Page 55 of Victorious: Part 3

“All right, brothers, this is the line. We break their spine, or we don’t come back. On my mark. Three… two… one…” Nycto gives the order.

And so it begins.

I wedge myself against the upper edge of the boat and climb, silent as smoke. The cold bite of sea air clings to the slick metal grating as Toxin surfaces beside me, my hands on her hips while she pulls herself over the edge with lethal grace. Her breath controlled, her eyes alive with the thrill of the storm to come. My muscles tense as I vault up, landing in a low crouch. My breath is steady, my heartbeat synced to the rhythm of the kill.

Toxin rises beside me, ghostly and fierce, water dripping from her skin, her silencer already sweeping the catwalk. Her eyes meet mine, sharp, alive, and for a second, there’s nothing but the storm of anticipation building between us.

Above, two guards murmur in lazy Spanish, laughing about something that won’t matter in five seconds. They’re lit by the faint glow of a hanging bulb, their rifles slung carelessly over their shoulders.

Complacent and vulnerable.

One hundred percent dead.

I flick two fingers.Left is mine. Right is hers.Toxin nods, already moving.

I close the distance like a shadow with a vendetta. My hand clamps over the guy’s mouth just as his laugh chokes off in surprise. My blade slides beneath his ribs, angling up, severing his breath and thought in one swift stroke. He shudders, his body sagging into mine before I lower him gently, his boots dragging against metal as Toxin’s target drops almost in sync, firing two neat shots, one in his eye, the other to the asshole’s temple.

She doesn’t miss.

Shenevermisses.

We exchange the briefest glance, one of dark amusement and mutual respect, teamed with a whole lot of filthy lust. I rearrange my cock in my jeans when she winks at me, then we spin and vanish into the barge.

Through comms, tension builds like a fuse.

Dash and Nerve confirm positions on the north side. Like echoes of vengeance, Brass and Atomic glide through the smoke on the southern end, fire erupting in their footsteps.

Nycto’s voice comes through, grim and final. “All teams ready.”

Then we all hold our breath.

Because we know what’s coming.

The distraction.

What better way to rally the guards protecting a weapons cache than to set off a few weapons, right?

The first detonation hits like a hammer of fire, bright, thunderous, and all-consuming. It ignites the far south containers in a burst of light and fury. The shockwave tears through the air like a beast unleashed, sending a visible ripple across the barge. It hits my chest like a sledgehammer as the second blast hits closer, erupting from the east. The pressure punches us back. I stumble, my shoulder slamming into the railing. Toxin drops to one knee, bracing herself asshrapnel hisses overhead. The metal walkway quivers beneath us, groaning under the strain.

Smoke surges upward, thick and pungent, choking the moonlight. Sirens wail as alarms blare through the chaos.

We rise, not shaken, but galvanized in our mission as Cartel soldiers start racing throughout the barge, screaming at each other about an incoming attack.

I smirk at Toxin, and she chuckles under her breath, that harmonious tune making my cock ache.

Too late, fuckers. We’re already here.

I leap over a crate, landing hard, and take out a soldier mid-turn, the bullet splitting through his eye socket like it belongs there. Toxin rolls into cover beside me, her Glock barking in a sharp staccato.

Another explosion rocks the facility, closer this time. The ground heaves beneath our feet. A fuel drum ignites with a rush, the flames licking high into the sky, painting everything in shades of red.

It’s a fucking beautiful sight.

Cartel soldiers pour out of every gap, shouting, firing, scrambling to contain what theyneversaw coming. Their coordination crumbles beneath the weight of our precision.

If I weren’t so busy taking these fuckers down, I would laugh in their frantic fucking faces!

Automatic fire flashes like lightning, and I duck behind a steel drum as bullets punch into it with brutal force, the vibrations rattling my spine. I lean out, drop two more, one through the neck, the other through the chest. The assholes are going down like flies, crumpling, lifeless before my eyes.