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𝐌𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬°°°Antonio’s world narrowed to the wet heat spreading across his chest. He looked down at Nevena’s face, hand pressing to her arm, but blood seeped between his fingers.He shoved her behind the nearest bridge support—rusted I-beam. Then he spun, drawing his concealed Glock in the same motion.“Hold fire! Hold—!” Breanna shouted, but it was too late. Fresh rounds chambered with a click.He shifted his weight, eyes meeting the three people who had just made the worst mistake of their lives. “You want Knuckles?” he said quietly. “Come and get me.”He fired three quick, precise shots. Vincenzo’s lead man dropped. Another staggered while Cesar hissed at his grazed shoulder.The shooting exploded in earnest, both the police and goons. When Antonio saw that the two forces were closing in sporadically, he scooped Nevena’s limp weight and vaulted the railing, hitting the river like a fist.On the bridge, the gunfire stuttered to confusion.Everyone rushed to the ra
𝐌𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐚'𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬°°° The first thin ray of dawn sliced the horizon just as Antonio stepped onto Otowi Bridge. Though he wasn't tired, Nevena’s constant, anxious chatter behind him had worn him thinner than any distance. “Are we close to the city now?” she asked. He didn’t answer, rather he slipped a hand into his pocket and retrieved his phone. He thumbed the screen alive and dialed Grinch's number. As soon as the line connected, she tipped her head forward, ear brushing his, eavesdropping childishly. He noticed but didn't rebuke her. “Grinch,” he said as soon as the receiver connected. “I’m heading for the border. Negotiate a pass for me” “Which border?” Luca's voice floated through, instead of Grinch's. “Thailand” Antonio switched the phone to the other ear. “I will cross Otowi and cut through Sangre de Cristo. That's the route.” “Keep breathing. I’ll grease the wheels.” he assured and killed the line. ----------- Back in the shadowed ship, Lucas took a long
𝐌𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬°°°She stared at the bodies a moment longer, then sagged against him in relief. In the darkness, blood looked like shadow and she didn’t know the difference and was too exhausted to question it.Antonio scooped her up carefully —one arm under her knees, the other cradling her back. She weighed nothing.“Hold on to me,” he whispered.She did, arms looping around his neck, face tucked into the curve of his throat.Behind them, Slime’s shallow breathing gurgled, and Breanna's net closed in faster.He carried her south through the pines, careful of the bruise blooming across her ribs where his elbow had caught her in the dark. Though guilt sat heavy in his chest, he buried it deep. There would be time for apologies later— when he figured out how to get them out safely.The abandoned hunting cabin finally faced them five minutes later, a squat silhouette against the treeline. He shifted her weight to one arm, thumbed the biometric lock, and shouldered the door
𝐌𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬°°°Antonio’s boots pounded the earth of the north woods, his breath fogging in sharp bursts under the moonlit sky.The mansion was miles behind him now, yet he utilized every second to push farther.His phone vibrated in his pocket—insistent, frantic. He yanked it out mid-stride, thumb smearing blood from a cut across the screen.One new text from Grinch.He ducked behind a fallen pine, chest heaving, and hit callback on Nevena’s number instead of opening the message thread.“Come on, come on…” he muttered with each ring as the call went straight to voicemail.He stared at the screen until it dimmed, then he killed the backlight.There's no point in calling again. Her abductors had surely triangulated her phone by now.He glanced at his compass watch and hastily broke from the treeline, scanning the dark for headlights— police or otherwise. Only a thinning forest lay ahead.“I need to get to Nevena.”He veered left, following a faint path until the silhoue
𝐌𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬°°°Grinch didn’t deny it. He grabbed Sophia by the collar and pulled her flush against him, crushing his mouth onto hers in a bruising kiss— sealing her vision and stealing the angle she needed to see Antonio’s shadow vanishing into the treeline.For a moment—too long— Sophia lost seconds, she forgot where she was, the war breathing down her neck and then reciprocated the savor.“Sophia!” Breanna’s voice cracked like a whip.She jerked back at the frantic tone, embarrassment flooding her face. “He—he initiated it.” “No” Breanna shrugged but didn't slow down or look back, “Seeing how comfortable you are, this isn’t the first time.”“Ma’am!” Sophia's cheeks burned.Breanna paused at the edge of the driveway, eyes sharp. “I’m starting to wonder what else you’ve been hiding.”She motioned the squad forward. “Continue the hunt. Full perimeter. Sophia Kendrick— stand down. Get ready for the interrogation you’ve got coming.”“I'm sorry —please not a query.” “I
𝐌𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬°°°Grinch’s gaze flicked to him, then back to the phone. “What's wrong?”A muscle ticked in Antonio's jaw, but he couldn't disclose a thing. “Handle here— I need to be somewhere else.”“No,” Grinch objected, stepping closer, gun fastened behind his back. “At this rate we can't afford to be separated. If it's more urgent, we handle it first.”“Just listen and do what I ask you to do” Antonio barked, unbuttoning his shirt.Grinch swivel his head in submission, “Reckon that” But then, the entrance door screamed open, and Antonio aimed squarely at the proximity.Sophia entered to their surprise and Grinch skeptically retreated from pulling his gun out. “POLICE—DROP THE WEAPON!”Antonio didn’t flinch.He gave a humorless breath, and lowered his gun low at his thigh, “Take care of her”Grinch stepped half a pace forward. “Easy—”“DOWN! BOTH OF YOU!” She interjected, lifting her rifle half an inch.“Sophie listen to me” Grinch coaxed, voice lowering to a surpr







