SARAHCold water splashed onto my face, shocking me awake. I jolted up, gasping, my head pounding like a drum. The memory of their hands all over me, groping and squeezing, played in my mind like a horror movie on repeat. I took a deep breath, trying to stabilize myself, blinking away the water and tears."Rise and shine," one of the goons sneered, the one who had thrown the water. I glared at him, pure hatred burning in my eyes."Fuck you," I spat, my voice shaky but defiant."Watch your tongue, bitch," he snapped back, his face hardening. "You're in no position to mouth off."I ignored the throbbing in my head and focused on him, rage boiling inside me. "You think you can just treat me like this? You think you can get away with it?"He laughed, a cold, cruel sound. "Honey, we already have. No one's coming to save you. You’re ours to do with as we please."The way he said it made my skin crawl. I wanted to scream, to fight, but I knew it would only get me hurt again. I forced myself
SARAHI sat there, stunned, unable to process what Viktor had just said. “What do you mean, use me to kill Marco?” My voice trembled, a mix of confusion and fear. Viktor’s cold laughter echoed in the room, sending chills down my spine.“You heard me right,” he said, leaning back in his chair, his eyes glinting with malice. “Marco took something precious from me, something so valuable that I’ve dedicated my entire life to hunting him down.”I stared at him, trying to make sense of his words. “What did he take from you?”Viktor’s expression shifted, a shadow of pain flickering across his face. “A long time ago, Marco and I were on opposite sides of a business deal. It was supposed to be straightforward, just another transaction in our line of work. But Marco, being the ruthless bastard he is, decided he wanted more. He wanted it all.”He paused, his jaw tightening as he relived the memory. “I had a family back then. A wife and a little girl, Eva. My wife, Lena, she was my rock, my every
SARAHViktor walked back in, leaned against the wall, a smug smile playing on his lips. “You really don’t understand how important you are to Marco, do you, Sarah?”I glared at him, my mind racing with fear and confusion. “Marco doesn’t care about anyone but himself.”He chuckled, shaking his head. “Oh, you poor, naive girl. Do you really think Marco marrying you was just a coincidence?”I frowned, the doubt creeping in. “What do you mean? Of course it was. He needed a wife for his image, for his business. It was all a facade.”Viktor’s eyes gleamed with a predatory light. “You’re wrong. Marco loves you more than you can imagine. He would comb to the ends of the earth to find you.”I shook my head vehemently, refusing to believe his words. “No, that’s not true. Marco is a monster. He doesn’t know how to love. He’s used me, hurt me. He can’t love me.”“Is that so?” Viktor’s voice was laced with mockery. “Then why do you think he’s been so relentless in his search for you? Why do you t
MARCOI paced back and forth in the cyber room, the soft hum of the machines around me doing nothing to calm my nerves. The glow of the monitors cast an eerie light, making the room feel more like a prison than a high-tech command center. I rotated a small pocket knife in my hand, the familiar weight grounding me, if only a little.“Damn it,” I muttered to myself. “How could I let this happen? How did I lose her?” My voice echoed in the room, the frustration clear. “I should have tightened security more around the house. I should have seen this coming.”I couldn’t shake the image of Sarah from my mind. The thought of her in Viktor’s hands made my blood boil. I stopped pacing and slammed the knife into the table, the blade sticking out at an angle.“Viktor,” I growled. The name tasted like poison on my tongue. I closed my eyes, remembering our last encounter. I had spared his life then, thinking it was a mercy. A weakness. And now that same weakness had come back to hurt me, to hurt Sa
MARCO: The private armory room buzzed with the sound of guns being loaded and tactical gear being secured. The metallic clinks and clicks echoed around the room, blending with the quiet murmur of my men discussing strategies. Each one of them was focused, their faces etched with determination. This wasn’t just another mission; this was personal.I moved among them, checking in on their preparations. “Remember, no slip up guys,” I said, my voice firm but low. “This is about sending a message to Viktor and anyone else who thinks they can mess with us.”Tony was adjusting his bulletproof vest. He glanced up at me and nodded. “We’re ready, boss. We’ve got your back.”I gave him a tight smile. “Good. We’re going in fast and hard. No mistakes.”Mikey, the new guy, looked up from loading his rifle, his hands trembling slightly. “Boss, what if Viktor has backup? What if this is a trap?”I walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Listen, Mikey. Viktor thinks he has the upper hand b
MARCO“Lay low and blend in,” I ordered my men, my voice low but firm. “Take out anyone you see. Shoot on sight. I’m not losing any of you to some lousy thug.”The men nodded, their faces set with determination. “We’ll stay safe, boss,” one of them said. “You watch your back too.”I gave a short nod, watching as they melted into the darkness, their forms disappearing into the night. The silence was soon broken by the sound of gunshots echoing through the air.Carlos and I moved forward, keeping low. I spotted a couple of Viktor’s men ahead and raised my gun, shooting them down with precise shots. Carlos glanced at me, a smirk on his face. “That left hand of yours doesn’t miss a shot, does it?”I ignored his comment, focusing on the task at hand. We moved on, taking down more of Viktor’s men as we advanced. Each shot was clean, each move calculated. We were getting closer to Sarah, but the path was littered with bodies.Suddenly, more of Viktor’s men appeared, surrounding us. I fired a
