Chapter 20 - The Unseen Hand
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The silence in the dark garage was deafening.
I looked at the keys in the ignition, then at the bag of cash in my lap. Freedom was right in front of me. A life without debt, without fear, without the shadow of the mafia hanging over my head.
All I had to do was walk away from the man who had just risked everything to save me.
"I can't," I whispered, my voice trembling but resolute. "I'm not running, Leandro."
He closed his eyes, a pained breath escaping his lips. "Maya, you don't understand what happens tomorrow. It's going to be a bloodbath. When Arthur realizes I orchestrated the raid, he won't just surrender. He will burn the city to the ground."
"Then let him burn," I said fiercely, reaching up to cup his face. "You said I was the only real thing in your fake world. Don't push me away now."
Leandro looked at me, a dangerous, desperate fire igniting in his dark eyes. He pulled me across the center console, crushing his lips to mine in a kiss that felt like a goodbye and a promise all at once.
Suddenly, Leandro’s personal cell phone rang.
The shrill sound broke us apart. Leandro answered it, putting it on speaker.
"Boss," a frantic voice crackled through the line. It was one of Leandro's loyal men. "We have a problem. A massive problem."
"What is it?" Leandro demanded.
"It's Stella, boss. She didn't go to the clinic in Switzerland. She escaped the guards."
Leandro froze. "Where is she?"
"She went to the Rossis. She took copies of your father’s shipping manifests to buy protection." The man took a shaky breath. "But that's not the worst part, boss. She told them about Maya. The Rossis know Maya is your weakness. They just put a million-dollar bounty on her head."
The blood drained from my face.
Leandro slowly lowered the phone. He looked out the windshield into the dark garage, his expression turning into a mask of pure, calculating violence.
Arthur Perry wanted me dead. The Rossi syndicate wanted me dead. And the federal raid was less than twenty-four hours away.
Leandro reached down, started the engine of the Mercedes, and shifted it into drive.
"Where are we going?" I asked, my heart pounding in my throat.
Leandro pulled a fresh clip of ammunition from the glovebox and slammed it into his pistol.
"To start a war," he said softly.
May you like
He slammed his foot on the gas, and the car shot out of the darkness and into the neon-lit streets of the city. The game was no longer about survival. It was about who would strike first.
To be continued...
