Page 14 of Sexted By a Stranger

Luca

My phone vibrated persistently in my pocket.

Across from me, that wrinkled old face practically oozed cunning and greed from every crease. His endless bullshit was like a layer of cheap paint, trying to cover the naked profit-grabbing underneath.

He was working hard to swallow most of an arms deal profit, even his gray whiskers bunching up with his obsequious smile.

My patience was shot.

I raised my hand. He immediately shut up.

Fingers slipped into my inner pocket, screen lighting up—"Sheila."

I swiped to answer, pressing the phone to my ear. Lennox had already stepped forward half a pace with perfect timing, seamlessly taking over negotiations with that sly dog.

"Hey, Luca." Her voice came through the waves, soft as a spring breeze brushing past my ear.

"What's up?" I glanced out the window, gaze passing over that stunned old face with disgust.

"I'd like to buy you coffee."

"Alright."

"How about tonight?" Her voice instantly perked up.

"Sure."

"I'll text you the place. See you tonight."

"See you tonight," I responded quietly.

Pocketing my phone, I stood, buttoning my suit. "Dylan, my terms—take them or get the fuck out with your goods."

I headed for the door, Lennox following closely.

"Mr. Bellomo. I'm in."

The sly dog scrambled after us, hands offering the agreement.

I signed casually, signaling my men to escort him out.

In the corridor, Lennox murmured his report, "Boss, Ragnar's intel—Connor's crew showed abnormal activity in the docklands this afternoon. Our mole confirms they're still eyeing that shipment of ours."

Fucking Irish bastard!

"Keep your eyes glued to the docklands and his usual dens," I ordered without breaking stride. "Tell Ragnar to scout their numbers and firepower. We'll prepare a 'return gift'."

"On it."

Oakley Café huddled on a relatively quiet street corner. Small storefront, warm yellow light spilling through glass windows, casting a cozy glow in the deepening twilight. The air carried the aroma of roasting coffee beans.

I arrived ten minutes early.

Lennox and his men melted silently into surrounding shadows. Pedestrians on the street gradually thinned out.

Then that slender figure appeared.

In the twilight, she walked briskly toward the café. Her chestnut hair lifted by the evening breeze, a few strands playfully sticking to her pale neck. A simple cream cotton dress outlined her graceful form.

She kept her head slightly lowered, a smile playing at her lips as if thinking of something. Those amber eyes lifted, and across a dozen meters, precisely caught me standing at the café entrance.

In that instant, her eyes lit up like two small sparks, glowing brightly in the darkening sky.

She stopped before me, looking up. Evening wind stirred the hair at her forehead, amber eyes reflecting my image.

"Luca," she began, "about my mother, I really want to thank—"

Piercing gunshots tore through the peaceful air without warning, sharp reports instantly drowning her unfinished words.

"Sheila—."

My body lunged forward on pure instinct, massive force slamming into Sheila's slight frame, wrapping her tightly in my arms.

Powerful momentum sent us both crashing hard onto the cold sidewalk, rolling once. Violent impact pain shot through my back.

"Stay down." I forced her head deep into the hollow of my neck, using my entire body to shield her from the bloody world outside. My other hand quickly covered her eyes, wide and trembling with extreme terror.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here."

Muzzle flash—I caught sight of a dark window on the second floor across the street. Bullets screamed into the hood of my car parked at the curb, sparks flying.

Then dense bullets poured down like water; the target was clearly Sheila's previous position.

I jerked my head up, gaze shooting like a poisoned ice pick toward the bullet source. A figure was about to withdraw.

Bang.

Fire erupted from Lennox's gun, the window glass exploding. The figure jerked backward and vanished.

"Three o'clock. Alley entrance." Lennox warned urgently.

Another flash—a gun emerged from the alley shadows.

"Boss." Lennox roared.

A black object cut through the smoke-filled air, arcing precisely toward where I'd rolled.

My arm shot out like lightning.

Smack.

Dull metal impact.

The custom handgun gleaming with cold light landed solidly in my palm. The icy metal touch instantly ignited the dormant violence in my blood.

Raise arm, aim, squeeze trigger—all one fluid motion.

My gun spat fire, bullets drilling into the head of the gunman just emerging from the alley shadows.

Target dropped silently.

"Cover." I barked.

Lennox and distant men instantly erupted with fierce firepower, bullets cascading like a waterfall toward the attackers' hiding spots.

Windows shattered, brick debris flew. A dense fire net formed instantly, pinning enemies down hard.

This is it!.

Using this brief gap, my left arm tightened violently, locking Sheila against my side. Her body was light as a feather yet heavy as the world—she was everything I had to protect right now.

"Come on!"

My legs exploded with shocking power, launching up like a cheetah. Left arm tight around Sheila's waist, almost lifting her off the ground, while firing blindly back at enemy positions.

Not aiming for precision, just maximum fire suppression and intimidation.

Lennox and the men's fire coordinated perfectly with my assault, biting down hard on exposed firing positions.

We tore a gap through the crossfire of death.

Three steps. Two steps. One step.

The bulletproof car was within reach.

Lennox had already rushed to the car, yanking open the rear door.

Just one more step. Just get her into this steel fortress.

At this critical instant, an instinct honed from countless brushes with death, sensing lethal danger, drove into my marrow like an ice pick.

From the corner of my eye, deep within an unnervingly narrow alley, a figure almost merged with shadows, black gun rising at a vicious angle, silent and deadly.

No warning flash, no gunshot, just a barely visible death point aimed at Sheila's exposed side between the car door and my body.

Thought ceased completely.

Only the most primal instinct remained in my soul's depths.

Protect her.

At any cost.

I twisted my body to the extreme, marshaling every ounce of strength, forcibly turning what had been shielding her side into a solid wall between her and that death ray.

A sickening, dull sound of tearing flesh.

My left shoulder blade felt hammered by a red-hot sledge. Indescribable agony exploded, massive impact making my body lurch violently.

But momentum didn't stop—instead, using that force, I exploded with a terrifying speed.

With my last strength, I shoved the shocked, speechless Sheila deeper into the open car door.

"Get in!"

Then I dove after her, using remaining willpower to pin her in the safety triangle between my body and the car seat. Body slamming into seats brought fresh waves of tearing pain.

"Luca!"

After the door closed, Sheila trembled out from under me, face panicked.

"I'm fine."

I stroked her face.

"I-I'll stop the bleeding!"

Her teeth chattered, but she dragged out the first aid kit from under the seat with all her strength.

I shook my head. Dizziness washed over me.

The last thing I sensed was her terrified, tearful cries.

Consciousness floated between cold and heat.

Twilight street corner. Warm golden-red sunset.

She still stood there, cream dress, chestnut hair lifting in the breeze. Amber eyes full of smiles, looking at me.

Bang—.

A bullet drove unimpeded through her thin chest.

Glaring crimson blood spread like spilled ink across her chest, swallowing that pure white.

"Sheila!"

Silent screams exploded in my soul's depths. Every cell roared, wanting to lunge forward, catch her, block that bullet. But my body was heavy as lead, nailed down by invisible chains, only able to watch helplessly.

She fell on that cold sidewalk. Blood spread beneath her. Those eyes that once held starlight rapidly lost their spark, becoming empty, gray...

"Run, stellina."

Cold and heat tore through my blood. Heavy eyelids like iron gates. Consciousness repeatedly sank and struggled through darkness and bloody nightmares.

Only that name was the sole flickering light.

"Sheila..."