Chapter 13 - Crossfire and Bloodlines
The night exploded with the flash of muzzle fire before Santiago even finished speaking.
Marco and two shadow operatives poured out from behind the concrete pillars of the monument, returning suppressive fire with military precision. The kidnappers scrambled, dropping Matteo as they sought cover behind the stone balustrades.
I didn't think twice. I bolted across the open plaza, ignoring the whiz of bullets cutting through the air, until I reached Matteo huddled behind a marble bench.
“I’ve got you, sweetheart, I’ve got you!” I cried, pulling him into my arms and shielding his small body with mine as glass and stone fragments rained down around us.
“La signorina buona!” Matteo sobbed, clinging to my jacket like a lifeline.
When the gunfire finally subsided into a heavy, echoing silence, only one kidnapper remained standing—a scarred lieutenant named Ramirez, cornered against the iron gates with Santiago’s pistol pressed squarely between his eyes.
“Who sent you?” Santiago demanded, his face carved from ice. “Salgado is finished. Who is backing you?”
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Ramirez coughed, blood bubbling at the corner of his mouth, before letting out a harsh, broken laugh. “You think Salgado was the head of the snake, Vitale? The European board... they’re already landing at Toluca airport. They want the entire Mexican territory. And your little girlfriend’s mother was the one who stole their master key.”
With a final breath, Ramirez slumped forward. The European board. A shadow syndicate far more ruthless than anything we had faced before.
