BLACKSTONE CAPITAL BANK, LAS VEGAS, U.S.
(VALENTINO'S POV)
The second we burst through the glass doors of Blackstone Capital, I shout at the top of my voice.
"EVERYONE ON THE FUCKING GROUND!!!"
I fire bullets up at the ceiling, sending the entire lobby into panic. Employees and customers scream, diving flat on the marble floor.
My soldiers flood into the bank in all black, weapons raised. They spread through the lobby, cornering security guards, pinning them down and disarming them before anyone gets brave enough to play hero.
"PUT YOUR PHONES ON THE GROUND AND YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD!" Bruno roars. "DO IT NOW OR I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL START DROPPING BODIES!"
He fires another round into the ceiling, earning more screams.
No one moves if they want to live another second.
But there's always one.
A bank teller trembles as she reaches behind the counter. Her fingers find the red alarm button, and the moment I lock eyes with her, she freezes.
"No!" I shout, but she presses it before I put a bullet through her skull.
Her body crumples against the counter, blood spreading across the white marble.
The screams get louder.
"Alarm's been triggered," Sandra yells, walking over to me with a tablet in her hand. "Security forces are en route. We've got five minutes tops before this place turns into a war zone."
"Everyone get moving!" I bark. "Split up and stick to the plan!"
Bruno sprints down the hallway, blueprints in hand, his team heavy on his heels with duffels slung over their shoulders. Michele and Sandra split off the other way, guns up, a squad of soldiers trailing behind them.
Leo and I take the west corridor to the cash reserves, leaving the rest to hold down the lobby.
My heart beats hard in my chest as we move.
We hit the cash room fast. Employees get shoved against the wall, guns pressed to their backs, daring them to make a stupid move.
"Fill the bags!" I order.
My men get to work, shoving stacks of cash into the duffels.
Sandra's voice crackles through my earpiece. "Data wing breach in progress. We've got two minutes and thirty seconds before the heavy units show up."
Two minutes and thirty seconds.
My pulse spikes.
I glance at Leo, and he's already looking at me.
"Faster!" he barks. "We don't have time to waste!"
(ALESSANDRA'S POV)
My team and I sprint down the hallway. The corridor narrows, and the security checkpoints come fast.
Two guards stand at the data wing door.
The moment they see us, they raise their weapons, but Michele and two other men gun them down before they can fire.
I slip into the first guard's pocket and pull out the key card.
"Two minutes, thirty seconds," I mutter, swiping us in.
I kneel by the console and pull three laptops from my bag. Once I hook them into the bank's main system, my screens fill with numbers, firewalls, and layers of security meant to keep people like me out.
I smirk to myself.
Cute.
I tap my comms. "Valentino, I'm in the mainframe. Starting the hack now."
A tiny hiss comes through the line. "Copy."
My fingers fly across the keyboard. I slip past the obvious traps, ride the blind spots, and break through the first wall.
Then the second.
Then the third.
And…
I'm in.
I plug in the flash drive and start dragging folders of ledgers, client lists, account details, and transaction records onto it.
The progress bar crawls across the screen.
1%...
3%...
5%...
Too fucking slow.
I move to the next laptop, pulling up offshore accounts tied to corporations that don't exist. One after another, I start bleeding them dry, wiring the funds out while burying the trail behind false paths and dead ends.
(BRUNO'S POV)
I slam the blueprint against the wall, scanning the final stretch of the corridor.
"Vault's twenty feet ahead." I point to two of the soldiers. "You two, get the charges ready."
They move fast, yanking explosives from one of the bags and attaching them to the vault's steel door.
"Take cover!" I bark.
We scatter.
A second later—
BOOM.
The explosion rocks the corridor, smoke and dust filling the air. My ears ring as I push forward through the haze, rifle raised.
The vault has been ripped wide open.
The second I step inside, my eyes widen.
"Dio Santo…" I whisper.
Gold.
More than I imagined.
Bars stacked so high they form glittering walls under the emergency lights.
For a second, I almost forget we're on the clock.
Then I snap out of it.
"What the fuck are you standing there for? MOVE!" I bark.
Duffel bags hit the floor. The soldiers start shoving bars into them, grunting under the weight.
Then I hear it.
Heavy bootsteps.
A whole squad of armed security guards storm down the corridor, rifles raised, riot shields braced.
"Contact!" one of my men yells.
"DOWN!" I bark.
Bullets shred through the air. My men dive behind the piles of gold, returning fire. I slam myself behind a stack, chamber another round, and start picking them off one by one.
My comms crackle.
"Bruno, status report!" Val snaps.
A soldier next to me drops, blood spraying across my arm.
I grit my teeth and put two rounds clean through a guard's helmet.
"We've secured the gold, but we've got company," I tell him. "Reinforcements are here."
"Can you hold it?"
I smirk, sight another bastard through the smoke, and drop him with a single shot.
"You know me, boss. I got this."
(ALESSANDRA'S POV)
My forehead is slick with sweat as I watch the progress bar crawl across my laptop screen.
