Falling for the enemy || 18+

CHAPTER 21 : PREDATOR

The night erupted into chaos.

The sharp crack of gunfire shattered the tense silence. Without thinking, I grabbed Bianca and pulled her behind a stack of shipping crates just as bullets pinged off the metal around us. My heart pounded, but my mind was clear-this was an ambush, and we were in the kill zone.

"Stay low!" I barked, pushing her farther behind the crates as I scanned the area. My men were returning fire, but the attackers had the upper hand. They were organized, efficient. This wasn't some random hit-this was a calculated assault. And that made me furious.

Bianca crouched behind me, her face pale but calm. She clutched a gun in her hand, but I wasn't sure if she'd ever needed to fire one in a situation like this. Not yet, at least. I fired back at one of the gunmen, catching him in the chest, but there were more of them-too many.

"We need to move," I said, my voice sharp with adrenaline. "They'll box us in if we stay here."

She nodded, her eyes hard. No fear. Just focus. I respected that. She wasn't like most people who would panic in a situation like this. She was Alessandro's daughter, after all, and that came with a certain level of resilience.

I led her, keeping low as we darted from cover to cover, the constant spray of bullets forcing us to keep moving. I could see shadows moving ahead-more of them. They had come prepared, and their goal was clear: take me out.

Not gonna happen.

Suddenly, a figure lunged at us from the darkness, knife flashing in the dim light. I stepped in front of Bianca, grabbed the man's wrist, and twisted it until I heard the snap of bone. He howled in pain, but I silenced him with a brutal punch to the face. He dropped like a stone, the knife clattering uselessly to the ground.

"Stay close," I growled, pulling Bianca along as we moved toward the nearest exit. But before we could make it, three more men appeared from the shadows, guns raised. They fired, and I pushed Bianca to the ground as I returned fire, hitting one of them square in the chest.

The second man came at me, swinging a heavy fist. I dodged, grabbed him by the throat, and slammed him against the metal crates. His body went limp before he even hit the ground. The third attacker hesitated, his gun shaking slightly. He wasn't ready for what he'd signed up for.

"Run while you still can," I snarled, and he bolted without a second thought.

I turned to Bianca, who had already taken cover behind another set of crates. Her gun was still raised, her breathing shallow but steady. She was handling this better than I expected.

"Are you okay?" I asked, my voice rough.

"I'm fine," she answered, her voice steady despite the chaos around us. "But who the hell are these guys?"

I didn't answer. I didn't need to. She knew as well as I.

She frowned and asked again "who are they?"

She knows.

I smirked.

By grabbing her arm, I pinned her in the wall. She didn't flinch. Just my type.

"I knew it was your plan." She said. Her voice steady.

I leaned in closer to her face, my eyes flickered in her lips before moving to her eyes.

"Smart." I said.

I suddenly felt a sting of pain in my leg.

She kicked me.

Her heels digged into my leg making my grip loosen around her. She took the opportunity and pushed me away.

"Not so fast" She replied.

My lips curved into a smirk, but the smirk was more like a smile.

I was impressed by her.

Very much drowned in her.

I love this woman.

Despite the circumstances.

"Now tell me why did you do that?" She said, her arms folding around her chest.

"Oh.. Do I need to tell you?" I said.

"Why not?" Her eyes we're still piercing in mine as she said it.

"Fine. I was just testing if you can make your own decisions. Or.. If you're just Alessandro's puppet."

"I am not his puppet."

"Probably." As I said this. Her eyes were filled with rage.

"You just wasted my 2 hours."

"1 hour and 23 minutes." I corrected making her angry.

"Fuck you, Eryx."

I wasted her 1 hour and 23 minutes.
But for me. She would light up a second with just by her presence.

I watched as she left.

I smiled and turned away to leave. But not before I turned around to glance at her one last time.