Chapter 46

The air inside the warehouse was thick with tension, crackling like the calm before a violent storm. The dim light filtering through the ceiling cracks cast eerie, shifting shadows over the crates and rusting metal beams. Dust swirled lazily in the air, dancing like ghosts in the pale glow, and somewhere in the distance, a leaky pipe dripped-drip drip drip-its rhythm steady and taunting, as if mocking the absolute chaos about to unfold.

The silence was deafening.

At opposite ends of the warehouse stood Isabella and Enzo, locked in a standoff as fierce as any battlefield duel.

Their eyes burned into each other's like clashing swords-Enzo's dark and stormy, Isabella's fiery and unrelenting. If looks could kill, there would already be chalk outlines on the floor.

Enzo's jaw was clenched so tight, she half-expected his teeth to crack. He raked a frustrated hand through his already messy, jet-black hair, his breath coming out in ragged bursts.

Then, he let out a dry, humorless laugh-one of those laughs that screamed anything but amusement.

"You think I don't care?" His voice was sharp, edged with something raw-something that sounded dangerously close to vulnerability. "You think this is easy for me?"

Isabella's arms folded across her chest, her posture as unyielding as a stone wall. Her amber eyes flashed, full of unspoken accusations.

"Oh, please," she scoffed, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "You had to make that call? The one that almost got us all killed?" She took a step forward, challenging. "Enzo, you put everyone at risk because you think you're the only one who knows what's best!"

Enzo's temper flared like gasoline meeting fire.

"Oh, and you don't?" He threw his arms up. "I had a plan!"

Isabella's scoff was downright theatrical. "Oh yeah? And what was that? Run in, guns blazing, and hope the enemy just I don't know, surrenders out of admiration for your charming personality?"

Enzo pointed at her, looking personally offended. "It was a tactical approach!"

"Enzo, your 'tactical approach' nearly got us all killed!" She threw her arms up. "If I hadn't acted, we'd be dead right now!"

Enzo's nostrils flared as he took a sharp breath. "Well, congratulations, Isabella!" His voice dripped with sarcasm. "You saved the day-again! At what cost?"

"The cost of not dying, you idiot!"

Their voices echoed through the warehouse, bouncing off the steel walls like gunshots. Their heated glares could have melted metal.

They were both breathing hard now, their chests rising and falling rapidly. The rage, the adrenaline, the exhaustion-it all swirled around them, thickening the air even more.

But there was something else beneath the fury, beneath the frustration.

Something neither of them wanted to admit.

Then-

A click.

The unmistakable sound of a rifle being cocked.

Both of them froze.

Their gazes snapped to the rafters.

A red laser dot appeared on the ground-right between them.

"Oh, hell no," Enzo muttered under his breath.

A sniper.

The first gunshot shattered the silence.

Enzo lunged, grabbing Isabella's wrist and yanking her down just as the bullet ripped through the wooden crate behind them.

Another shot whizzed past, kicking up a spray of splinters as it splintered the floor just inches from Enzo's foot.

Isabella rolled behind a stack of crates, her heart hammering in her chest.

Enzo pressed himself against the wall, his mind racing. His eyes flicked to the high beams, scanning the shadows.

"Snipers-two of them," he muttered through gritted teeth.

"Great," Isabella groaned, trying to catch her breath. "Just what we needed-a life-or-death situation and an enemy sniper who probably had too much caffeine this morning."

Enzo shot her a dry look. "This isn't the time for jokes, Isabella."

She peeked over the crate. "If I don't laugh, I might scream."

"Fair."

A third shot rang out, sending dust and debris raining from above.

"We need to split up," Enzo said urgently.

"Like hell I'm leaving you alone," she shot back.

Enzo's eyes narrowed. "I don't have time for your hero complex, Isabella."

Before she could argue, another bullet struck the ground between them, sending a shower of sparks flying.

They had no choice.

"MOVE!" Enzo barked.

Isabella darted left, rolling behind a metal crate, her pulse thundering in her ears.

Then-

A grenade landed just feet away.

The explosion ripped through the warehouse.

The shockwave hit like a freight train, sending Isabella flying.

Her body slammed against a metal beam, pain exploding in her ribs. She hit the ground with a bone-rattling thud, the impact knocking the air from her lungs.

For a moment, everything was just noise-a deafening ringing in her ears, drowning out the world.

Her vision blurred.

Smoke filled the air, thick and suffocating, stinging her eyes, burning her throat. The acrid scent of gunpowder and charred wood clung to her skin.

But even through the chaos, one thought cut through the haze-

Enzo.

Coughing, she forced herself up, blinking through the smoke. Her legs shook, her ribs ached, but she pushed forward.

Then she saw him.

Half-buried under a pile of debris.

His face was too pale. Blood trickled from his forehead.

A cold dread settled in Isabella's chest.

No. Not him. Not like this.

Ignoring the searing pain in her side, she staggered toward him.

But before she could reach him, shadows moved through the smoke.

Dark figures.

Armed. Dangerous.

And they were heading straight for Enzo.

Her blood turned to ice.

They weren't here to kill him.

They were here to take him.

Her grip tightened around her gun.

Over her dead body.

She aimed.

One shot.

Two shots.

The first man dropped instantly. The second stumbled, but before she could fire again-

A third figure emerged from the smoke, moving too fast.

Before Isabella could react, a brutal force slammed into her, knocking the gun from her grasp.

She hit the ground hard, pain shooting up her ribs.

"Ah, crap-"

A fist swung toward her face.

She ducked, twisting just in time and kicking her attacker in the gut.

He grunted, stumbling back.

Just enough time for her to roll toward her fallen gun-

Her fingers brushed the handle-

Then-

A sharp pain exploded at the back of her head.

Her vision tilted.

The world spun.

The last thing she saw was Enzo's unconscious body being dragged away before everything went black.