Page 25 of Only Fools Rush

9

CASPIAN

I’d been to the Tommaso estate a dozen times, but never with the blatant intention of killing someone.

Anticipation and rage boiled underneath my skin, festering with each step we took toward the compound. We’d spent another day going over the plan, knowing that Chiara could be at risk. But now, Max’s time had come, and it would end at my hands, just like I promised him.

“Confirm your positions,” Obi said into my earpiece.

I was still healing from my busted knee and shoulder, but there was no way in fucking hell I would have sat this out—and thankfully, none of the Shadows tried to fight me on it. I think they knew if both Leona and I had to stay behind, one of us was going to revolt.

Obi had checked in with me before we left to make sure I could hold up my end of the plan, and after I confirmed I could, he nodded, and let it go. It was incredibly difficult to tell what that man was thinking behind those careful eyes, and whether he trusted that I could handle this, but I wasn’t about to fuck this up. I wouldn’t let Leona—or them—down.

“Confirmed,” I replied quietly as I stood outside the gate, armed to the fucking teeth. I’d give the Shadows one thing: they did not fuck around in the weapons department.

“Confirmed,” Wynn repeated in my ear, followed shortly by Ryuji’s confirmation, as well.

We positioned ourselves around the compound, all with strategic entrance points. We’d taken three separate armored cars to get here and had surrounded the estate in staggered arrival times. At 3:00 a.m., it was dead quiet, with only Tommaso’s standard patrols protecting the grounds and only one person manning the gatehouse. I’d not seen soldiers of the Vero family, now reporting to Max, on the grounds. If he was still here—and that was still anif—he appeared to be separated from the main forces of his army.

Ciel still hadn’t been able to get inside the estate’s camera system, but he’d been watching. Leona was waiting with him in the recon van parked blocks away.

I gripped my gun tighter in waiting for Obi’s signal and shifted my weight from foot to foot. We’d gone through the plan dozens of times, using both my knowledge of the estate, and what Ciel could find online. Leona had filled in the blanks. We were finally going to finish this. I took a deep, steadying breath to calm my nerves like I had done before every mission since Max’s father first started taking us out into the field.

It was just another day at work, and this time, I had a team of the best fucking killers on the planet behind me.

Memories of Max and I doing shit exactly like this flashed before my eyes.Max nodding, signaling our infiltration of a safe house where a small-time gambling boss had holed up after he thought he could steal from the Vero Family. Max clapping me on my back, grinning, and cracking a joke, after I’d taken the man out.My knee throbbed so sharply for a moment I almost gasped.

“Shit,” I breathed, pushing away the past. All that stood in front of me now was the future—one with Leona.

At least I wasn’t the only person keeping her safe anymore. Despite how tense things between the six of us had been, I never once had questioned the Shadows’ abilities. Even if Leona was still pissed at me for agreeing to make her sit this one out, it was worth it to know she was too far away for Max to get his hands on her. She was listening in and watching with Ciel, but she was safe.

We could handle this.

Obi’s voice sounded in my ear. “I’ve breached the first door. South side of the estate accessed. Two targets eliminated.”

Two guys killed. Were they Tommaso’s? Or Max’s?

Either way, it didn’t matter. If a target was in our way, they were to be eradicated to keep our approach under the radar.

“I see you,” Ryuji confirmed. As the most skilled with ranged weapons, he was in charge of sniper support. “Drop now, Obi.”

I couldn’t see what was happening on that side of the estate, but I heard Obi’s whoosh of breath and subsequent grunt.

“Target eliminated,” Ryuji said.

The fucker had skills.

Still didn’t like him.

“Caspian, we’re passing the first checkpoint. Take the gatehouse now,” Obi commanded.

“Stand by,” I murmured. I tucked my guns into my shoulder holsters. As planned, I jumped up to reach the top of the brick wall surrounding the grounds before hauling myself over. My shoulder screamed in pain, but I carefully dropped to the other side, quickly drawing my guns, and moving through the shadows to the gatehouse.

The guard sat watching the four monitors displaying security footage, head resting on one hand while he scrolled his phonewith the other. If he looked up, he’d see Obi creeping through the south side of the estate.

I aimed and fired. The bullet tore through the back of his head before coming out the other side and shattering one of the computers, splattering blood everywhere.

“Target eliminated.” I grabbed the guard’s corpse and yanked him out of the chair. His lifeless bodythunkedto the ground. I glanced at what remained of his face, but I didn’t recognize him. “Ciel, tell me what you need.”