michael. And now, I’ll make sure Fernando knows the truth when he wakes up.”"That’s if you're still alive by then because I you keep talking, you're going to loose more blood" I said to shut her up but my plan didn't work."Don't you dare talk about me dying" she said ang