Chapter 47

Seraphina

“This is a bad idea,” David was grumbling for the millionth time tonight. I swear this man could make even a rainbow depressed, but I don’t pay him to get cheerful, I pay him to protect me and mine.

“We have gone over this 1000 times,” I hissed, checking threw the broken warehouse window again, making sure our targets were still inside, “we need to know for sure who is taking these girls. It’s been a month of sifting through chatter to even find this place.”

“You shouldn’t be here,” David looked down the line of mean all tucked against the wall, “there is more than enough men to get this done. Go back to the vineyard.”

“You think im going to miss tying my arsehole ex to these atrocities,” I looked at the girls bound and gaged on the floor, “You are sadly mistaken my friend.”

No one could identify me, nothing even made me stand out from the men except that i was 8inches shorter than most of them. Watching the girls inside the warehouse, the door on the opposite to my team opened and four figures walked in. At the far end of the warehouse the roll up door was being opened and a van drove in.

“Its time,” I breathed into the com mic on me neck, “Go.”

Half the team split off, staying crouched under the windows and moving swiftly towards the end of the warehouse with the roll up door. The rest of us rushed towards a side door that had already been pried open while we waited. The 10 men with me fanned out in the shadows near the door and we all inches closer to the girls and figures guarding them.

With three feet of shadows between us and our targets, the other half of the team started firing on the man coming out of the van. The guards around the girls rushed into the fight just as glass shattered above us, ropes appearing and 3 men that weren’t mine descended from above. Someone else was crashing this party.

“Get the girls!” David called threw the coms, “Team 2 pull out, this isn’t our party anymore.”

The men with me moved to the girls chained to the floor, pulling liquid nitrogen canisters from their bags to start spraying down the chains before smashing them with hammers. Each of the men grabbed a girl and booked it back out the door that had been our entrance to the warehouse. My team was slipping through the hole we cut in the fence, several G-Series Jeeps waiting on the other side to take us and the rescued girls to safe houses.

“Genovesse!” a voice from one of the three shouted. I frozen at the door, everyone else was already out yet I couldn’t help but me intrigued who these party crashers were, “Where are you?”

I know that voice, I’ve hear it on campus everyday for the last 6 weeks, it’s hard not to notice it. It was one of the three Kings from campus, Marius. That must be Tyrone and Damon flanking him as always. The fuck were they doing here? I cursed under my breath, barely able to keep my anger in check. The last thing I needed was for them to mess up my plans.

"Where are you?" Marius's voice rang out again, his words sending a chill down my spine. His men were flanking him, moving with the same eerie precision that made them the most dangerous group on campus. They were the ghosts in the shadows.

I was stuck, hidden in the shadows, watching as their silhouettes melted into the chaos of the warehouse. Their mission—whatever it was—wasn’t clear yet, but there was no way I could leave without knowing what the hell was going on.

For a moment, I hesitated, unsure if it was worth risking exposure. But the decision was already made for me.

“Get out!” David’s voice barked, urgent now.

I didn’t need to be told twice.

With one last look at the scene unfolding, I darted for the exit, my heart pounding louder than the gunfire behind me. As I slipped into the shadows by the door, my mind raced with the implications. The Three Kings—Marius, Damon, and Tyrone—had just walked into a situation they weren’t supposed to be in. I had no idea what their play was.

The G-series jeeps were already gone. I could hear the roar of their engines fading into the night as they made their way to the safe houses with the rescued girls. Only one of my men was left behind with David—just enough to make sure no one followed us. But I wasn’t going anywhere. Not yet. I was still inside the warehouse, my eyes fixed on the figures in the shadows, the three kings I had come to know so well.

Marius, Damon, and Tyrone. They had finally made their appearance. And they were moving fast—too fast. They had their sights set on Genovese’s men by the van that was supposed to take the abducted girls. My instincts told me they weren’t here for the same reason as me. Their presence was… a complication.

From my position by the door, I could see them clearly, but they couldn’t see me. Yet. Genovese’s men, still caught up in their own little world, hadn’t noticed the ten additional men slipping through another door behind them. I felt a surge of urgency. I couldn’t let this go sideways.

I pulled the comm from my neck and pressed it against my lips, my voice low but urgent. “David, pull the team back. Now.”

David’s voice came through immediately, sharper than usual. “What the hell’s going on, Seri?”

“They’re not alone. Ten more men, moving in behind them. Take the team back to the cars. We’ll deal with this.”

“Understood. Stay safe.”

I didn’t waste another second. I watched the three kings move in, their eyes sharp, scanning the environment, ready to spring into action. But what they didn’t know was that Genovese’s extra men were about to make a fatal mistake.

Gunfire erupted in the distance.

A flash of movement. I saw Marius, Damon, and Tyrone take cover behind the van just as the men by the vehicle started shooting at them, their pistols barking like angry dogs. It was like the world slowed down for a moment. The gunfire, the crack of metal against concrete, the tension in the air—it was all so familiar. And I was about to step right into the middle of it.

I motioned for David and the men with him to stay low. Then, with a quick breath, I dove out of the shadows, my body moving fluidly like I’d done a thousand times before. David was right behind me, his pace matching mine.

The chaos broke out in a heartbeat. I wasn’t even thinking—I was just moving. My hands were a blur, disarming one of Genovese’s men before he could even raise his gun. A swift knee to the gut sent him reeling, and I followed up with a brutal elbow to his neck. He went down fast, but not before one of his buddies had time to retaliate.

David wasn’t far behind, his own deadly precision cutting through the chaos. He took down a man with a swift strike to the knee, sending him crashing to the ground, while I spun to the next target, twisting his arm behind his back with a move so quick and fluid, it left him breathless.