MARCOCarlos and I were on a roll, taking down Viktor’s men one after another. The adrenaline pumped through my veins, sharpening my senses. Each man who fell was a step closer to getting Sarah back.Carlos, always the joker, couldn’t resist making light of the situation. “Hey Marco, let’s make it interesting. Whoever gets the most kills buys the drinks tonight.”I shot him a look, trying to stay focused. “Carlos, now’s not the time for games. Keep your head in the fight.”He shrugged, not losing his grin. “Just trying to lighten the mood, boss. But fine, let’s keep it professional.”We moved through the base, systematically taking down anyone who crossed our path. The tension was thick, but I couldn’t afford to lose my cool. Not when we were so close.Finally, we reached the front of the building where Viktor was holding Sarah. I could almost feel her presence, just beyond those walls. One more push, and she’d be safe.As we took another step forward, a sharp crack pierced the air. C
SARAHI sat there in the quiet room, my mind swirling with everything that had happened. The chaos, the fear, the hope—I couldn’t wrap my head around it all. For a moment, I let myself get lost in my thoughts, trying to piece it all together.Did Marco really come to save me? It seemed unreal, like something out of a movie. I couldn’t believe he had fought through all those men just to get to me. My heart raced at the memory of him bursting in, looking like a force of nature. How did I get so lucky?“Is this all a dream?” I whispered to myself, almost afraid that speaking it out loud would shatter the illusion. I looked around the room, trying to find something that made sense.My thoughts drifted back to when Viktor had me, the terror I felt. I never thought I’d see Marco again. But he came, didn’t he? He came and saved me. Why would he risk everything for me? Did he really care that much?I shook my head, trying to clear the fog of confusion. “Why, Marco?” I muttered. “Why would you
MARCOThe air in the room crackled with tension as I leveled the gun at Danzo, my finger firm against the trigger. He took a step back, his eyes darting between me and the scattered bodies of his men. For a second, I thought I saw fear, but it vanished just as quickly, replaced by that damn smirk he always wore, like he still had the upper hand.“It’s over for you, Danzo,” I said, my voice steady despite the adrenaline pumping through me. “You might want to think twice before doing anything stupid.”He scoffed, a dry, humorless sound. His hand twitched near his side, hovering too close to the gun strapped there.“I mean it!” I barked, raising my voice. “You even so much as look at that gun, and you’ll die here, right now. No last words. No bargaining. Just done.”Danzo froze for a heartbeat, his hand still dangerously close to his weapon. “You don’t have it in you, Marco,” he sneered. “You think you’re the tough one, don’t you? You think you’re the hero in all of this?”“Shut up.” My
MARCOThe sound of gunfire outside was getting closer, louder. Each shot echoed like a drumbeat of inevitability, and I could see the panic setting in on Danzo’s face. His eyes darted around the room as though searching for an escape that wasn’t there.“You hear that, Danzo?” I said, leaning back in my chair. My wrists were still tied, but my voice was steady. “That’s the sound of your grand plan crumbling. Everything you set up here? It’s falling apart. And you’re dying here today.”Danzo’s head snapped toward me, his jaw tightening. For a second, he looked like he was going to lunge at me, but he held back. Instead, he pulled a walkie-talkie from his belt, his fingers gripping it so tightly his knuckles turned white.“Status!” he barked into the device, pacing in tight circles like a cornered animal. “What’s going on out there?”There was a pause on the other end, filled with static and the faint sound of chaos—shouting, gunfire, something heavy crashing to the ground. Finally, a vo
MARCO The ropes around my wrists burned as I strained against them, my jaw tight enough to crack a tooth. Danzo paced back and forth like a predator toying with its prey, his smirk wide and arrogant. His voice dripped with satisfaction, every word landing like a calculated blow. “You really don’t get it, do you?” he said, pausing to glance at me. “All this… it’s personal, Marco. You made it personal the moment you threw me to the wolves.” I stared him down, refusing to let the venom in his words show any effect. “You think I’m afraid of you?” “Oh, I don’t need you to be afraid. Not yet, anyway,” he said, laughing softly. “But you should be. You always underestimated me, Marco. Always thought I’d stay in your shadow, didn’t you?” I said nothing, focusing instead on Sarah, who sat just a few feet away, bound and trembling. Her eyes met mine, and the fear in them sliced through me like a blade. Danzo followed my gaze and chuckled darkly. “Ah, yes. The princess. Don’t worry, Ma
