His left arm dangled, broken and useless, blood soaking through his shirt. His vision swam, each blink heavier than the last. Still, his boots kept dragging forward. He had no choice.
He stumbled onto the road, collapsing against the hood of a parked sedan. The driver opened his mouth to curse but Jay smashed the man's head into the steering wheel with his good arm, shoved him out, and slid behind the wheel.
The car swerved violently down the dark streets, headlights blinding, Jay's breath ragged. He pressed his torn jacket against the wound at his ribs, teeth grinding with every turn. He didn't know how long he had before the blood loss claimed him, but he knew where he was going.
Valerie.
He crashed the car against the curb outside her compound, slamming the horn before his strength gave out. Guards stormed forward, weapons raised.
"Hands where we can see !"
Jay barely lifted his good hand. "Tell… tell her it's Jay… Dominic's man…" His voice cracked, thin as paper.
The men exchanged glances. One sprinted inside. Seconds later, Valerie herself appeared at the door. She froze when she saw him sprawled across the wheel, blood dripping onto the dashboard .
"Get him inside!"
They carried him in, laying him on a couch. Jay's head lolled, his eyes rolling back until Valerie slapped his face. "Stay with me!" she barked.
His cracked lips curled into a faint smile. "You… still bark like him."
Her throat tightened, but she ignored it. "What happened?"
"Bomb… beach…" Jay's voice shook, his body trembling. "They slaughtered us. Smoke… bullets from nowhere. Reinforcements came but we're drowning, Valerie. Dominic's surrounded. He's dying out there."
Her hand, stained in his blood, pressed harder against his ribs. She wanted to deny it, but the fire in his fading eyes told her everything.
"And you came here?" she whispered.
Jay's head jerked once yes. "Because you're his blood. You don't move now…" His chest rattled. "…there won't be anyone left to save."
For a heartbeat, Valerie stood frozen. Then her jaw set. She rose to her full height, eyes sharp.
"War room. Now!" she snapped.
Her soldiers scrambled. Maps, blueprints, and crates of weapons spilled across the table. Valerie took command instantly, her voice cutting through the chaos.
"First unit ,riot shields, grenades, force the smoke back. Second snipers from high ground, suppress the bastards. Third flank teams, clean sweep, cut Dominic free. No hesitation. Dominic and Elena are priority."
Her lieutenant glanced at Jay's bleeding body. "Boss, you really want to risk the whole squad for them?"
Valerie's gaze hardened. "Risk?" She strapped her twin blades across her back. "No. This is what we're built for. If Dominic goes down tonight, so does our name. And I don't intend to watch the Moretti bloodline end on a beach."
Jay coughed violently, blood on his lips, but he forced out one last whisper. "He… he'll never believe it. You saving him."
Valerie didn't answer. She just grabbed her gun belt, chambered a round, and marched to the door.
"Five minutes," she told her men. "We ride into hell in five."
Elena's cry split the air. "Dom! My water—"
She didn't finish.
Another sharp whistle cut across the night.
BOOOOM!
The second blast shook the beach to its bones. Sand and flesh scattered like broken glass. The air reeked of smoke, salt, and blood.
Dominic tackled Elena, crushing her beneath his weight, shielding her with his body as the explosion ripped their world apart. Shards of wood and burning metal peppered his back, tearing through his suit. He grunted but didn't let go.
"Dom " Elena's nails dug into him, her voice trembling with pain and fear.
"I've got you," he growled into her hair, raising his pistol and firing blindly at the shadows rushing through the smoke. "You hear me? I've got you."
Around them, screams tore the night apart. His men fell, cut down in waves. Smoke rolled so thick it choked the stars. Dominic's mind processed only three truths: Elena. The child. Survival.He pulled her up, half-dragging her behind an overturned table, his other hand keeping the gun alive, barking fire at every moving silhouette.
"Elena, stay low. Don't you dare close your eyes."
"Dom… the baby "
His jaw clenched. "The baby will see his father. I swear it."
But the truth roared in his head , they were outnumbered. Reinforcements had come, but even they were being ripped apart. The beach had become a killing ground, a graveyard dressed in fire.
Then through the smoke, the low growl of engines. Tires screeching on the road leading to the shore.
Headlights cut the darkness. Trucks. Armored SUVs.
The doors burst open. Valerie.
All black, her men spilling out with rifles raised, faces painted with war.
"Light the bastards up!" she snapped.
Gunfire exploded, sharper, harder disciplined. Her squad carved through the chaos, dropping Dominic's enemies like wheat under a blade. The tide shifted, just slightly, but enough for Dominic to lift Elena in his arms and stagger toward Valerie's advancing line.
Blood streamed down his back, his vision flickering but he never loosened his hold.
Valerie's eyes widened when she saw them. Brother. Sister. War between them put aside in the instant.
"Dom—" she started.
"Get her out please !" Dominic roared, voice breaking, smoke clinging to his lungs.
For the first time in years, Valerie didn't argue. She motioned to her men, few of them tasked to follow her to the hospital.The rest joined the war , guns barking as they closed ranks around them .