Lilith

Captive and Defiant

Marcos pov.........

Once we were all back home, the tension was palpable. Leo was visibly relieved to see Aurora safe but the news about Lilith hit him hard, you could almost see his heart squeeze in his chest. We'd tried everything to find her, scoured every camera feed, but it was as if she'd vanished into thin air. The wiped cameras added an eerie silence to our frustration.

Just then, Aurora started to stir, wincing as she held her head. She seemed disoriented, her eyes squinting as she tried to focus on the faces hovering anxiously around her.

"Hey, hey, you're safe," Leo quickly comforted her, pulling her into a tight hug. But Aurora's eyes darted around the room, searching.

"Where's Lilith?" Her voice cracked, panic seeping through.

We all exchanged looks, the kind of looks that carried bad news. "Lilith's been taken," I finally said, the words feeling heavy in the air.

Aurora's face fell, her eyes clouded with confusion and fear, then something clicked. "The Russians," she whispered, almost to herself, as if recalling a distant memory.

"The Russians?" Leo's grip loosened a bit, his voice laced with both hope and dread. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she nodded, her voice steadier but strained. "One of them had a tattoo, the Russian mafia symbol."

Guilt washed over her features. "I should've reacted faster," she murmured, her gaze dropping.

"It's not on you," I reassured quickly, trying to lift some of the burden off her shoulders. "We're going to figure this out, okay? We're going to get her back." The room was filled with nods of agreement, everyone's resolve hardening at the thought of what needed to be done next.

..............Salvatore pov ...............................

I stood outside of the warehouse in Russia, my heart pounding with determination. Lilith, was trapped within its confines, held captive by the Russian mafia. Time was running out, and I couldn't afford to waste a single moment.

" Leo, sei a posto?" (Leo, are you in position?) I spoke into the small earpiece nestled in my ear.

"SÌ"(yes) Leo's voice crackled over the line. He was inside the prison to execute our rescue mission. He insisted it had to be him

"La cella di Lilith si trova nell'ala di isolamento, la terza a destra"
(Lilith's cell is in the solitary confinement wing, third on the right) I instructed, my voice tense with urgency.

With a deep breath, he slipped through the shadows, his senses on high alert as he navigated the labyrinthine corridors of the hideout. Every step brought Leo closer to Lilith, closer to freeing her from the clutches of her captors.

As he approached the security checkpoint, he spotted two guards, their attention momentarily diverted. Seizing the opportunity, he swiftly incapacitated them, ensuring they wouldn't raise the alarm.

"Checkpoint clear," leo whispered into the mic, my heart pounding in my chest as I continued to guide Leo towards Lilith's cell.

Lilith looked up, her eyes wide with surprise and hope as Leo unlocked the door.

"Leo?" she breathed, disbelief and gratitude shining in her gaze.

"Let's get you out of here," Leo said, his voice steady as he gestured for her to follow.

Together, they retraced Leo's steps through the prison, the sound of alarms echoing in the distance as the Russian mafia began to realize their prisoner was escaping.

"They know. Salvatore, we need a new exit strategy," Leo spoke into his own mic, urgency lacing his words.

"Already on it," I replied, my hands tightening on the steering wheel of the black van parked nearby.