Chapter 7 - Blood and ButterThe explosion didn't happen on the pier. It happened inside the cargo ship.
Elena had bribed the ship's quartermaster three weeks prior, staging barrels of high-grade industrial diesel fuel near the primary hull. The blast erupted in a violent column of fire, tearing the rear of the vessel apart. The force of the shockwave threw dozens of Vance's mercenary soldiers into the icy harbor waters.
"NOW!" Lucian roared.
Lucian, Falcone, and over a hundred mobsters opened fire from the elevated shipping containers surrounding the pier. A wall of lead rained down on Vance's disoriented men. The harbor turned into a chaotic warzone of muzzle flashes, screaming men, and shattering metal.
Lucian leaped down from the platform, his double pistols barking as he moved through the fog like an vengeance-driven phantom. He executed Santino and Bruno before the traitors could even draw their weapons.
Mateo, the third traitorous captain, sprinted toward an armored SUV parked near the edge of the dock, desperate to escape.
He didn't make it.
A sleek black sedan slammed into the side of the SUV, blocking his path. The driver’s door swung open. Elena stepped out, holding a compact shotgun.
Mateo stumbled out of his vehicle, raising his hand in terror. "Elena! Please! I was forced! Vance threatened my family!"
Elena didn't hesitate. She racked the slide of the shotgun. "You betrayed my husband. You betrayed our home."
BOOM.
Mateo crashed to the asphalt, lifeless.
Lucian rushed over, catching Elena by the waist as a stray bullet ricocheted off the sedan's hood. He pulled her behind the car, pressing his back against the metal as gunfire rattled nearby.
He looked down at her. Her face was smudged with soot, her hair windblown, her eyes burning with an intense, unyielding fire.
"You are out of your mind!" Lucian shouted over the deafening noise of the gunfight, a dark, breathless smile breaking across his face. "You walked onto a crane during an ambush?!"
"I told you I was handling the flank!" Elena yelled back, a thrill in her voice. "Now shut up and help me finish this!"
Lucian grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her—hard, fierce, and deep—amidst the smoke and gunfire. Elena gasped against his lips, pulling him closer before breaking away, breathless.
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"If we survive tonight," Lucian growled against her ear, "I am buying you every restaurant in Europe."
"I don't want restaurants, Lucian," Elena smirked, raising her weapon. "I want an empire."
