Chapter 6: Cristian

6

CRISTIAN

T hese bastards would all die for this stunt. You didn't take from us. How dare they think they could do this, steal my brother away and then try to make fucking demands. They were already living on borrowed time from the second they stole the pair of them.

The moment they'd even thought to take Scarlet from me.

I grinned as I aimed the grenade launcher at the next building in their stupid little compound. I knew exactly where Scarlet and Julian were being held, so all these other buildings, they were getting blown sky-high.

I launched another, the deafening boom shaking the earth as the building exploded before me, our SWAT men swarming the main building and taking down every damn prick who tried to stop us.

Tyrone was being smart, he'd hung back, coordinating this attack from a safe location. Not me, I couldn't do that shit. Not with what was at stake. I wanted to be in the field, blowing shit up, spilling blood on this battlefield they'd set for us.

I'd show them just what happened when you fucked with the Silvestris. When you fucked with me.

I fired off another shot, whooping as another building exploded, sending men scattering like field mice.

I'd have to commend Julian for loving his cat too much and having the fancy tracking chip put into the feisty feline. Thanks to Tyrone remembering that, we'd found them with ease. We'd wondered if they'd have lost him or tossed him, but sure enough, his chip had pinged at a known compound of the Russos, and we were able to get an exact location so I knew which building not to blow to high heaven.

"Package located in good order, moving for extraction." The words came over my radio statically, and a rush of relief swept through me. They'd been found alive. Good. I wouldn't say the same for the rest of these bastards.

"We can retreat," one of my men called out.

"No. We're not done here until everyone is dead," I barked. They took my little kitten from me, and my brother.

"Sir, you should take cover," one of my men barked as I moved to fire off another round into another building.

I just scoffed at the absurd suggestion.

I had my bullet-proof vest on, that was good enough. Besides, there was something about being out in the thick of it that truly made me feel alive.

There was nothing like the fragility of life, the gunfire and screams made you feel alive, the adrenaline coursing through your veins as your life teetered in the balance.

I'd wanted us to drop the damn tank in here that I'd bought a few years back, but Tyrone had said a tank being airlifted over the city was going to cause too much stir, so I'd gone with the grenade launcher .

There was just something about things going boom that made my heart sing.

For that, they deserved to die.

"Sir, they've got Romeo over here. Aldo's remains have been located by one of the buildings," another man rushed up to me, the words rushing out as he tried to catch his breath.

Ah, Romeo. I'd have to take my rage out on him since Aldo, his brother, was dead. He'd been sighted at the ice-cream place, so I'd wanted to personally make him pay. Although it seemed I'd accidentally blown him up.

Such a shame. I'd just have to take out my fury on the remaining heir of the Russo family.

"Great, take me to him," I ordered as I fired off my final shot and handed the empty launcher to one of my men.

I still had my two handguns holstered, but I unsheathed my knife, knowing exactly what I intended to do to pretty little Romeo Russo.

I followed my handful of men to where another bunch of them had a few hostages on their knees, guns aimed at them.

And the foul mouth-breather was right there, a waste of fucking oxygen.

"Romeo, Romeo," I clucked, and he bared his teeth at me, his hands bound behind him, blood trickling down from a wound above his eye. "You took some very valuable things from me."

"You fucking Silvestris think you own this city, you're nothing but insane freaks," Romeo snapped. "My father will kill you for this, he'll?—"

He shrieked as I plunged my blade through his eye, making sure not to bury it too deep and kill the bastard. His eye oozed down his face, but I didn't relent as I yanked it out and drove it into his other eye, holding his head in place as he howled with agony .

I stabbed him repeatedly, driving the blade into his chest and abdomen, reminding myself of where his organs were. I'd prolong his death just enough to satisfy me.

It wasn't until he was gurgling blood and my vest was covered in splatters of it that I finally stood up.

"Make sure he's dead before we leave. If not, tie him to the back of the car and drag him," I stated as I eyed the other hostages, all men loyal to the Russos. "No survivors."

I moved along the line of men, slicing their throats, enjoying the feel of their flesh flaying open, the blood spewing forth as they choked on their last breaths.

I'd destroy our enemies, tear apart all those who even thought of hurting those who were important to me.

Gouge the eyes out of any man who so much as looked at Scarlet with lust.

My radio crackled as an explosion went off, and we all turned in the direction of it.

"We've been hit," a voice croaked over the radio. "Package hit."

My chest tightened, a sliver of an unknown emotion snaking through me as I took off in the direction of the boom.

Fear.

I tossed my knife on the ground, yanking out my guns and firing as men appeared before me. My own team were shouting as they raced after me, gunning down the Russos trying to stop me as I flew across that field like my life depended on it.

Not Julian, not Scarlet.

Sickness swirled in my gut as I raced across the open area, gunfire raining down on me. I hissed as a bullet struck my bare shoulder, another grazing my thigh, but I didn't stop as I fired off my own shots, hurtling towards the armored van meant to get my brother and Scarlet to safety .

I rounded a corner, the vehicle coming into view, having been blown onto its side.

And Russo men were headed right for it.

I fired at them, throwing myself behind the cover of the vehicle, spying the driver dragging himself through the smashed windshield.

My team rained bullets on the Russos moving in, and I scrambled around the back of the van, yanking the doors open.

A pile of my men were groaning and trying to right themselves, but my gaze settled on Julian, who was holding a terrified Kenny as he checked Scarlet over.

Who was not moving.

"Julian!" I lurched into the vehicle, climbing through the bodies to reach the pair of them.

"I'm fine, she's still breathing," Julian stated as I reached him.

"Let's get you guys safe." I scooped Scarlet up, knowing there was no time to over-think moving her right now, not while we were in the thick of this.

We clambered out of the van, my men still firing into the swarming Russos as I tried to find an opening for us to escape.

Too bad we were surrounded, and I swore as the last two men of my team were gunned down.

This wasn't looking good at all.