62%…
65%…
"Come on," I mutter. "Come on."
Beside me, Michele leans over my tablet, scanning the street cams.
"Sandra," he says, his voice low and urgent.
"What?"
"We've got a problem."
He turns the tablet toward me.
My stomach drops.
The feed shows dozens of police cruisers tearing down the strip, sirens screaming as they close in fast.
"Shit."
Michele presses a hand to his earpiece. "Boss, cops incoming. We've got about three minutes max before they hit us."
Valentino's voice cuts through the comms, tight with urgency. "We'll be done before then. Bruno—status?"
Bruno's voice growls back, gunfire rattling in the background. "Gold's secured. We're moving."
"Copy. Sandra?"
I glance at the laptop again.
74%...
77%...
"We're not done yet, Val," I answer, my voice tight.
"Then move faster," he snaps. "My division's heading to the exit now."
My fingers fly across the keyboard. The gunfire echoing down the hall gets louder, closer, but I don't stop.
94%...
96%...
98%...
99%...
100%.
FILE TRANSFER COMPLETE.
"Yes!" I hiss.
I eject the drive, rip out the cords, and shove the laptops back into my bag.
"Michele!" I bark, swinging the strap over my shoulder. "We're done. Let's move."
He nods once and signals the men.
We fall back, boots pounding against the floor.
I hit the comms as we charge down the corridor. "Val, transfer's complete. The money and data are secured."
(VALENTINO'S POV)
"Good job, Alessandra!" I shout, grinning despite the chaos. "Now get the fuck out of there and head straight to the exit."
"Already on it, boss," Sandra fires back.
I run down the corridor with Leo at my side, my soldiers stacked tight behind us, duffel bags heavy with cash slamming against their thighs.
The exit's close.
We're almost there.
Then we round the corner.
Dozens of reinforcements block our path, guns already raised.
"AMBUSH!" someone screams.
Muzzle flashes blind my vision. The roar of gunfire shakes the walls. One of my men goes down instantly, blood spraying across the tile. Another staggers back, clutching his throat.
Leo shoves me hard against the wall as bullets rip past us.
My hand tightens around my rifle.
And right there, staring at the swarm of armed men blocking our only way out, I know this is about to get ugly.
My rifle kicks against my shoulder until it clicks empty. Reinforcements keep pouring in, armored bastards with shields braced, rifles raining bullets down the corridor.
"Reloading!" Leo shouts beside me.
I duck, grit my teeth, and charge at the nearest prick, slamming him against the wall so hard the plaster cracks. His rifle clatters to the floor. I rip his helmet off, grab his head with both hands, and smash it against the wall until his body collapses.
I barely catch my breath when another charges with a riot shield.
The bastard slams me to the ground, my mask skidding off across the tile.
He aims his gun at my face.
Not today, asshole.
I grab the discarded gun beside me and put a bullet through his throat. Blood sprays. His shield slips from his grip, and he crumples at my feet.
I snatch my black viper mask off the ground and put it back on.
"Move!" I bark, forcing myself up.
My men scoop their duffels of cash, and we tear down the corridor until we burst through the exit.
Bruno's already there with his squad, tossing gold-filled bags into the convoy of armored vans waiting for us.
Leo's eyes sweep over everyone. "We're not all out yet. Where the fuck are Sandra and Michele?"
Bruno raises his hands. "Haven't seen them."
I slam a finger to my earpiece. "Sandra, Michele, report! Where the fuck are you?"
Michele's voice crackles back through static. "Almost at the exit, boss."
Then I hear it.
Sirens.
Dozens of them.
Police cruisers pull up on both sides, screeching to a stop as doors fly open. Officers swarm out, weapons drawn, floodlights cutting through the smoke.
"This is the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police!" a voice echoes through a megaphone. "You are surrounded. Drop your weapons now!"
Bruno answers with a bullet right between the bastard's eyes.
Gunfire explodes.
Bullets rip through the air, sparks showering off metal as we duck behind the vans. One of the cruisers bursts into flames, the blast shaking the pavement. Men scream. Some of ours go down, some of theirs.
The whole parking lot turns into a fucking warzone.
"Boss!" Leo shouts, pointing.
Sandra and Michele burst through the exit doors, sprinting like hell with their squad right behind them.
"MOVE!" I shout, waving them over. "Get in the van!"
They dive in, bullets whizzing past them. Sandra stumbles inside, clutching her bag to her chest as the door slams shut behind her.
I rip two grenades off my vest, pull the pins with my teeth, and hurl them into the swarm of cops on both sides.
"GRENADE!" someone yells. "GET DOWN!"
The blasts rip the ground apart, throwing cars and men into the air.
"DRIVE!" I roar.
Engines scream.
The convoy peels out of the lot, tires shrieking, the chaos fading behind us as the city lights swallow us whole.
Sandra leans back against the wall, chest heaving, her face slick with sweat. She lifts the flash drive in trembling fingers, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
"Everything we came for."
I take off my mask, reach across, and snatch it from her hand.
A grin spreads across my face.
"Then I guess we just became the most wanted people in the country."