Chapter One Hundred and Eighty- Six
They hadn’t given a warning. If he’d known... no, there were no excuses. He should’ve been ready, always. And yet, of all the days, they had to strike today, today, when he had left his room without even checking his gun. The weight of that lapse pressed down on him like ice.
His jaw tightened.
"Fuck."
He slamd the magazine back in anyway. Two bullets were enough, if he didn’t waste them. If he didn’t hesitate. He would kill the first man, rip the gun from his hands, then the next, and the next after that.
Around him, n scrambled, diving behind vehicles, walls, anything that could offer cover. Gunfire split the air, controlled but relentless, a deadly rhythm he recognized. The Villa wasn’t surrendering without a fight.
He leaned out just enough to scan.
Three vehicles through the main gate. Another two swinging wide, trying to flank. He could tell she was testing him, probing for weak spots.
Of course, she was.
He fired once.
The man had been creeping too close to his position, boots brushing the edge of cover, his confidence outweighing caution. Aht didn’t give him ti to realize his mistake.
The shot cracked through the air and the body folded mid‑step and hit the ground hard.
One bullet gone.
Aht was already moving. He surged forward, crouched, his fingers closing around the fallen man’s weapon before the echo even faded. He checked it in one swift motion and pulled back into cover, his breath steady, and eyes sharp.
Now he had more than two chances.
Smoke crawled across the field now, thick and choking. The air tasted like tal and dust. Orders overlapped. Soone scread. Another fell silent.
Aht moved low, fast, boots skidding against dirt as another barrage tore through the space he’d just vacated. Stone shattered where his head had been.
He popped up behind a vehicle, breathing hard, and his heart pounding but his mind was too clear.
Then he saw her.
She stepped out of the lead car like the bullets parted for her.
She stayed calm and unhurried.
Asli.
Aht’s grip tightened around the gun until his knuckles burned.
She wasn’t hiding. She wasn’t rushing. She stood there, surveying the field, issuing commands with sharp flicks of her hand. Her n moved instantly, as extensions of her will.
She had planned this all her life. Yet, he could sense the hesitation in her formation.
Their eyes t across the chaos.
For a split second, everything slowed: the gunfire, the shouting, the violence shrinking until it was just that look. Cold, familiar, and dangerous.
His finger curled around the trigger.
One bullet left before he used soone else’s gun. There was no glory in that. And so he hid his gun behind his belt. A cruel smile ford on his lips the minute he saw Demir.
A shot cracked close, too close and a stone exploded beside his face. He dropped back, pulse roaring in his ears.
"Keep her alive!" Aht shouted, fury and fear tangling in his chest. "No one touches her. That’s an order!"
Movent flickered at the edge of his vision.
One of his n glanced his way, then subtly crossed two fingers against his chest before dropping his hand.
Aht stilled.
A double.
His jaw tightened as the aning sank in. Two orders had been sent into the field: one to take the Villa, another to make sure soone didn’t walk out of it. And that soone wasn’t Demir.
His grip on the gun hardened, his knuckles whitening.
’So this is the day,’ he thought grimly. The day Marco finally decided Asli was no longer worth keeping alive.
The realization burned through him, cold and precise. This wasn’t just an attack. It was a cleanup. The anger was familiar, a fire he knew well when his territory or n were threatened but the sharp, protective edge twisting through him at the thought of them coming for Asli was new, alien, and undeniable.
Another wave of gunfire slamd into the field before he could continue his thoughts. Asli was already moving again, disappearing into the smoke, and directing her n.
"How am I supposed to protect you when you’re doing this?" he muttered under his breath, teeth gritting.
She hadn’t co for intimidation. He loved that about her. How she carried herself. She’d co for blood and it was clear she hadn’t co for him. From where she had stood, she had a clear line of sight, one careful aim, and she could have taken him down without a second thought.
But she didn’t.
Aht pushed forward anyway, his teeth clenched, and gun heavy in his hand. He saw it the mont her formation shifted.
She wasn’t circling anymore. She wasn’t probing. Her attention snapped toward the Villa itself, toward the main doors, and sothing in her posture sharpened.
She was going in.
"No," he muttered, already moving.
He broke from cover, firing as he ran, each shot deliberate. n dropped or ducked back as bullets tore through the space ahead of him. He didn’t slow. He couldn’t. Every second she closed the distance to the Villa felt like a countdown he didn’t want to reach zero.
"Cover boss!" soone shouted.
His n responded instantly.
Gunfire surged around him. They pushed forward in a tight formation, so advancing, others laying down heavy fire, forcing Asli’s n back inch by inch. Bullets struck vehicles, stone, tal.... everything in sight but they held the line around him, shielding his advance.
Aht shot, moved, and took another weapon from a fallen body without breaking stride. His focus was tunneled.
He knew the mansion gates were already locked, but he couldn’t afford to trust that. Not today. Not with her aiming towards it.
A round clipped the edge of a pillar beside him. Another tore through the air where his head had been a second earlier. He ducked, rolled, and ca up firing again. His breathing stayed steady even as his muscles burned.
He caught sight of her again through the chaos.
Asli was already closer now, barking orders. Her n adjusting instantly. For a heartbeat, her gaze flicked toward the Villa doors and that was all the confirmation he needed.
She was going to breach.
Aht pushed harder.
"Move!" he yelled, and his n surged with him.
They advanced in bursts. Soone went down to his left. Another stepped in without hesitation, filling the gap.
He saw as a pack was strapped across her back, heavy enough to change her balance, and when she turned slightly he saw the edges of it; wires, the kind ant for steel and reinforced doors. She moved as she had already asured the distance, and already pictured the blast.
A grenade detonated near the far side of the field, shaking the ground, distracting them.
Aht reached the outer periter, sliding in behind a stone barrier just as a hail of bullets chewed through the space he’d crossed. He leaned out and fired again, forcing Asli’s n to scatter, buying himself a narrow opening.
The mansion gate was right there now.
Too close.
"Hold them!" he ordered.
His n answered with everything they had.
Aht broke from cover and ran.
Straight toward the Villa.
He reached the porch at the sa mont she did, his shoulder slamming into hers at the steps, the impact sharp enough that instinct kicked in before thought. Aht’s hand shot out, steadying her when her footing slipped, eyes flicking over her in a rapid assessnt.
She yanked herself free at once, glare flashing, and the contact lingered in his mind longer than it should have. He knew imdiately it was a mistake. He had already barked orders to keep her alive; touching her now would only draw eyes, questions, and suspicion he knew she couldn’t afford.
Yet, for a split second, they were chest to chest, breath colliding.
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