Page 26 of Hostile Rival
I suck in sharply and straighten my spine, angry at myself for getting distracted––for nearly giving in to madness and losing my way.
“Fuck!” Matheus mutters, immediately backing off. “What’s the mission?”
“Everything we need to know is in the message. There’s a photo of our target. Except this time, we’re extracting a woman and taking her to a meeting point for a hand off.”
Hunter strolls to the fridge, kitted out in black clothes and wearing a balaclava on his head, the face covering rolled up to make a hat. “You've got five minutes to get ready or you’re both dead.”
11
MATHEUS
The mission:
High-profile target located. Identity confirmed. Permission to move in on arrival.
Keep the target safe. Hand off address to follow.
The chopper lands outside of Naples, and the three of us jump into the rear of a white van, meeting more Covenant members, a non-communicative driver, and an arsenal of weapons.
I sit next to an older guy who introduces himself in a gravelly Irish accent as Fintan, codename Gator. His coarse haired beard moves as he quietly chews gum, staring at a GPS device.
There’s not much conversation out of him, or any of us, for that matter.
Suits me. I’m not in the mood for fake chit-chat. Not after hearing how Dani was involved with the guys who had organized our human smuggling operations.
These days Souza operations are so much bigger. Demand had forced the way we transport product across the globe to be cleaner and more professional. We own half a dozen legitimateshipping companies and those we haven’t acquired are paid well to assist.
Doesn’t change what had happened to her or the fact it eats away at me.
She hasn’t looked at me since we left Sicily. Instead, she’s made a point of sitting close to Hunter, using him as a buffer.
Even now, she’s sandwiched next to him, and some other Irish guy called Oistin, who goes by the code name Falcon.
Before he’d put on a pair of gloves, I noticed a snake tattoo on his forefinger and some other ink, shit like a moon and a creepy eye.
Now there’s nothing recognizable about any of us, other than the evil as fuck animal depictions on our balaclavas.
I study the team, how they’re dressed in body armor, equipped with AK assault rifles and ballistic helmets to wear over their balaclavas. Four skilled sicarios packed into the back of a van that’s speeding through the city streets of Naples before civilians start the day.
Aside from Dani, the guys were handpicked by Giovanni, which means they’re exceptional. Despite being elite, any of them could take a shot at me and pretend I was killed in action. I’m not rattled by it, though. Not in the slightest. For some reason, the only thing with the power to shake me up is her.
“We’re here,” Gator announces as the van starts to slow. “Whoever finds the girl first needs to call it, so we can get out of here quickly. Whatever happens, keep moving until she’s at the drop off point.”
We all nod, and I catch Dani’s silver eyes staring in my direction. The second our gazes snag, she looks away. Knowing I’ve seen what’s underneath all that tactical gear and extra ammo sends my heart rate through the roof.
I shake my head and curse inwardly at the fullness growing behind my utility pants, even though we’re literally secondsaway from shooting shit up. I mean, I’m happy my dick is working as it should again, but the timing could be better.
The van doors fling outward, and we file into an alleyway where trash litters the cobblestones. Overhead, rusty balconies stick out from a mustard-colored apartment building, the height blocking the early morning sun.
When Falcon points at the doorway, I look up, counting six levels. It’s confirmed that the top floor is where the teenage girl is being held hostage.
Crowding the doorway, Gator works at the lock and shoulders the door, letting himself in. We move into the stairwell behind him and start to climb, our steps undetected and our rifles primed.
I find myself double checking Dani’s position. She’s directly behind Falcon, her weapon pointing above our heads, ready for action.
It hits me then––she’s laser-focused on the mission and I’m obsessing over her whereabouts. I hear Giovanni’s voice inside my head telling me this nonsense would get me killed.
Cracking my neck from side to side, I focus my attention on the final steps, moments before shots are fired and chaos explodes around us.
