Chapter 12

Gunfire shattered the night again.

Alessandro De Luca moved forward from the gates like he has been prepared for this ages ago. His rifle raised, his eyes hard as steel. Smoke curled around him, fire painting his sharp features in orange light. He didn’t run, he didn’t rush. He walked, slow, controlled, like every bullet that screamed past him had been ordered to miss.

“Kill him!” Ricardo’s lieutenant on the far side bellowed, spittle flying as panic cracked his voice.

Ricardo’s soldiers opened fire.

Alessandro’s response was brutal precision. He dropped to one knee, fired three shots, and three men fell before their rifles even finished their bursts. Another lunged for cover, and Alessandro’s bullet found his shoulder, spinning him into the gravel with a scream.

Lorenzo, still chained on the ground, let out a hoarse laugh. “Told you… my brother doesn’t miss.”

The guard shoved his boot into Lorenzo’s spine, snarling, “Shut your mouth….”

A shot cracked. The guard stiffened, then topple