Page 82 of Mafia Pregnancy

The gun at her temple shifts slightly as the man holding it adjusts his grip, and she seizes the moment to add quickly, “Don’t do it. He won’t let us live either way.” The words have barely left her mouth when Luca appears in the frame and strikes her across the temple with the butt of his gun. Her head snaps to the side, and blood trickles from the impact site before the call returns to audio only. “That’s the consequence of her defiance, requiring a different punishment. If you don’t surrender, I’ll shoot her.” The call ends abruptly.

The rage that floods through me is so pure and violent I have to grip the door handle of the SUV to keep from putting my fist through something. The image of that gun striking Danielle’s head will be burned into my memory for the rest of my life, however long that might be.

“Boss?” Andrei’s voice seems to come from very far away. “Orders?”

I take three deep breaths and force my mind back into tactical mode, despite every instinct screaming at me to charge the house immediately and kill everyone inside with my bare hands. Danielle’s warning was clear. Luca doesn’t plan to honor any agreement we might make, which means this was never about negotiation but elimination.

“Full assault.” My voice sounds calm and steady despite the fury burning in my chest. “No prisoners except Luca if possible. Everyone else is expendable.”

“Rules of engagement?”

“Shoot to kill. Anyone holding a weapon in that house dies.” I check my sidearm one final time and open the SUV door. “If Luca has hurt her beyond what we saw in that video, I want him alive so I can take my time ending him.”

The next ten minutes pass in a frenzy as my teams move into position around the target house. Snipers take overwatch positions on neighboring rooftops while assault teams prepare to breach from multiple directions simultaneously. The goal is to overwhelm Luca’s defenses quickly enough to prevent him from using Danielle as a human shield.

I’m positioned with the primary breach team that will enter through the front of the house while secondary teams hit the back entrance and potential basement access points. Every man knows his role and understands the priority is extracting Danielle alive while eliminating all hostile resistance.

My radio crackles with confirmation that all teams are in position. “Go in thirty seconds on my mark,” I transmit to all units. “Remember, the hostage is pregnant. Use appropriate caution with explosive devices and automatic weapons fire.”

I count down from thirty while studying the front entrance and calculating the most efficient path to wherever Luca is holding Danielle. The basement seems most likely based on the concrete walls visible in the video call, which means I need to locate and secure access to the lower level quickly.

“Mark.” The word triggers simultaneous explosions as breaching charges detonate at three separate entry points.

I’m through the front door before the smoke clears, moving through rooms as the smell of acrid gunpowder fill my nose. The first men I encounter raise weapons in my direction and die before they can fire a shot. Their positions suggest they were waiting for exactly this kind of assault, which confirms Luca’s preparation and confidence.

The house erupts into a battleground as my teams engage Luca’s defenders throughout multiple rooms and levels. Automatic weapons fire echoes through the structure while men shout commands and warnings in languages I recognize and some I don’t. The sound of combat is familiar and almost comforting compared to the silence that preceded it.

I clear the main floor systematically, checking every room and closet for signs of Danielle or access to the basement level. Most of Luca’s men are focused on defensive positions rather than offensive action, which suggests they’re buying time for something rather than trying to actively eliminate my forces, at least for the moment.

A staircase near the kitchen leads downward into what appears to be a finished basement. I descend carefully, weapon ready and senses hyperalert for any sign of ambush or trap. The concrete walls and fluorescent lighting match what I saw in the video call, which means I’m getting close to Danielle’s location.

The basement contains several rooms connected by a narrow hallway that limits movement and creates perfect chokepoints for defensive positions. I advance slowly, checking each doorway while listening for any sound that might indicate where Danielle is being held.

A muffled scream from somewhere ahead makes my blood run cold. The sound is unmistakably female and full of pain or terror, which means Luca is either hurting Danielle or threatening to hurt her in ways designed to break my concentration.

I reach a heavy metal door at the end of the hallway just as someone attacks me from behind. The impact drives me forward against the door frame, but I manage to turn and grab my attacker before he can bring his weapon to bear. We struggle for several seconds before I drive my elbow into his solar plexus hard enough to double him over, then finish him with a knee strike to the temple that drops him unconscious. I put two bullets in his temple to be sure he doesn’t get up again.

The metal door is locked, but I hear voices beyond it now. Luca’s calm tone alternates with Danielle’s frightened responses, though I can’t make out specific words through the heavy barriers. She sounds a little slurred, indicating she probably has a concussion from Luca striking her with the pistol.

Quelling my rage and the animalistic urge to pound my way through a metal door, I examine the lock mechanism and realize it’s designed to be opened from the inside rather than breached from the outside. Kicking it down would take time I don’t have and make enough noise to alert everyone in the room to my presence.

Instead, I knock on the door twice and wait. Luca is probably expecting me, but maybe he’ll think I’m one of his men. The locks disengage after several seconds, and the door opens to reveal Luca standing behind Danielle with a gun pressed to the base of her skull. She’s still bound to the chair, and her eyes are open, but there’s fresh blood on her temple where he struck her during the video call.

“Radmir.” Luca’s smile is genuinely pleased. “I was beginning to think you might have decided discretion was the better part of valor after all.”

“Let her go.” I keep my weapon trained on him while calculating angles and distances. “Your fight is with me, not her.”

“My fight is with everything you represent, which includes the woman carrying your child and the future you’re trying to build with her.” Luca’s grip on his weapon remains steady despite the tactical situation. “However, I’m willing to resolve this like gentlemen if you’re interested in that approach.”

I narrow my eyes. “What do you have in mind?”

“Hand-to-hand combat. No weapons or backup. It’ll be just you and me settling our differences the way men did before lawyers and politicians complicated everything.” Luca’s expression grows more serious. “Winner takes control of your organization and decides what happens to the lovely Ms. Arden.”

I study his positioning and note he’s moved the gun away from Danielle’s head during our conversation. The offer might be genuine, or it might be another trap designed to put me at a disadvantage, but it also represents the best chance I have of getting close enough to neutralize him without risking Danielle’s life.

“Agreed.” I holster my sidearm and step deeper into the room. “If you try anything underhanded, my men will level this building with you inside it.” We’re going to do that anyway, but I don’t feel bad about trying to deceive him. I can’t trust anything he says, and I’ll do anything it takes to destroy him.

Luca nods and moves away from Danielle, setting his gun on a small table across the room. “I respect a man who’s willing to fight for what he believes belongs to him.”

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