Chapter 201 Funneled Through

Chapter 201 Funneled Through


Giovanni’s POV 

The night sat heavy out here.
Not quiet, never quiet but controlled. The kind of stillness that settled in your bones when you knew something was coming, you just didn’t know exactly when it would hit.
I stood just off to the side of the tunnel entrance, my eyes fixed on the dark opening carved into the ground like it didn’t belong there. It was half-hidden by overgrowth and debris, the kind of exit someone thought was clever enough to stay unnoticed.
It wasn’t. Not tonight.
My men were positioned around me, spread out but tight enough to close in the second I gave the word. No wasted movement, no talking beyond what was necessary. They knew what this was. They knew who we were waiting for.
And they knew he wasn’t getting past us.
Mark’s team was already set further back, their placement precise, their charges wired and ready. A few of Nico’s men worked with them, making sure everything would go exactly the way it needed to if it came down to that. No mistakes. No second chances.
I rolled my shoulders once, loosening the tension that had been sitting there since we got into position. Not nerves. Just readiness.
One of my men shifted slightly beside me. “You think he’ll come this way?” he asked quietly.
I didn’t take my eyes off the entrance. “He’ll come,” I said.
“You sound sure.”
“Men like him don’t trap themselves,” I replied. “They always leave a way out.”
A faint breath of agreement came from somewhere behind me.
The comm in my ear crackled softly, pulling my attention inward without breaking my focus. Gunfire echoed faintly through it, distant but clear enough to tell me things had already started inside.
Good. About time.
Draco’s voice cut through next, sharp, controlled, giving orders that didn’t need repeating. Renzo answered back just as steady, the two of them moving through it like they always did. 
Then Nico’s voice chimed in with something that sounded just a little too pleased with himself.
“Don’t blow the place before I get my charges set,” he muttered.
I shook my head slightly. “You blow it too early and I’ll make sure you’re still in it when it goes,” I said into the comm.
A short laugh came back. “Love you too.”
“Focus,” Draco snapped.
That shut it down.
I adjusted my stance slightly, shifting my weight forward just enough to stay ready without looking like I was waiting. The tunnel stayed dark, empty, silent. No movement. No sound.
But that didn’t mean anything. It just meant he wasn’t here yet.
“They’re pushing him,” one of my men said quietly, listening to the comms bleed through.
“Yeah,” I replied.
You could hear it in the rhythm.
Gunfire. Movement. Short commands.
They weren’t holding position. They were advancing. Which meant he was falling back. Exactly where we wanted him.
I glanced briefly toward Mark’s position. He gave a small nod, barely visible in the low light. Charges were ready. All it would take was the word.
I looked back at the tunnel.
“Stay sharp,” I said. “When he comes through, he’s not coming alone.”
A few quiet acknowledgments came back. No one asked questions. They didn’t need to.
The comm crackled again. “He’s moving,” Renzo’s voice came through.
There it was. I felt the shift instantly. Not panic. Not adrenaline. Just focus tightening into something sharper.
“Heading your way,” Draco added.
I stepped forward slightly, raising my hand just enough to signal my men without looking at them.
Everything locked in.
Positions tightened.
Angles covered.
Weapons ready.
No one rushed. No one spoke.
The tunnel stayed dark for another second. Then two.
Then movement. Faint at first. A shadow shifting where there hadn’t been one before.
“He’s close,” one of my men murmured.
“I see it,” I said.
The first man came through fast, weapon up, eyes scanning, already expecting trouble.
He didn’t get far. One of my men took him clean before he could even register what he walked into, his body dropping hard just outside the tunnel entrance.
The second man followed right behind him, smarter, tighter, firing as he came through.
“Contact,” someone snapped.
Everything broke loose. Gunfire lit up the darkness, controlled bursts cutting through the space as we held our positions and forced them into ours. They came out fast, trying to push through, trying to create space for the one they were protecting.
I stepped forward into it, closing the distance instead of giving it, forcing them to fight where I wanted them.
“Hold the line,” I said.
No one broke formation. No one gave ground.
They tried to push left, they got cut off.
Tried right, got shut down.
They were good. But they weren’t getting through.
More movement inside the tunnel. More bodies.
Then Him.
I saw him through the chaos, moving behind his men, controlled even in retreat, not panicked, not sloppy.
The Reaper.
There you are.
A faint grin pulled at the corner of my mouth.
“Got you,” I muttered.
Gunfire intensified as his men tightened around him, trying to carve a path, trying to force an opening that wasn’t there.
“Draco,” I said into the comm, my voice steady. “He’s here.”
No answer right away. Didn’t need one. I already knew what he’d say. Don’t let him out. I didn’t plan to.
I stepped forward again, raising my weapon, locking onto the movement that mattered.
The space narrowed. The fight tightened. And he was right there.