Chapter 109

Chapter 109
The convoy tore through the night, black SUVs slicing down the empty highway like wolves on the hunt. Inside the lead vehicle, Marcus sat rigid, his jaw locked, one hand drumming on the butt of his pistol. The GPS tracker on his phone blinked red, marking the warehouse where Anna, Vera, and his real mother were being held.

Beside him, his second-in-command, Victor, checked his rifle. “You sure about this, boss? We storm in blind, it could be a slaughter.”

Marcus’s eyes stayed forward, burning holes into the darkness. “Every second we wait is another second Damon has to put a bullet in her head. I’m not giving him that chance.”

Victor nodded grimly, gripping the weapon tighter.

The warehouse loomed ahead, rusted metal and shadows under the pale moonlight. Marcus’s convoy slowed, engines growling low.

“Positions,” Marcus ordered into his earpiece. “No survivors except Anna, Vera, and my mother. Everyone else dies.”

The men slipped into place, ghosts in the night. Marcus moved like a predator, his pulse thundering in his ears.

Then—
A scream. Anna’s voice.

It ripped through him like a blade.

“Now!” Marcus snarled.

Gunfire exploded. His men stormed the warehouse, bullets shredding through steel and glass. Guards fell left and right, their shouts drowned in the chaos. Marcus moved fast, every shot precise, cutting a path through the smoke and blood.

Inside, Anna and Vera jerked their heads up as the door blew open. Marcus burst in, his eyes locking on hers. Relief crashed over Anna’s face, tears spilling as she cried his name.

“Marcus!”

He didn’t hesitate. He gunned down the bastard standing guard, then rushed to her side. His hands shook as he cut the ropes binding her wrists.

“You’re safe,” he rasped, pulling her into his arms for a split second before moving to Vera. “Both of you are safe.”

Vera sobbed, clutching his sleeve. “mother—she’s in the corner—please—”

Marcus’s gaze snapped to the shadowy figure slumped against the wall. He ran, scooping his real mother into his arms, checking her pulse. Weak but steady.

“Victor!” Marcus barked. “Get her out!”

Victor took her carefully, retreating toward the exit.

For a moment, Marcus let himself believe it was over. The gunfire outside was dying. His men had the upper hand. Anna leaned into him, trembling but alive, and he held her like the lifeline she was.

Then a slow clap echoed through the smoke.

Damon.

He stepped out from the shadows, grinning like the devil himself, a pistol gleaming in his hand.

“Well, well. The hero arrives. Touching reunion, Marcus. Really. Almost made me tear up.”

Marcus shoved Anna behind him, raising his gun. His voice was a growl. “It’s over, Damon. Drop the weapon before I put you in the ground.”

Damon laughed. “Over? Oh, brother, it’s just getting good.”

The woman—his so-called aunt—appeared beside Damon, her eyes blazing with cruel delight. “Kill him, Damon. End this.”

Time slowed. Damon raised his gun, Marcus raised his—
The crack of a shot split the air.

Pain.

Marcus staggered back, a white-hot fire tearing through his chest. He dropped to one knee, choking, blood flooding his lungs. Anna screamed his name, lunging toward him, but the men held her back.

“No! Marcus! No!”

Marcus’s vision blurred. He could barely hear over the ringing in his ears. Damon’s smug face swam before him.

“See? You always thought you were stronger. But in the end, you bleed like the rest of us.”

Before Damon could fire again, Marcus’s men stormed in from the flanks. They tackled Damon hard, slamming him into the ground, wrenching the gun from his hand. He roared, thrashing, but four men pinned him down, one of them landing a brutal blow to his jaw.

The aunt screamed, pulling a knife, but Victor was faster. He shot her through the shoulder, sending her spinning to the ground, shrieking like a wounded animal.

Anna broke free, falling to her knees beside Marcus. Her hands pressed desperately against his wound, sobs ripping from her throat. “Stay with me. Don’t you fucking dare leave me, Marcus. Not like this.”

Blood bubbled at his lips as he coughed, eyes locking on hers. “Anna…” His hand trembled as he reached for her face. “I promised you… I’d never let them win.”

“You won’t,” she cried, shaking her head. “We’ll get you out. You’ll be fine. You’ll be fine.”

Behind them, Vera stood frozen, tears streaming, watching as Damon was dragged to his knees, screaming curses. For the first time in her life, she saw the monster for what he really was—pathetic, desperate, beaten.

But none of it mattered if Marcus didn’t survive.

Victor rushed over, kneeling beside Anna. His voice was sharp. “We need to move now! If he doesn’t get to a surgeon in the next ten minutes, he’s gone.”

Anna’s hands shook, slick with his blood. She looked down at Marcus, whose breaths were shallow, ragged. His eyes were heavy, fluttering, but still burning with that same fire.

“I’m not losing you,” she whispered fiercely, pressing her forehead to his. “Do you hear me? You don’t get to fucking die on me, Marcus. Not now. Not ever.”

He gave the faintest of smirks, even as the darkness pulled at him. “Bossy… as always… but i love you”

Then his eyes slipped shut.

“Marcus!” Anna screamed, her voice tearing through the chaos like thunder.

Victor grabbed her, hauling both her and Marcus up. “Move! Now!”

The team surged out of the warehouse, gunfire still crackling in the distance, Damon’s muffled shouts echoing behind them as he was dragged away in chains.

The night air hit like ice, but Anna barely felt it. All she felt was Marcus’s weight in her arms, his blood soaking her clothes, his heartbeat weak but stubborn against her palm.

They threw him into the SUV, Victor barking orders, the convoy roaring to life. Anna never let go, clutching Marcus’s hand like it was the only thing keeping him tethered to the world.

“Hold on,” she whispered again and again, tears streaming down her face. “Please, Marcus. Just hold on.”