Violent Beginnings (The Moretti Crime Family 2)

The place is dark, apart from some outside light coming from holes in the ceiling. The floors and walls are cracked and wet, which explains the mold and mildew smell filling the air.

When we get to the end of this hall, it splits into two corridors. I knew this from the plans, but I do not know where they are keeping her. Luckily, the idiots start to talk somewhere down to the right, giving themselves away.

I follow the voices with my gun raised. As we get closer, I can make out some of what they’re saying. My French is rusty, but I do know what la fille means… the girl.

I glance back over my shoulder at Fallon one final time, giving her a small nod. I told her what to do. Hopefully, she’ll listen to everything I said.

Positioning myself in front of the door, I suck in one deep breath before I lift my leg and kick in the door. The old, rotted wood breaks with ease. Small and large pieces fall away as I step into the room with my gun raised.

Time slows down as adrenaline floods my veins, and I become hyper-aware of everything around me. Two men are sitting at the table, their eyes wide with shock. One gets up while the other drops to the floor, but both reach for their guns.

I don’t think. I fire the first shot at the idiot who gets up instead of down. The bullet hits him right between his eyes, and his body crumbles to the ground.

I lower my gun and shoot again. Unfortunately, the other guy is fast. He rolls away, and the bullet hits his shoulder instead of his head.

Reaching behind me, I grab ahold of Fallon and drag her with me as I take cover behind the wall. The guy shoots at us twice, and I can feel the impact of the bullets through the concrete wall, but luckily, it’s not thin enough to penetrate.

Then I hear nothing. Silence. He’s going to have to come out eventually, and I have time. It doesn’t take long for him to get impatient. I hear him move around the room with a groan. That’s when I make my move.

I come around the corner and fire into the room. He doesn’t have a chance this time. The bullet hits his chest before he can raise his gun at me.

The man joins his friend on the floor, and I watch the life drain out of his eyes before turning my attention back to Fallon. She’s hot on my heels, staring at the man I just killed. Surprisingly, she doesn’t look scared or satisfied. She really doesn’t look like anything right now. As if she has shut her emotions down, which might be a very good thing, depending on what we are about to find.

“You okay?” I ask as I look around the room. There is no sign of Fallon’s sister, but there are two empty food trays with half-eaten meals.

“Yeah. Didn’t Felix say there should be three guys?”

“He did. So still be on high alert. Let’s continue down the hallway,” I say and go back to leading the way through the building.

When I hear footsteps approaching from behind us, I quickly spin us both around, shoving Fallon behind me. As soon as I see a figure appear around the corner, I aim my gun at him.

“Stop right there, or I’ll blow your head off like I just did your friends.”

The guy stops dead in his tracks, his face goes pale, and his eyes go wide. He even puts his hands up, showing me his palms as if that will save his life.

“Where is the girl?”

“S’il vous plaît… please,” he begs for his life. What a pussy.

“Where is the girl,” I repeat, my patience dwindling away.

He slowly raises his hand and points to the hall behind us. “Last room,” he says with a heavy French accent.

“Merci.” I thank him before I pull the trigger. The shot echoes through the hallway. Before I can turn around all the way, a second shot rings out.

Panic seizes every fiber in my body, and I spin around in terror. Did someone shoot me? Or worse, Fallon. What did I miss, who did I not see coming? If something happens to Fallon, I will kill everybody in this fucking country.

In the single second it takes me to turn around, my head is swarming with all of these questions. When I’m finally turned enough to see what’s going on behind me, I’m even more shocked than I could have imagined.

Fallon is standing with her back to me, but she is angled enough to where I can see that she is holding her gun with both hands. A few feet away from us is a man, gripping at the center of his chest. Blood is seeping out between his fingers, where Fallon must have shot him.