MARCOThe goons gathered my weapons with smug satisfaction, tossing them onto the floor like trophies. My knife. My Glock. The backup pistol. Each piece felt like a part of me being stripped away. I clenched my jaw as the masked man stooped to pick up my gun. He held it up to the dim light, turning it over in his hand like he’d just found buried treasure.“Nice piece,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he inspected the setup. “Who’s your plug, Marco? This stuff’s top-tier. Custom job? Or do you just know the right people?”I didn’t respond, glaring at him in silence. My hands itched to grab it back, to feel the weight of it in my palm, but my wrists were bound tightly behind my back.“Not much of a talker, are you?” he continued, pacing slowly in front of me. He raised the gun and mimed aiming it, letting out a low whistle. “Damn. This feels good. Might keep it. Hope you don’t mind.”I didn’t take the bait. Instead, I focused on what they hadn’t found—the tiny chip in my boo
MARCOThe silence inside the narrow hallway was almost unbearable. The dim, flickering light above me buzzed faintly, casting eerie shadows that danced along the walls. My boots clicked softly on the metal floor as I moved further in, my breaths shallow and controlled. Every step felt heavier than the last, each one carrying me deeper into uncertainty.“Petrov,” I whispered, pressing a finger to the mic in my ear. “Petrov, can you hear me?”Nothing. Just static.I paused, my heart thudding harder as the realization hit me. The connection was dead. Whether it was deliberate or accidental, I was on my own now.“Dammit,” I muttered under my breath, scanning the hallway for any sign of movement. My hand instinctively drifted toward the gun hidden beneath my jacket. I didn’t pull it out yet, but just feeling its presence steadied me a little. Whatever was waiting for me here, I wasn’t about to face it unarmed.The hallway stretched further ahead, leading to an open door on the left. The sh
MARCOThe night air clung to me like a heavy cloak, thick with tension and the metallic scent of salt from the nearby docks. As I stepped out of the car, the first thing I did was adjust the mic in my ear. Petrov’s faint voice buzzed briefly in the connection, a reminder that I wasn’t entirely alone in this. But still, the silence surrounding me felt absolute, broken only by the distant hum of machinery and the soft crunch of gravel under my boots.My hand hovered close to my side, grazing the cold steel of the gun tucked under my jacket. I didn’t draw it, not yet, but the feel of it was a small comfort. The shipyard was a maze of shadows and towering containers, each one a potential hiding place. My eyes darted left, then right, sweeping for movement. Nothing. Not yet.“Marco, can you hear me?” Petrov’s voice crackled in my ear, low but clear.I pressed the mic lightly. “Loud and clear.”“Good,” he replied. “We’ve got eyes on the perimeter. Cameras are feeding us everything in real t
MARCOThe room was silent except for the smooth metallic sound of zippers being undone as Dimitri revealed his collection. The bag laid open on the table like a treasure chest—polished steel and black carbon shining under the dim light. Dimitri, ever the perfectionist, straightened the weapons out with precision, each gun lined up like soldiers ready for inspection.“Don Marco,” Dimitri began, his voice low and steady, “everything here is the best of the best. Tuned to your specifications. You know me—I don’t do sloppy.”I stepped forward, running my hand along the cold steel of a semi-automatic. It felt good in my hand, the weight just right, balanced and deadly. “Let’s see what you’ve got,” I said, cocking the gun to feel its mechanism. Smooth. No drag.Dimitri’s lips quirked into the faintest smile. “Try it out. The recoil on that one is practically non-existent. It’s custom-built for speed and precision. The kind of weapon that doesn’t just take a man down—it sends a message.”I r
MARCOI set the phone down slowly, feeling its cold weight in my hand as the call ended. The finality of it pressed down on me like a thick fog—heavy, unnerving. He had confirmed my resignation. He’d told me where to pick Sarah up. But none of it felt right, like waking up from a bad dream only to realize you’re still stuck in it. The silence in the room was too still, too loud, broken only by the steady, muted breaths of Tony and Petrov beside me. They waited, both of them watching me closely, and I forced myself to take a deep breath, to clear the swirl of unease that kept nagging at the back of my mind.Tony was the first to break the silence, leaning back in his chair with that usual smirk—half-reassuring, half-infuriating. “See? I told you this would happen.” He stretched his arms out, almost too casual, too satisfied. “First things first—Sarah is safe, Marco. She’s alive, which is a damn good factor in all this.” He paused, raising a brow. “Now? Now it’s our turn. Time to hit th
SARAHI was too numb to resist as Danzo’s men closed in around me, each rough hand on my arm or shoulder pushing me forward. The small spark of defiance I’d clung to, the one that had gotten me this far, was all but extinguished now, buried under the weight of failure. I couldn’t bring myself to look at Danzo. But I could feel his gaze, that amused, twisted satisfaction radiating off him.Once they brought me back to the same sterile room and practically threw me onto the soft bed, I let out a strangled, defeated breath. The warmth of the sheets felt mocking now, a reminder of my own foolish hope just minutes ago.One of Danzo’s men shoved my shoulders down, forcing me back into the bed. His grip was merciless, his eyes indifferent as he strapped me down with the restraints I’d worked so hard to free myself from before. I bit down hard on my lip, tasting the faint metallic tang of blood. It grounded me, reminded me I was still alive, for whatever that was worth.Danzo strolled in casu