His Hidden Treasure (Completed)

Forty-Four

Zephyr's heart raced in his chest as he strained to hear any signs of Nila's voice. But all that filled his ears were shuffling and muffled noises, confirming his suspicions about who had taken his wife. He wasted no time, quickly sending orders to Luca and his men to get the car ready. The urgency in his movements was fueled by a potent mix of fear and determination.

As they prepared to leave, Zephyr activated a trace on Nila's call, hoping it would lead them to her location before it was too late. "Stay with me, mia amore," he whispered into the phone, praying she could somehow hear him.

Arriving at the car, he joined Luca in the vehicle. "What's going on, fratello?" he asked.

"Nila called," Zephyr replied grimly, the weight of those words heavy on his tongue. "I've got a trace going, but we're working with a thirty-mile radius. We need to move fast."

There was no time to waste as they sped through the dimly lit streets. With every passing moment, Zephyr's anxiety grew, knowing that Nila's life hung in the balance.

But he refused to give in to fear. Giving instructions to Luca, he followed the signal from Nila's phone, which was still turned on but ominously silent.

"Turn right here!" Zephyr urgently directed as they approached a narrow alley between two towering warehouses. It was dark and foreboding, but the ping from Nila's phone was insistent; this was where she was being held captive.

Luca slammed his foot on the brake, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel tightly. The car skidded to a halt, causing a deafening squeal of tires against asphalt to reverberate through the silent alley. The brothers shared a brief, determined glance before swiftly exiting the vehicle.

Zephyr's hand instinctively flew to his gun as they surveyed their surroundings. The dim lamps scattered throughout the alley cast long, ominous shadows around them. With caution, they made their way toward the building that matched the ping's location on Zephyr's device. It loomed before them like a foreboding tombstone in an abandoned graveyard, its doors creaking eerily open. The symbol of an eagle, the exact one Orillia had drawn, was menacingly graffitied across the rusting metallic surface.

Zephyr signaled for their men to surround the building, knowing that if Diego and his men were inside, it would not end well for them. "On my mark," he whispered to Luca, their eyes conveying unspoken understanding. They sprang forward in unison, their boots crunching on the gravel beneath them.

Inside, the warehouse was a ghost town - eerily quiet and painfully empty. Shadows danced and played tricks on their eyes as they cautiously navigated through the maze of deserted crates and discarded machinery.

"Check the back," Zephyr commanded Luca, keeping his gun raised and his senses heightened for any sign of movement. Luca nodded, disappearing into the darkness with two men. Zephyr continued down the main corridor, his heart pounding against his ribcage like a desperate war drum. He knew they were running out of time.

Room after room proved to be empty except for discarded furniture and debris. Panic began to claw at him as the building seemed to grow darker and more deserted with each step. But then, in the corner of a seemingly abandoned hallway, he saw it - a phone lying on the ground, still turned on and confirming Nila's presence. His eyes then fell upon a pool of blood nearby and a trail leading away.

"Nila," he breathed, his fear solidifying into cold dread. He followed the trail through more empty rooms and discarded furniture until it led him to a dimly lit room at the end of a long hallway.

Zephyr kicked open the door, his weapon raised and ready. His heart nearly stopped when he took in the sight before him. Nila lay sprawled on the floor, her clothes torn and stained with blood. A scarlet stain was spreading from her side and her unnaturally pale skin contrasted starkly against the darkness of her hair and the pool of blood around her.