But I wasn’t done.

I dove into the middle of everything, my legs sweeping out from under me as I took down another man with a well-placed kick to the ribs. It was pure instinct. No hesitation. The feeling of my body in motion was second nature to me. I’d spent years perfecting this art, and tonight, it was paying off.

Just as I disarmed the last guy and put him into a tight chokehold, I felt his struggles weakening, his body going limp in my arms. I didn’t let go until I felt the life leave him. The warehouse fell eerily silent, save for the heavy breathing of the men who were left standing.

I slowly stood up, brushing the dirt off my pants, only to be met with the unmistakable sound of footsteps behind me.

I turned, and my heart skipped a beat. There, standing in the doorway with their eyes locked on me, were Marius, Damon, and Tyrone.

They were frozen, their mouths slightly agape, shock written all over their faces. Their eyes were wide—no longer cold and calculating, but stunned.

I allowed myself a slow, smug grin, tossing the unconscious man’s limp body aside.

“Well, well,” I said, dusting my hands off as if I hadn’t just taken out half the room. “Did you guys forget to read the invitation? You weren’t supposed to be on the guest list.”

Marius was the first to recover, stepping forward, his piercing blue eyes narrowing. “Seri…” He let the name hang in the air, as though the very sound of it didn’t make sense to him.

I shrugged, feigning innocence, but my voice was laced with a playful bite. “What? You think I just sit in lecture halls all day? I have a very active extracurricular schedule. You should try it sometime.”

Damon stepped forward next, his dark eyes intense as he studied me. “You’ve been playing both sides, haven’t you?”

“Who says it’s both sides?” I tilted my head, my lips curling up into an almost wicked smile. “I’m just doing what I have to do. You three have a bit of a reputation, you know. But I’m guessing this isn’t quite the show you expected, huh?”

Tyrone stayed silent, but his eyes were sharp, scanning me like he was trying to piece together a puzzle he didn’t have the answers to.

I let the silence stretch on a little longer, watching them squirm just the tiniest bit. It was almost satisfying, seeing them so caught off guard. But this was far from over.

“Besides,” I added with a sly grin, “I wasn’t even trying to get your attention. But hey, I guess you’re welcome for the distraction.”

Damon didn’t look like he was in the mood for banter. His gaze darkened, a glint of something dangerous flickering behind his eyes. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Seri.”

“Who, me?” I raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence. “I’m just a student trying to get an A in the class of life.”

I could tell by the look on their faces they weren’t convinced. But I didn’t care. For now, I was the one holding all the cards. The three kings were finally rattled, and I was enjoying every second of it.

The men were standing there, mouths slightly agape, unable to process the turn of events. Marius, Damon, and Tyrone—normally unshakable, always in control—looked almost human in their shock, their expressions slowly shifting from disbelief to something unreadable.

I took a slow step forward, pushing past the weight of the moment, trying to get their attention back on what really mattered. "Listen," I said, my tone hardening. "We don’t have time for this. If Genovese realizes his operation has been compromised, more men will come. We need to get out of here before it turns into a bloodbath. Fast."

Damon narrowed his eyes, his lips curling into a tight line. “And why should we trust you?”

I met his gaze head-on, no hesitation. “Because I’ve already done what you couldn’t. I have the girls. The ones who’ve been taken from campus in the last two weeks. They’re safe.”

The words hung in the air like a dare. It was impossible to tell what they were thinking, but they were hesitating. I could see it in their eyes—there was a conflict there, something shifting in the balance between us. Trust? Betrayal? Or was it something else?

“You’re telling us you’ve had them the whole time?” Tyrone’s voice was a quiet, controlled growl. He took a half a step towards me, gripping the gun in his hand tighter. His eyes were sharp, studying me like I was a threat waiting to explode.

“We picked them up here, tonight,” I confessed, my tone steady; waving one hand at the shattered chains on the floor behind me. “They’re safe now. I’ve got the girls, and I can take you to them or wherever they need to go.”

Marius stepped forward then, his blue eyes calculating, trying to figure me out, as if doing mental math to determine whether it was worth the risk. "If you’re lying—"

“I’m not,” I cut him off, more sharply than I intended. “And if you want to stay and play games with the next wave, fine. But we’re wasting time. We need to move, now.”

The silence stretched for a moment as the tension thickened. I could see the wheels turning in their heads—the calculation, the weighing of options. I wasn’t sure if they believed me completely, but something in my eyes must’ve told them I wasn’t bluffing.

Damon was the first to break the silence, a reluctant nod accompanying his words. "Fine. We’ll go with you. But if you pull anything, don’t think you’ll walk away from this alive."

“Noted,” I said dryly, trying not to let my relief show. Trust or not, we didn’t have time to argue.

Without another word, we moved. The men followed me out the door and through the cut in the fence, leading to the last G-series SUV. The engine roared to life as we piled in, the heavy doors slamming shut behind us. The air inside the vehicle was tense, and I could feel the eyes of the three kings boring into me.

Marius, his gaze unblinking, was the first to speak. "Where exactly are we going?"

I didn’t look back as i took the on ramp to the freeway. "Home," I said, my voice cold, yet somehow satisfied. I could practically feel their eyes narrow at the cryptic answer. But it didn’t matter. The moment of truth was coming, I had no choice now.

We sped off into the night, the G-series cutting through the dark streets like a blade. Whatever came next would be dealt with it. For now, though, we had a temporary peace. A fragile one. And as the city lights flickered by, fading into the darkness of the night behind us, I couldn’t shake the feeling that things were only just beginning to get interesting.