The heavy roar of engines finally died down as the convoy rolled into Wolf Mark headquarters. The air outside still smelled faintly of gunpowder and sea salt. Floodlights from the walls illuminated the courtyard where members of both gangs—Wolf Marks and Crimson Vultures—were filing out of the vans, tired but alive.
Kael stepped out first, his black tactical uniform streaked with dust and blood, his eyes sharp despite the exhaustion that lined his face. Rin followed moments later, wiping at a small cut on his lip with the back of his hand. The tension from the raid hadn't yet faded, but there was a quiet satisfaction among them: the drugs were secured, five men were captured alive—including Ray—and no one from their side had fallen.
"Everyone, go clean up and meet in the living room in fifteen," Kael ordered, his voice deep and commanding.
The men nodded and dispersed quickly. Rin gave a short nod to his own people before heading upstairs. His body ached from the fight, but his mind was sharper than ever. Something about tonight's operation felt incomplete—like they had cut off a branch, not the root.
Fifteen minutes later, the living room was filled with the low murmur of conversation. The long wooden table was scattered with maps, empty glasses, and a faint smell of antiseptic from hastily cleaned wounds. The air buzzed with the quiet energy of aftermath—victory mixed with unease.
Kael was seated on the couch, leaning forward, elbows on his knees as he spoke to Rowan, his right-hand man. Rin entered quietly, now in clean clothes, his hair still slightly damp from a quick shower. He paused near the entrance, taking in the scene—men talking in low voices, the sound of someone pacing near the back window, the muffled music from someone's phone in another room.
Then his eyes landed on Kael.
Without a word, Rin walked over and took a seat beside him. Kael didn't look at him immediately, but the faint tension in his shoulders seemed to ease when he sensed Rin's presence.
"They're being interrogated now," Rowan was saying. "Suri's handling it."
They were about to continue when the sound of footsteps echoed from the hall. Everyone turned as Suri entered the room. His usually calm expression was replaced by irritation, and his shirt was stained with blood. There were small splatters across his jaw.
Rin frowned immediately. "What happened?"
Suri exhaled, dragging a hand down his face. "Ray's not talking. None of them are. They're trained or too scared to open their mouths. But—" he paused, glancing at the two leaders, "—one of the men said he'll talk. But only if he speaks to both of you."
Kael's brows furrowed. "Only us?"
Suri nodded. "Said he won't say a word unless you two hear him out personally."
The room went quiet. Every pair of eyes turned to Kael and Rin. The silence carried a weight of curiosity and unease.
"Bring him in," Kael said simply.
Suri gestured to the hallway. A moment later, two of Wolf Mark's enforcers entered, half-dragging a man between them. He was in his mid-thirties, beaten and trembling. His face was bruised, one eye swollen shut, his lip split open. They pushed him to his knees before the two leaders, where he looked small and broken against their calm authority.
Kael leaned back slightly, his tone cool. "You said you wanted to talk to us. Here we are. Start talking."
The man looked up slowly, eyes wide and glassy with fear. His voice trembled. "P–Please… I'll tell you whatever you want. Just—just save my family."
That sentence made Rin's gaze sharpen. His tone dropped low. "Your family?"
The man nodded desperately. "My name's James. They—they have my wife and daughter. The Ash Fang, they… they made me work for them. Said if I didn't, they'd kill them."
Kael's expression didn't change, but there was a flicker of something colder behind his eyes. "So you were working for them. Moving the shipments."
James nodded again, shaking. "I didn't want to! They made me. I swear, I had no choice." His shoulders trembled. "Please, I can tell you everything I know. Just promise you'll save my family."
Rin exchanged a glance with Kael. There was something genuine in the man's panic—terror that didn't come from facing death, but from the thought of losing someone he loved.
"We'll help your family," Rin said after a pause, his voice calm but firm. "But you need to give us answers first."
James's head bobbed quickly. "I will, I will. Anything."
Kael's voice cut through next, low and steady. "Start with who the drugs were meant for. Which overseas group are they working with?"
The man hesitated, his eyes darting nervously around the room before he swallowed hard. "I… I don't know everything. I just joined them recently. But I heard Ray and Dominic talking once. They said this delivery was important—more than usual. If they were late, the client would be furious. Said they couldn't afford to make them angry."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "Did they mention a name?"
James furrowed his brow, struggling to recall. The silence stretched, filled only by the faint ticking of the clock. Then he spoke, uncertainly at first. "It was… something like… 'Luciano'? Or 'Luciana'? No—wait." He blinked, eyes widening as memory struck. " Luciani. That's what they called them."
The entire room went still. Even the air seemed to thicken.
Rowan froze mid-step. Jax, who had been leaning against the wall, straightened abruptly, muttering a curse under his breath. "You've got to be kidding me."
Rin's expression hardened instantly. The Luciani. That name carried weight like a thunderclap in the underworld—the kind of name whispered, not spoken. The Italian mafia family that had once gone head-to-head with the Wolf Marks years ago, before vanishing into silence. No one had heard from them in years.
Kael exhaled slowly, his jaw tightening. "Of all the devils to crawl out of the pit…"
Rin looked at him, eyes meeting his. They didn't need words to understand what the other was thinking.
This wasn't just a shipment anymore.
This was a declaration.
Kael leaned forward slightly, his tone sharp. "You're sure of the name?"
James nodded quickly. "Yes, sir. I swear. I heard Dominic say it himself."
Jax swore again. "Why them? Why the hell would the Luciani be working with Ash Fang?"
Rowan's voice was grim. "If it's true, it means they're expanding again. And Ash Fang's using them to move their product."
Rin's mind raced. If the Luciani were back in business, it wasn't just a threat—it was a storm waiting to hit the entire underworld. And if they became Ash Fang's puppet, then this wasn't just about territory. It was about dominance. Control.
Rin's gaze shifted back to James. "Where is your family being kept?"
"In the old dockyard warehouse near the east shore," James said quickly. "They… they keep the hostages there, the ones they use to make us work."
Rin's eyes softened just slightly. "You did the right thing, James. We'll get them."
James broke down in quiet sobs, head bowed low. Suri motioned for his men to take him away, and they guided him gently out of the room.
When the door shut, silence returned. A heavy silence filled with the weight of what they'd just learned.
Kael finally spoke. "The Luciani," he muttered, rubbing his jaw. "It had to be them."
Rin looked down at the table, his mind piecing together threads of information, strategy forming beneath his calm expression.
Rowan nodded. "We still have Ray. Maybe we can make him talk once he realizes who's really at stake."
Kael's lips twitched in a grim smile. "Let's hope he values his life more than his pride."
Rin stood, brushing his hands against his thighs as if shaking off invisible tension. "If the Luciani are back," he said softly, "this war is just beginning."
Kael met his gaze, and for a fleeting moment, something unspoken passed between them—respect, resolve, and the faint glimmer of shared understanding. Then he nodded once, decisive.
"Then we prepare," Kael said. "No one sleeps until we know what the Ash Fang's planing by joining force with Luciani."
Outside, thunder rolled faintly in the distance, as if the city itself knew what was coming.