The pounding started before Aria could even take another breath.
It was not the kind of gentle knocking that asked for permission to enter. No. This was thunder. A crash so loud the walls shook, wood splintered, and the steel frame of the door bent under pressure. The whole safe-house trembled as Sebastian's men stormed the alley outside.
Boots scraped gravel. Shadows moved quickly past the tiny slits of the boarded windows. The sound of them surrounding the building was like a noose tightening.
Lorenzo didn't flinch. He stood tall, gun raised, eyes hard as stone. His voice was sharp and commanding.
"Positions!" he barked.
At once, his men moved. They didn't hesitate or question him. They scattered like shadows themselves, weapons sliding free with metallic clicks. The air in the room grew heavy, thick with tension, thick with the smell of gunpowder and the knowledge of what was about to come.
